FLOWER POWER PLAN A CUTTING GARDEN AND YOU CAN GROW YOUR OWN BOUQUETS.Byline: Linda Hanson Knight Ridder Newspapers It's all Martha's fault. There Martha Stewart is in her magazine, strolling through dew-kissed gardens, snipping flowers that she artfully arranges in lush bouquets. ``It's part of an interior decorating thing,'' says Richard Blaisdell, a salesman at Sperling Nursery in Calabasas. ``There's nothing better than going to a market and, say, getting a bunch of gladiolus gladiolus: see iris. gladiolus Any of about 300 species of flowering plants of the genus Gladiolus, in the iris family, native to Europe, Africa, and the Mediterranean and widely cultivated for cut flowers. and putting them in a vase.'' We're no Martha, but we know that some budding cut-flower gardeners are out there. After talking to a few gardeners and consulting some books about cut-flower gardens, we're ready to give it a try. Or at least to hand out a few tips. We learned that it's important to carefully select your garden's location. Many of the flowers that are good for cutting like sunlight, so find a site that gets at least six hours of sun a day. Moist, well-drained soil usually works best. You can either have a garden devoted to flowers that you plan to cut for bouquets - that's called a production garden - or you can cut flowers here and there in a display garden. If it's a production garden - like the ones used by vendors who supply bouquets for farmers markets - you might want to put it in an out-of-the- way place so you don't have to worry about how it looks as you cut flowers. Just don't put it so far out of the way that you forget about it and the weeds take over. It helps to plan the garden bed so that it's easy to get to all the flowers. That makes it easier to care for and harvest the blooms. Some experts suggest devoting a 5-foot row or about 5 square feet to each kind of flower you plan to use. Think vegetable garden configuration. ``If you have a tall zinnia zinnia, any species of the genus Zinnia of the family Asteraceae (aster family), native chiefly to Mexico, though some range as far north as Colorado and as far south as Guatemala. The common zinnia of gardens (Z. , for instance, put another one six to eight inches away. Group four or five of them together,'' Blaisdell suggests. ``As they grow taller, they'll fill in.'' You can use annuals, perennials, bulbs and even herbs and ornamental grasses. If you plant flowers with different blooming times, you'll have flowers throughout the summer. Annuals have the advantage in that many bloom all summer long if you deadhead dead·head Informal n. 1. A person who uses a free ticket for admittance, accommodation, or entertainment. 2. A vehicle, such as an aircraft, that transports no passengers or freight during a trip. 3. them - remove faded blossoms - so they don't produce seeds. If you're planting seeds - or corms such as gladiolus - you can stagger bloom times by planting the same variety a couple of weeks apart. Keep your full-sun plants together. When choosing which plants to include in your garden, consider where you plan on using them when you cut them. That can help guide your choice in colors and varieties. ``If you're thinking about things for your house, start with things you like,'' says Brian Sullivan, horticulture specialist for Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge. ``Consider certain colors. Taller flowers work better for vases than flowers used for ground cover.'' Do you want them to go with the colors in your living room? Do you want a bright splash of color for your kitchen table? Do you want flowers with a nice fragrance for your bedroom? What sorts of shapes, sizes and textures do you plan to use in cut-flower arrangements? Do you like the spike shapes of delphinium delphinium: see larkspur. , gladiolus, liatris and salvia salvia: see sage. salvia Any of about 700 species of herbaceous and woody plants that make up the genus Salvia, in the mint family. Some members (e.g., sage) are important as sources of flavouring. ? How about the fluffy plumes of astilbe or fountain grass? The foothill areas of California are especially fertile for countless varieties of roses, as well as zinnias, cosmos, lisianthus, hydrangeas and chrysanthemums. In choosing flowers to plant, select varieties with strong stems that aren't too short. When buying plants, look for ones with good, green color that are just beginning to set buds. A cutting garden can also be started through seeds, says Sullivan. If a flower's fragrance is important to you, sniff the flowers that are in bloom as you stroll through the greenhouse. There are many flowers with lovely fragrances, such as stock, heliotrope heliotrope (hē`lēətrōp') [Gr.,=sun-turning] or turnsole, name for any plant that turns to face the sun, especially members of the genus Heliotropium of the family Boraginaceae. and Oriental lilies. But some flowers - like marigolds and daisies - have a strong smell that might not pass your sniff test. No matter how pretty they are, you might not want a bouquet of them sitting on your kitchen table. And while we're in the midst Adv. 1. in the midst - the middle or central part or point; "in the midst of the forest"; "could he walk out in the midst of his piece?" midmost of blooming season, Sullivan recommends that you wait until the weather cools down before planting. Now is the time to be maintaining an existing cut-flower garden. With a cutting garden, you'll save yourself a trip to the grocery story and appreciate your blooms more. ``When people see how beautifully they can be grown, they want them,'' added Descanso's Sullivan. ``A lot of people are kind of afraid of these kinds of flowers, thinking they can't have them at home. Or they've tried and failed. Once they see it in action, they get excited about it.'' Daily News Staff Writer Evan Henerson contributed to this story. LOVIN' BLOOMS Here are some suggested flowers for a cut-flower garden: larkspur zinnia tithonia (Mexican sunflower) celosia snapdragon snapdragon: see figwort. tall ageratum ageratum (ăj'ərā`təm, əjĕr`ə–) [Gr.,=unaging], any plant of the genus Ageratum, tropical American annuals of the family Asteraceae (aster family). The commonly cultivated species is the Mexican A. cosmos nigella nigella (nī·jelˑ· (love in a mist) gaillardia gaillardia (gālär`dēə), any plant of the genus Gaillardia of the Asteaceae family (aster family), including annual, biennial, and perennial herbs with showy heads of red and/or yellow ray flowers and usually purple disk cleome (spider flower) marigolds salvia dianthus Dianthus: see pink. gloriosa daisy sunflowers shasta daisy monarda (beebalm) nicotiana nicotiana (nĭkō'shēā`nə), any plant of the genus Nicotiana of the family Solanaceae (nightshade family). Most species are herbs native to tropical America, although there are a few North American species and several (flowering tobacco) New England aster liatris nasturtium nasturtium (năstûr`shəm), any plant of the genus Tropaeolum, tropical American herbs (usually climbing) native to mountainous areas of South and Central America. red Oriental poppy iris peony peony (pē`ənē), any plant of the genus Paeonia of the family Ranunculaceae (buttercup family, although placed in the order Dilleniales as a separate family, the Paeoniaceae, by many modern botanists), mostly Eurasian species gladiolus dahlia dahlia (däl`yə, dăl`–) [for Anders Dahl, 1751–89, Swedish botanist and pupil of Linnaeus], any plant of the genus Dahlia grape hyacinth tulip delphinium phlox phlox, common name for plants of the genus Phlox and for members of the Polemoniaceae, a family of herbs (and some shrubs and vines) found chiefly in the W United States. calendula calendula (kəlĕn`jələ), any species of the genus Calendula, Old World plants of the family Asteraceae (aster family). The common calendula (C. lavatera stock Oriental lily lisianthus chrysanthemum chrysanthemum (krĭsăn`thəməm), name for a large number of annual or perennial herbs of the genus Chrysanthemum of the family Asteraceae (aster family), some cultivated in Asia for at least 2,000 years. delphinium scabiosa scabiosa: see teasel. aster canna canna [Lat.,=cane], any plant of the genus Canna, tropical and subtropical perennials, grown in temperate regions in parks and gardens for the large foliage and spikelike, usually red or yellow blossoms. hydrangea hydrangea (hīdrān`jə): see saxifrage. hydrangea Any of approximately 23 species of erect or climbing woody shrubs that make up the genus Hydrangea (family Hydrangeaceae). - Knight Ridder Newspapers CUTTING REMARKS The best time to cut flowers is in the morning, before the dew has evaporated. The next-best time is early evening. You risk wilting if you cut them during the heat of midday. With many flowers, it's best to cut them before the buds are fully open. They will continue to open indoors. If the plant has a cluster of flowers - like lilacs - cut it before all the florets are open. Some flowers - like asters, marigolds, zinnias and mums - have to be fully open when you cut them or they won't last long. Even after you cut flowers, they still are growing. That's why you need to immediately put them in water. Bring a bucket of water with you to stand the cut flowers in right away. Warm water is easier for them to absorb than cold or hot water. Use a sharp pair of scissors scissors Cutting instrument or tool consisting of a pair of opposed metal blades that meet and cut when the handles at their ends are brought together. Modern scissors are of two types: the more usual pivoted blades have a rivet or screw connection between the cutting ends , pruning shears or knife. Dull blades crush the capillaries that carry water in the flower stems so they can't absorb water very well. If you cut flowers with the longest possible stems, it gives you more options when you arrange them. And if possible, make the cut above a dormant bud - called a node - because that will encourage more flowers to bloom. After you cut your flowers, take a little time to condition them so they will continue to get adequate moisture. Conditioning pays off in longer- lasting blooms. Many flowers will last longer if you recut their stems under water, which better enables them to take up the water they need. If you make a slanted cut on the stem, then the stem still can absorb water when it rests on the container's bottom. Among the flowers that benefit from having their stems recut under water are snapdragons, dianthus, carnations and sweet peas. Some flowers need special attention in conditioning. For example, for hollow-stem flowers like delphiniums and dahlias, you can turn the flower upside down and fill the stem with cool water, then plug it with a little piece of cotton. If that seems like too much work, you can instead dip the end of the stem in boiling water for about 20 seconds to seal it. That same process of dipping a stem in boiling water for 20 seconds also works with flowers that have a milky sap that oozes from the stem when they are cut. These include hardy mums, daffodils and poppies. For tough-stemmed plants like asters, split the end of the stem before dipping it in boiling water. After you've taken care of the stems, remove the leaves that will be underwater and leave the flowers standing loosely in a tall container of water in a dark place for a few hours or overnight. Lukewarm water is best for most, but some flowers - like dahlias, poppies, daffodils and hydrangeas - prefer cold water. Adding a floral preservative also can keep your flowers fresh longer. After the flowers are conditioned, then comes the fun part. Get out your flower vases, canning jars or other containers and arrange the flowers any way you like. However you do it, formal or informal, you can't go wrong if the arrangement pleases you - if you can look at your fresh-cut flowers and declare ``it's a good thing.' - Knight Ridder Newspapers CAPTION(S): 6 photos, box Photo: (1 -- cover -- color) A cut above Grow your own flowers for fabulous bouquets anytime (2 -- color) no caption (red flowers) (3 -- color) Richard Blaisdell, a salesman at Sperling Nursery in Calabasas, arranges fresh-cut flowers. (4 -- 5 -- color) Theresa Carson, a volunteer at Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge, cuts hydrangeas for a flower arrangement such as the one at right. The California foothill areas are also excellent for growing roses. (6 -- color) cosmos (7 -- color) marigolds (8 -- color) sunflowers (9 -- color) iris (10 -- color) tulip (11 -- color) Oriental lily (12 -- color) hydrangea (13) Sperling Nursery's Richard Blaisdell, who crafted this arrangement, sees fresh-cut flowers as an extension of interior decorating. John McCoy/Staff Photographer Box: (1) Lovin' Blooms (see text) (2) Cutting Remarks (see text) |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion