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!