Article: Cut Flower Gardens

Created on: Monday, June 09, 2003

Part of the joy of growing flowers at home is cutting and displaying your flowers in your home. With proper planning, you can have flowers available for cutting from early spring until killing frosts arrive in autumn. Location Most gardeners will incorporate cutting type cultivars into existing flower gardens. In many instances, these plants will be located near the back of a flower border or bed because of their height. However, if ample room is available, you may wish to establish a special cutting garden in an out-of-the-way location. In this type of garden, you need not worry about height placements, color combinations and spacings between plants, since the garden would not necessarily be for public viewing, and weeding doesn't become as critical either! A variety of flowers that would not ordinarily appear in the same garden would then be available for cutting each day. Another point in favor of this type of garden is that you do not ruin the look of your regular flower beds when you cut fresh flowers for your home. Plant Selection Annuals, biennials, perennials, hardy bulbs, and tender bulbs can be used as cut flowers for home use. In some cases, you will want to choose specific cultivars that, because of their height, are ideal for cutting. In addition, to provide for continuous color from spring through autumn, choose plants for their specific bloom times, such as daffodils and Dutch iris for early Spring and Michaelmas daisies and chrysanthemums for the fall. Cutting Flowers from Your Garden Plan to cut your flowers in the morning or late evening when they are crisp and turgid with water. Use a very sharp knife or pair of shears and immediately put the stems into a container of warm water. Drying Cut Flowers Certain flowers can be dried so that you can enjoy them during the winter as well. First, harvest flowers at the peak of excellence and when not wet from dew. You can air dry the flowers by hanging them upside down in a dark, warm and airy place. We'll be happy to help you select the best flowers for your cutting pleasure.