Grow Your Own Magazine

hi, now the allotment is up and running I want to turn the 2 beds in my frount garden into beds for cut flowers, i would like to be able cut flowers all through the year for inside.
my problem is that i have NEVER grown flowers before
the frount garden gets sun only in the morning i dont like crysanthinums, I like gypsum iris lillys sun flowers
any ideas anyone?

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Yo an' Bob
Walk lightly on the earth
take only what you need
give all you can
and your produce will be bountifull

You could start with some daffodil bulbs to give you early flowers and see what other ideas you get.

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From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.

Hi Yoanbob, a lot of the things you like prefer full sun so you might not get the best results if your garden is in shade for a lot of the day but I'd give them a go anyway. As Alice suggests you could start off with bulbs now for spring cutting daffodils, tulips etc., then lilies, iris, gladioli, phlox,lupins,delphiniums,dahlias, rudbeckias & asters. You could also sow some hardy annuals now for next year like marigolds,cornflowers etc.

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Into every life a little rain must fall.

Carnations are good for cut flowers as well and don't seem to need much attention plus they come back each year.

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And when you're back stops aching,
And you're hands begin to harden.
You will find yourself a partner,
In the glory of the garden.

Rudyard Kipling.

I quite like cosmos, flower non stop and easy to grow from seed, look nice in arrangements to

Lots of ideas from here with pictures, for you to choose the ones you like.

http://fothergills.co.uk/en/flower-s...flowers-1.aspx

I like Freesia, they're so fragrant.

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Food for Free

Oh, Scabious for non-stop flowering - very attractive to bees too. I'm growing a nearly black variety, gorgeous

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~ What do I think of Western civilisation? I think it would be a very good idea ~ Gandhi

I've got custard lily in my garden, if it grows here it'll grow anywhere! Perennial, clump-forming and multi-headed orange lily flowers in mid-late summer. For shady situations, what about hellebores? New cultivars have upward turning heads but I love the original white ones best. They come out in early spring (or Christmas if you're lucky - hence 'Christmas Rose') and you can snip the flowers off and float them in a bowl of water as a display.

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Dwell simply ~ love richly

I'm developing a cutting garden at the end of the veg patch - last year I transplanted some cuttings of carnations, which are doing well. Also picked up some reasonably priced bog-standard mixed tulip bulbs which gave us a handful of vases last Spring; I'm hoping that since they were planted late they didn't do themselves justice, so more for next year??
I've recently had my order from Jersey plants, which included some Sweet William plugs, which make a lovely show in a vase (was also supposed to get Stocks, but they had run out so sent me primulas and pansies in place - not great cutting flowers!!)
Yesterday I went and bought a whole load more tulip bulbs, and some of these will go in the cutting garden to extend the season.
If you have room for a wigwam or somethign, our sweetpeas were amazing this year. Grown primarily for the wedding as table decs, they did us proud from July (which wasn't bad considering the weather) right up until a fortnight ago. Very good value for money and I'm saving seed like mad now.