Guest Author - Kimberly Cassandra Cannon

Considering my passion for flowers, if I could afford to have an in-house florist shop, I would. Every room would be displayed with beauty and scent. There is nothing like a bouquet of flowers. It touches the senses and the soul alike. Between its aroma and splendor, one can define a bunch of flowers to the equivalent of temporary happiness and joy.

However, flowers from the florist shop or a nearby grocery store can become rather expensive, if bought in the quantity it takes to make a vase a focal point and when purchased regularly but there is a remedy for that. Read on.

Establish your own

Your own cut-flower garden that is and begin with bulbs. All you need is an area of dirt in your yard that is inconspicuous in a very sunny area. Although the premise for this article is the focus on bulb flowers for a cut garden, be sure to add some annuals (flowers that last an entire season for one year) and some perennials (plants that come back yearly) as a background. This will provide sustenance in the garden.

I’ll say it again and again, bulb gardening has so many possibilities for the imaginative mind. Never mind landscape design, just go with whatever comes to mind in creating an outdoor space just for bulbs. From the container garden to a garden full of bulbs to eat, (check out my article on bulbs to eat), any garden and every garden should display some bulbs.

There is a bulb in a favorite color or enticing scent that you will want to plant in your garden and it can later be cut for inside floral bouquets. Let me discuss a few of them:

snowdrops, grape-hyacinths, glory-of-the-snow and squills are a few early birds.

Nothing is like a vase of daffodils and narcissuses collected from their naturalized path of earth and who could forget tulips. Well, I think I did inadvertently not mention these types above, but recognize that they are some of the most recognizable cut garden bulbs.

Also consider the summer cut flowering bulbs:

anemones, cannas, montbretias, lilies, gladioluses, calla lilies and the queen, dahlia. I just planted some montbretias and can hardly wait to fill my kitchen vase with their exquisiteness.

If scent is what you’d prefer, include for spring, the hyacinth, jonquils and tulips for fragrance and for summer, the lilium auratum (Gold-banded lily), lilium longiflorum (Easter lily), lilium cadidum (Madonna lily) and acidanthera, another intoxicating beauty with aroma, to make use of in your garden. Now that you have some idea of what selections to choose from, here’s how to set up your cut garden.

Setting up the cut garden

Consider a section in a vegetable garden (since harvesting occurs here most often and bare space is expected) or a separate bed in a less noticeable place would be good. Be sure to amend the soil with organic matter (compost, peat moss, grass clippings that have not been fertilized, manure) to create good drainage. Note: most bulbs required well-drained soil.

Be sure to work in the organic matter tilling the area to a depth of 8-10”. Should you have sandy soil, organic matter will help hold moisture and with clay soil, will break down and provide nutrients as it improves the texture of the soil. http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art54029.asp

Lay them properly, with the head on top and cover with remaining soil. Please don’t forget to water thoroughly. Be prepared to water on a consistent schedule with at least 1 inch of water every 5-7 days in temperatures above 75 degrees. Any less than that, as far as the temperature, water beds every 7-10 days and wait for the show to begin as you sharpen those pruners.

Here are a few pointers to remember in retrieving the flowers:

Be sure to water the day before garden flowers are picked;
Cut flower bulbs when bud is exposed;
Keep a small part (1/3) of the foliage intact with the flower to keep disease away and flower vigorous; and,
Lastly, plant your bulbs as soon as you receive shipment or when purchasing them from the nursery. Should you not be able to plant immediately, remove the bulbs from their packing bags and put them in a cool, dark, dry but well-ventilated area until you can plant them. Also plant according to your zone.

Well this is all that is necessary to create your own florist shop within the boundaries of your CASA. Enjoy!