Home & Yard
10C
Monday, April 4, 2016
Cutting gardens
BY JANE HOLASEK
Flower Power Garden Center, Lester Prairie
Last summer, I helped my neighbor
create a wonderful zinnia cutting garden for her son’s wedding in July. After
it produced abundant blooms for vases
at the reception, we shared the joy of its
color with friends and family, inviting
them to come and cut bouquets for their
homes, or to share with shut-ins and
friends. Friends took numerous photos
in the cutting garden. Many included
the butterflies and hummingbirds as
they enjoyed the colorful habitat we
provided for them.
Cutting gardens have long been a way
to bring joy to both the gardener and
the recipient of the colorful bouquets
of fresh-cut flowers they produce. Annuals were the main ingredients of our
garden since, as annuals, cutting them
is often helpful, even necessary, to keep
the plants looking their best. (Although,
we went around our entire yard, cutting
from shrubs, perennials, even succulents to find what we needed to make
some interesting arrangements!) Creating a flower bed just for cutting helps to
make it easier to freely cut from those
beautiful stems we find, not robbing
other areas of our garden of their color.
When choosing varieties to plant,
look at heights (taller plants will have
longer stems), vase-life, and sun/shade
requirements. Most cutting flowers prefer a sunny location with well-drained
soil. Also, consider a mixture of colors
and bloom time to help your garden
beautifully provide for your bouquets
throughout the summer and into fall.
Some top picks for favorite annual
cut flowers that can be started from
seed indoors or found as starter plants
at your local garden center include zinnias, cosmos, and sunflowers. Dahlias
are easy to grow and make great cuts.
Many gardeners love to use snapdragons, especially in whites and yellows,
because they work with any other color you grow. Blue colors can be found
by growing Ageratum Blue Horizon,
Verbena Bonariensis, and Centaurea
(Batchlor Button). Gypsophilia, or Baby’s Breath, is also a wonderful white
addition to the collection.
Although you’ll be anxious to get
started in May, don’t buy your plants
too early. Wait until the danger of frost
is past, usually after May 20. Start with
a smaller area that you can easily take
care of, planting your seedlings in rows,
allowing room to weed and cut the
blooms. Mulch to cut down on weeding,
and apply a good time-release fertilizer
such as Osmocote, or use a general-pur-
pose fertilizer regularly according to
package directions to keep your plants
looking great.
The best times to cut your flowers are
early morning before the dew has dried,
or early evening. Take a clean bucket of
lukewarm water with you, and place the
stems into it until you get indoors. Recut
the stems on a slant under water, and remove bruised leaves and foliage below
the water line to prevent decay. Change
the water in your vase every couple of
days to keep your arrangement fresh.
Be sure to invite your friends over to
wander in the beauty of your garden,
and to share in its bounty. Fresh flowers
will brighten everyone’s day and bring
joy to you all summer long.
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GLENCOE
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320-864-5571
HOWARD LAKE
5845 Keats Ave. SW
- W Hwy. 12
320-543-2170
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