by design episode #42: Cutting Gardens

Spring is in the air, and we’re so excited to share a new project with you all! CUTTING GARDENS!!! Join us as we chat flowers, the diy basics of a cutting garden (because hello, some of us aren’t flower gurus!), and be sure to check out our website for some helpful links to get you started. This really is a great way to bring the glory of the outside into your home to enjoy all summer. It’s like decor that keeps on blooming???! Our design minds are seriously geeking out over here.

Thanks so much for listening friends!

xo,

Lyn & Dannette

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LINKS & THINGS

{by design} pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/bydesignpodcast

To start, let’s get all inspired with this beautiful potting table featured on www.stonetableblog.com. Not only will you get to cut and display beautiful flowers in your home with a cutting garden, but come on, you’ll have use for a POTTING TABLE like the one shown below! Yes, please 😉

Ok, so let’s get back to business. CUTTING GARDENS!

1 – First things first. We found some great info on how to start a cutting garden over at www.mnn.com . This list below is an excerpt from their post.

Select a location. The best site will be one that gets plenty of sun, has rich soil and drains well. An ideal site might be one that borders a vegetable or herb garden since the “crop style” planting purpose of the cutting garden and the vegetable/herb beds will complement each other. Other considerations for sites include sunny spots along the back boundary, in a corner that hasn’t been planted or behind or beside the garage. Small spaces can hold a lot of plants. As a general rule, a 3 by 6 foot bed will hold about 20 plants.

Plan the garden. Once you know the dimensions of the cutting garden and the sun angles of the new bed, you can draw a design based on plant heights and bloom times. Plan for dense plantings with a mixture of color, stem lengths and textures that will bloom in spring, summer and fall. Be sure to draw a plan that avoids gaps. Remember your goal: It’s to produce flowers to create great looks indoors, not in the cutting garden itself. Be creative in your design and be sure to include your favorite shrubs, annuals, perennials, herbs and bulbs.

Prepare the soil. The cutting garden should have the same rich soil as your other garden beds. Add humus in the form of compost, peat moss or chopped leaves to a depth of 8-10 inches to improve clay or sandy soil.

Plant the garden. Plant in rows according to your plan. This will provide for the easiest access and reduce the time and effort needed to weed, feed, thin, fertilize, deadhead and harvest. If you wind up with unintended gaps, fill in with annuals or herbs.

Cut the flowers. Finally the best part! This is where planning and preparation pay off. Use the colors, stem lengths, textures of the foliage and floral fragrances to create appealing arrangements to enjoy and to impress your guests.

If you don’t have gardening space to add a cutting garden or want to include more plants in a cutting garden than you have room for, don’t worry. Just plant your favorite flowers and shrubs throughout the space you do have. Just don’t cluster them. By spreading out the flowers you are growing specifically for cutting in your existing beds, you won’t create gaps when you remove the blooms.

2 – We gathered some great info on perennials, based on shade, sun and which are the easiest to care for.

For sunny spots // we found this info on www.homestratosphere.com (be sure to click the link for more info)

For the shade spots // also found on www.homestratosphere.com (be sure to click the link for more info)

And of course, our favorite, LOW MAINTENANCE options // source is www.hgtv.com (click for all the details)

3 – Plan your bloom times so you can have beautiful flowers all spring and summer long! // We found this handy chart over at www.longfield-gardens.com