Grow Your Own Cut Flower Garden | Gardener's Path

A friend of mine, Mary, loves gardening and cut flowers. It only makes sense that she has her own cut flower garden, which has actually inspired me.

Mary not only keeps fresh flowers in her own home; but she also makes up gorgeous bouquets to take to the elderly shut-ins, who live in her neighborhood.

Following Mary’s lead, I have started planting more flowers to use in bouquets. You can do the same.

There is nothing wrong with choosing flowers to grow in your garden that may typically be found in most florist shops.

There is a reason that these flowers are used so frequently — they have gorgeous blooms, with some even being scented.

One of my favorite cut flowers is the bearded iris. Irises are extremely easy to grow and actually prefer adverse conditions and neglect.

Do not bury the rhizomes in the ground, or you will have beautiful foliage but no blooms.

Place the rhizomes on top of the ground with just the roots coming from the bottom covered with dirt. Do not mulch. Plant in full sun and forget about them.

Another great flower for sensational blooms is the gladiola. You can find these stately flowers in a wide variety of colors from pure white to a deep red washed in black.

There is even a green variety available. The bulbs can be planted any time during the year. If planted in the fall, you will have blooms earlier in the spring.

When planting in the spring, stagger by planting some bulbs every two weeks. This will give you a continuous flush of blooms throughout the summer.

Most gardening books will tell you that gladioli should be lifted every fall. I live in a Zone 6 area and have never lifted my gladioli (to be perfectly honest, I have too many and lifting them