

No plant is guaranteed to be resistant to deer predation. Over-crowded plants are more prone to problems that will reduce the pleasure of your cutting garden. Be sure to select varieties resistant to powdery mildew and provide good air circulation. Zinnias are often considered a foundation for cutting gardens. A weed mat of landscaping fabric may fit your needs.Ĭhoose plants that are not prone to pests and diseases. Chemical control is not appropriate in home-cutting gardens. As in a vegetable garden, control the weeds as they emerge. Some plants will need to be pinched, and others disbudded or pruned.
#Cut flower garden layout install
You may decide to install a wide-gap horizontal mesh to provide support for the plants as they grow through it. Some plants may need to be staked, so the stems are not broken by wind or bent over by top-heavy blooms. Planting in rows allows easier access to your flowers when harvest time comes. Often a scissors icon will indicate varieties of plants designated for cut flowers. Select varieties that naturally have tall stems and have done particularly well in Pennsylvania research trials. Don't forget to grow the flowers that have meaning to you or those you will gift. Add some bulbs, especially for early spring blossoms. Annuals will bloom all season but need to be sown or replaced annually.

Value their foliage when they are not in bloom. Very few perennials provide season-long flowers. Plan to include both annuals and perennials in your cutting garden. Raised beds may be a good option for your new floral garden. Most cut flowers do best in a full-sun location. Test the soil for fertility and amend as recommended. As with all gardening, the soil is the most critical place to begin. Can you create a cutting garden that brings joy to you, your family, and your neighbors? Absolutely! Follow these tips for success. Visiting family and friends often received a handful of flower stems from our cutting garden as they were leaving for home. It was nothing fancy, just a few flowers tucked into a vase of water. It's not our imagination: flowers do give us joy! Who doesn't recall their genuine eye-crinkling smile when a youngster offered a fistful of bright yellow dandelion blossoms?Ī fresh floral arrangement always sat on the kitchen table in my childhood home.

Jeannette Haviland-Jones of Rutgers University and others found evidence that flowers are indeed potent mood elevators. Why? Because flowers bring happiness into our lives. Valentine's Day and Mother's Day are the busiest days for florists.
