GARDENING - AUGUST.qxp_Layout 2 18/07/2022 14:34 Page 1
A cut above Elly West explains the exponential benefits to dedicating part of your garden to growing cut flowers...
T
here aren’t many people who don’t enjoy a vase of fresh flowers providing colour, fragrance and a slice of summer. One of the many joys of this time of year is the opportunity to pick armfuls of flowers to brighten up the home. These ‘free’ pickings are so much more satisfying than choosing a bunch of often imported, over-priced blooms wrapped in cellophane from the supermarket. A visit to any allotment site is proof in point. Alongside the rows of beans and potatoes, there will be multitudes of blowsy dahlias, sunflowers, sweet peas and more, grown for cutting. The concept of growing flowers amongst the vegetables is nothing new. Traditional cottage gardens from the 18th century onwards used every inch of space to grow flowers, food crops, fruits and herbs, all jostling for space in a happy medley of colour. The emphasis was on practicality and space was at a premium in terms of providing sustenance to support a family. These were essentially gardens of self-sufficiency for the rural poor. But it’s a romantic ideal that persists today. Many of my clients asking for a new garden design aspire to the cottage garden, albeit a modern version – an informal, apparently artless style, with traditional planting that includes roses, lavender, foxgloves and 70 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE
|
AUGUST 2022
|
No 213
peonies. Borders can include space for cutting material, but I’ve also found more and more clients are asking for areas that can specifically be used to grow flowers for cutting, often in raised beds or tucked away with the produce, and I’m always happy to oblige. If you have the space, there are big advantages to dedicating part of your garden just to growing cut flowers. You’ll avoid depleting your flower beds, and you don’t need to think too hard about what will go well with what in terms of shapes, colours and sizes. Treat your flower patch like you would a vegetable plot and plant or sow in rows or blocks. Taller plants will need support, and if you’re not worried about the appearance of the bed, simple canes and string will probably suffice to stop plants flopping. Choose a spot that gets plenty of sun, and improve the soil if necessary so that it’s fertile and weed free. Organic compost or well-rotted horse manure will improve the structure and help to retain moisture. Raised beds are a good option as you can fill them with quality topsoil improved with organic matter, and they’re easy to maintain. When choosing plants to grow, there aren’t really any limits. Evergreen shrubs and those grown for their interesting stems, such as corkscrew hazel and colourful dogwood, will provide invaluable pickings in winter and early spring. Pittosporum and Eucalyptus
