Last of the cutting garden

The cutting garden was definitely a mixed success this year.

The sunflowers were great, but rather too big for my arrangements, the bachelor's buttons were pretty but very floppy, and most of the rest either didn't come up at all or smelled like poop (daisies, I'm looking at you!)

 

But let's remember some successes.

The volunteer cosmo patch up in the vegetable garden was gorgeous, and brightened up a few bouquets.

 

Bunny tail grass, or Lagarus ovatus, planted in my daughter's garden, was a favorite of us all.

Those little seedheads were every bit as soft and fuzzy as they look.

With their long arching stems, they added a bit of whimsy and touchability to several bouquets this summer.

Since I generally rototill the garden every year, this clump got dug up, divided, and replanted in 3 different spots out in the front flowerbeds. I hope it thrives up there!

 

Bless the zinnias.

They came through splendidly, wherever I planted them.

These were in the cutting garden proper, but the ones in the garden did great, as well.

Hardy, long-lasting in the vase, and bright cheerful colors.

That's a combination that's hard to beat!

Beautifully floppy bachelor's buttons.

If I replant these next year, they'll have to go in a spot that get a little more sun.

Maybe the vegetable garden.

[What? I do have actual vegetables in there, too, you know...mostly.]

Looking down toward the cutting garden.

The daisies have since been divided and planted between the lilacs and ninebark, all the way down the terrace.

 

As for next year's cutting garden, I may try starting some seeds inside in the spring, so that I have more young plants to put in. Also, not sure I'll do sunflowers again, though they were fun to look at. That is, unless I can find a variety with smaller blooms that I actually know what to do with in a vase.

 

It was a good experiment that I feel like I learned from.

(Like everything I do in gardening.)

The Cutting Garden

After perusing some flower farmer blogs and visiting our local u-pick flower farm again, I decided to make a dedicated cutting garden on the end of our side terrace.

 

In May I pulled out all my flower seeds--varying ages, most at least 1 year old.

I weeded like crazy, (it had already been rototilled earlier), then planted my little seeds.

I waited, tried to remember to water, and waited.

 

And....not much came up.

These are the first pictures, because most of the summer has seen only very small struggling plants surrounded by (yes) more weeds.

 

So, to begin:

These daisies were a gift from a friend, and after taking a month or two to recover from transplanting, they're actually blooming again!

 

Funny story about them:

I was making a bouquet to give to a friend, and came over for some daisies.

As I was snipping them, I thought, "Wow, you can really smell the compost in this bed!"

Then later, in the car, I really thought I had stepped in something.

I checked my shoes, I was looking for the source of THAT smell.

Oh yes. It wasn't the compost, my friends.

So, fortunately, I have some pretty white daisies.

UNfortunately, those daisies smell like poop.

Therefore, they will have to be moved elsewhere in my garden, because flowers in my cutting garden aren't allowed to stink that bad!

 

My current plan is possibly moving them down the terrace, between each of my new lilac bushes.

Ever-loving zinnias.

These are the best!

They're the 'Cut and Come Again' variety, and they have all sorts of fun and different forms in the same seed packet. As you can see, most were pink this year, but that's okay, too.

 

These bachelor buttons grew from 4 year-old seed!

They sure are pretty, but also are super floppy, which made them hard to use in arrangements.

They must not get enough sun right here.

 

Sunflower mix.

Tall, stately, and beautiful.

I'm still figuring out how to use them in a mixed bouquet.

 

So out of maybe 10 varieties of seeds planted this year, so far I have 3 things growing.

I've got some work to do!

Kind Neighbor

Our next door neighbor is selling their house. She knows all about plants and planting. Guess what she's giving me?!

Already, several sedum starts (hooray), and some lavender starts. Also, bachelor button starts, with pretty purple blooms and those fancy-looking buds. And a purple coneflower from one of her planters (I think it will go in the front flowerbed, next to the one on the far right that's all alone currently), and a fern if I want it. And some mint and marjoram. Oh yeah, and a hellebore. Possibly some campanula (bellflower) and wild geranium (?) I think.  I am loving it! She is so gracious about it, too. She compliments my flowerbed, and says I can just come dig up what I want of these things she has shown me.

And she knows the names of lots of the weeds/plants I've been trying to identify lately.

Awesome!

Flower Arrangements

Our latest trip to the flower farm (about 2 weeks ago) produced several tulips, blue bachelor buttons, a few poppies, purple lunaria, and some yellow daisies.

 Not the prettiest form, but I like the colors together and the vase.

 All in all, a cheerful little arrangement. The pink tulip I cut from our flower bed to complement the pink poppy.

This one was definitely a hodgepodge--all the ones with really short stems.

I had a little helper with the arrangements. :)

 My favorite.

I really like the color combination.

The yellow daisies throughout give it some uniformity, as do the tall stalks of purple lunaria.

Then the lighter purplish-blue bachelor buttons add interest without distracting. 

After I was done with this one and stepped back, I realized that it needed to be in a much smaller vase.

I always tend too big on that account, and it was painfully obvious this time. They looked stuffed in, instead of having a little stem showing between the top of the vase and the bouquet.

I'll have to keep that in mind for next time and go with one smaller than I think I need.

Maybe I can go back to the flower farm when Brenda gets here next month. I'll bet she would love it!

And perhaps check out some books on flower arranging in the meantime. :)