| If you love flowers and enjoy having them in your | | | | growing season. Always contact a specialist at your |
| home but can't afford buying cut flowers, flower | | | | garden supply store or nursery for answers to |
| gardening is for you. Too much work? Don't have | | | | questions about composting and fertilizing the soil. |
| time? Hate the weeding, watering and fertilizing? Well, | | | | Now the decision as to what to plant. Simple, plant |
| take heart, cutting gardens are easy to establish and | | | | the flowers you like and enjoy. Don't settle on |
| fun to care for. Think of all that beauty around you | | | | annuals alone. Plant perennials, too. Bulbs and some |
| every time you set foot into that fantastic garden. | | | | foliage plants must also be considered. ear. |
| Cutting gardens can be traced back to the sixteenth | | | | Your flower garden will require watering. Don't |
| century. If you don't have space for a full sized | | | | sprinkle the surface of the soil. Sprinkling only |
| cutting garden, grow a perennial or annual flower | | | | penetrates the soil and inch or two and will |
| border around you vegetable garden or lawn. | | | | encourage shallow root systems on your plants. |
| There is nothing magic or complicated about planting | | | | Plants should be watered weekly down to 5 to 6 |
| a cutting garden. The same steps that apply to a | | | | inches to assure deep root systems and plenty of |
| flower garden apply to a vegetable garden. They're | | | | moisture. |
| simple:a) Locationb) Designc) What to plantd) Soil | | | | You may want to consider a drip irrigation system. |
| selection and preparatione) Maintenance | | | | Drip irrigation systems assure an optimum supply of |
| A flower bed for a cutting garden should be placed in | | | | water is available. Most importantly, a drip irrigation |
| a spot that gets plenty of sunshine. Find an out of | | | | system will allow for air to be available constantly. |
| the way spot where you will be free to work | | | | Heavy watering saturates the soil and causes |
| without worrying about getting in the way of other | | | | extreme fluctuations in moisture and aeration. Drip |
| plants. After all, this garden is for producing flowers | | | | irrigation systems are easy to install and relatively |
| that will be harvested for use in indoor spaces. | | | | inexpensive for a small garden. These systems don't |
| Since this garden is for production, don't worry too | | | | require the amount of time on site a hose watering |
| much about how it looks. Layout depends on how | | | | system does. Also, if you wish you can set them up |
| much space you have. Long rows are the easiest to | | | | with a timing system. |
| plant and maintain. If the space limits you from | | | | Cutting flower gardens have been grown specifically |
| planting in rows consider, planting in square plots or | | | | for making flower arrangements for several centuries. |
| beds. Make sure you layout the beds with space | | | | Growing a cutting flower garden is as simple as |
| around them for maintaining and cutting the flowers. | | | | following a few simple steps: location, design, soil |
| Flower gardens are no different that any other | | | | preparation. If flowers help brighten your life, don't |
| garden. The soil is the primary key to your success. | | | | spend another growing season looking around your |
| The soil should be loose but not fall apart when you | | | | local supermarket or floral shop for some nice |
| squeeze some in your hand. It should not form a solid | | | | flowers to buy to brighten up your home. Grow your |
| ball either. The soil should hold moisture but also allow | | | | own and have whatever you want. It's just a matter |
| the moisture to drain away. | | | | of starting. |
| Once you have tested the soil you can go about | | | | Copyright © Larry Gildea, All Rights Reserved. |
| bringing it up to your specifications by working in | | | | This article may be distributed freely on your website |
| organic material such as compost and peat moss. | | | | and in your ezines, as long as this entire article, |
| Once this is accomplished, work in a slow release | | | | copyright notice, links and the resource box are |
| fertilizer. Apply enough fertilizer to last through the | | | | unchanged. |