On The Garden Path

Image Gallery THE BEAUTY OF FLOWERS: The soft-lilac petals of this dahlia (top) in the author's garden in Perryville, Mo., contrast brilliantly with the orange center. Pale-yellow dahlias (above), like these at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis, make a lovely arrangement when picked and placed in a simple vase.

What could be nicer than fresh-cut flowers for the house? A bouquet of flowers enlivens a room and brings the garden inside. However, while many gardeners enjoy cutting and arranging flowers for the house, they hate to take blossoms away from their gardens. They're afraid to pick the flowers, because they're afraid there won't be any left in the garden.

The best solution to this problem is to plant flowers especially for cutting. Set aside a garden area, preferably one that's not in constant view, in which to grow blossoms for picking and bringing inside the house. Here, you will plant flowers chosen for their performance in the vase.

Planning your garden

A cutting garden doesn't have to be large. A 10-foot by 10-foot area planted with heavily blooming annuals will provide enough flower blossoms to assemble many bouquets. You might want to set aside a small area near your vegetable garden for growing cut flowers. If you don't have room for a separate cutting garden, simply plant a row or two of flowers for cutting amid your vegetables.

Most flowers suitable for cutting prefer full sun, so choose a sunny, well-drained area. Prepare the soil as you would any new garden bed, adding compost to improve the soil's nutrient levels. Eliminate all peren­­nial weeds and try to keep annual weeds to a minimum. If you have problems with animals that roam the neighborhood, a fence might be necessary. 

Although you won't be overly concerned with the appearance of the cutting garden, it's best to try to plant it in an orderly manner. For example, even if you're into a relaxed style of planting in the rest of your garden, it's a good idea to plant the cutting garden in rows. This will make weeding much easier, and you won't forget where the dahlias­ are supposed to come up. 

Choosing flowers

Generally, flowers with thicker petal textures last better in a vase than those with more delicate petals. However, while florists and commercial growers have to limit themselves to cut flowers that stand up to rough handling and extended transport times, home gardeners can plant whatever pleases their individual tastes.

The best flowers for home cutting gardens bear many blossoms that last well when cut on fairly long stems. Celosias, dahlias, gladiolus, sunflowers and zinnias are a few that have performed excellently in my garden.

Celosias (Celosia argentea varieties) are commonly known as cockscombs. There are two groups, some with brain-shaped flowerheads and others with plumes of blossom. Gold and red flowers are the most common. Celosias are easy to grow from seed, but you'll also find them as plugs at most garden centers.

Dahlias (Dahlia varieties) and gladioli (Gladiolus x hortulanus varieties) bear marvelous flowers for cutting and using indoors. Both are tender bulbs and should be planted outside only after the ground has begun to warm up in the spring.