Preparing a cut flower garden is a rewarding experience as you plant your seeds and wait for flowers to boom. This year was my first time setting up this kind of garden and I decided to go with some easy, beginner-friendly flowers like dahlias, zinnias, lupines and a variety of mixed flowers. Below are some tips I’ve learned along the way so you can enjoy a cut flower garden too!
Prepping
Before you start planting, it’s essential to spend time planning. I did my research on which varieties would be easiest to plant for beginners and also spent time researching which ones grow well together. I found that zinnias, cosmos, dahlias, and sunflowers can all be easy to grow for first time gardeners. Also, zinnias and cosmos prefer similar conditions and can do well when planted together. Another important thing to consider is that most cut flowers require full sun, so make sure to place them in a spot where they will receive at least six hours of sun a day.
Soil Preparation
There are a lot of options out there for soil mixtures – ones for garden beds, containers, indoor/outdoor, moisture control, with/without compost, and the list goes on and on. For my container garden, I went with an organic moisture control potting mix, with compost. This mixture would help my plants start off strong, with all the essential nutrients and eliminated the worry I sometimes get with gardening about figuring out how much and often to water.
Planting
Each plant has unique needs when planting in terms of depth, spacing, and watering. Make sure to follow the instructions that come with your seeds carefully to understand the proper care for your plants and to get the best blooms!
For the dahlias I planted, they needed to be ¾ “ deep, 12” apart, and their bloom time was 70 days.
The cosmos and zinnias both need about a ¼” of depth and their bloom time is around 60 days. My wildflower mixture needed the same depth but I planted them in their own container to keep better track of what was in each pot.
Each of these flowers add their own color, height, and interest to the garden and will look beautiful all together once ready to cut and bring into the home! I’d recommend also sticking to a color palette once you’ve chosen all your flower varieties to make sure they’ll look good in a vase later on.
Continued Care
I water each container really well once a week, in the mornings to avoid rapid evaporation and reduce the risk of diseases. It’s been really rainy in my area the past few weeks, so once a week has been more than enough for my plants in addition to the rain. I feel the soil every few days just to make sure.
Cut and Enjoy!
Although we haven’t gotten to this point yet, I’m really looking forward to the rewarding moment when I can cut these flowers and enjoy them in vases throughout the house. In preparation for that moment I’ve ordered a new pair of sharp, clean pruning shears to make sure when I cut the flowers I’m not damaging them or spreading any diseases from one to the next.
I hope my experience encourages you all to create your own cut flower garden! Happy gardening!
