Easy flowers for cutting: Plant now for spring and summer bouquets

Sunset, Feb, 2002 by Sharon Cohoon

There are three grocery stores within a 10-minute drive where I can buy flowers anytime I want, and a farmers' market on Fridays that's close enough to walk to. So it's not like I need to grow my own blooms for bouquets. But I wouldn't think of letting a year go by without seeding some long-stemmed annuals in my garden for cutting. Try it for just one season and you'll understand why. The bouquets you make from garden-grown flowers always seem to have more personality, more cottage-garden softness than ones bought from the store. The occasional curving stem or bug-nibbled petal only adds charm. * There are also the advantages of immediacy and abundance. Having a bad day? Walk outside, cut some flowers for your desk, and you're over it. Having a really bad day? Cut enough blooms for every room. While you're at it, snip a bunch for a neighbor or friend--performing an act of generosity always lifts the spirits. Besides, when you grow your own, you can afford to be lavish. The more blooms you cut, the more the plants keep pumping out flowers, instead of setting seeds.

Another benefit of growing your own flowers is variety. No matter how well stocked your supermarket is, there are some great cut flowers you aren't likely to see there--cleome, cosmos, and bishop's lace, for instance. Though they're too fragile to ship, they're a snap to grow. Indulge.

To come up with the list of the best flowers for cutting (see the previous page), we turned to Beth Benjamin, flower expert at Renee's Garden seed company. We asked her which varieties she would plant in a 5- by 12-foot bed--one small enough to fit into today's smaller yards but large enough to provide plenty of flowers from late spring into fall. Familiar summer classics such as cosmos, sunflowers, and zinnias make up the bulk of Benjamin's flower bed; some quick bloomers, plus some interesting fillers, round out her list. Summer flowers constitute most of the cutting garden Benjamin envisioned (see illustration below), but she also included a few early starters like love-in-a-mist and bishop's lace.

The best time to sow these varieties in most of the West is late March. In colder regions, wait until the danger of frost has passed. That gives you time to decide where you want to locate the flower bed, to prepare the soil properly, and to shop for seeds.

A dream garden for bouquet makers

Front row: Purplish blue cerinthe and deep violet love-in-a-mist surround phlox. Second row: Compact white cosmos are flanked by chartreuse bells-of-Ireland backed by white Ammi majus, sometimes called bishop's lace. Third row: Zinnias grow on either side of salvia in blue, rose, and white. Fourth row: Deep red love-lies-bleeding (left) and cherry pink cleome (right) flank cosmos in pink and rose shades. Rear: Sunflowers grow in the back, with strawflowers at far ends.

First to bloom are love-in-a-mist and Ammi majus; they'll be cut and gone before other flowers. As summer annuals decline, pull them out and sow spring-blooming annuals like larkspur (Consolida ajacis) and cornflower (Centaurea cyanus). DESIGN: Beth Benjamin.

Planting and tending a flower bed

Choose a site that gets plenty of sun and protection from wind. To improve soil texture, work compost or other organic material into it; if necessary, correct the soil pH by adding peat moss to diminish excess alkalinity or lime for excess acidity (flowers grow best in sandy loam with a neutral pH). Several weeks before planting, force out weeds: Irrigate the soil, wait for weeds to emerge, then hoe them out; repeat at least once.

Decide how many plants will fit in your space. If you don't have room for the entire 5- by 12-foot bed described at far left, you can adapt the idea to fit your space by using fewer plants. Outline the boundaries for each variety by marking the soil with gypsum (A). Sow seeds according to package instructions. Water soil and keep it moist until seedlings emerge. Thin seedlings as directed on seed packets (B). If rainfall is scant, apply about an inch of water per week. Don't be shy about picking blossoms; it will only spur more production. Clip any faded blooms you missed (C).

How to extend vase life

When you're making a special gift bouquet or dinner party centerpiece, it's worthwhile to follow the rules.

* Cut flowers early in the morning or just after sunset. Avoid cutting during the heat of the day.

* Take a bucket of tepid water with you as you harvest. Place stems in it as you cut.

* Indoors, fill the kitchen sink with cool water and recut each stem under water. Then pull off any foliage or flowers that will be below the water level in the vase.

* Fill a vase with lukewarm water and a commercial floral preservative. Or provide the preservative's essential ingredients--sugar, acidifier, and biocide--with kitchen supplies: Mix one part regular (not diet) lemon-lime soda to three parts water, or stir 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon vinegar, and a crushed aspirin into 24 ounces of water. *

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