How to design your cutting garden

If you love having bouquets of fresh flowers in your home, office or to give to friends and family, a cutting garden is for you. Everything a bouquet lover needs for year-round arrangements can be grown in your own cutting garden. Cutting gardens are a great way to enjoy your flowers in the home as well as outdoors – you can have your flowers and pick them, too!

Gardening trends: Advice and tips on designing a cutting garden

Since your cutting garden is basically a production garden and isn’t really intended for display, you can design it to be any size and shape you want. You can fill this area with flowers and foliage that you like and not worry about if the plants or the colors look good together. Your cutting garden is a great place to experiment with new plants and colors that you’ve been meaning to try. When choosing a location remember that most cutting garden plants will prefer full sun. You will also need plenty of room to move around among the plants in order to plant, fertilize, harvest, water and deadhead spent blooms.

Start your cutting garden just like you would any other garden. Pick a sunny, well-drained site and improve the soil with plenty of compost, peat moss, or chopped leaves before you plant anything.

Think about the basic plants you want to have and how you’ll use them in arrangements. Trees or shrubs yield great material for bouquets. Trees with good fall color, shrubs with berries and evergreen plants that supply fragrant boughs work well for fall and winter arrangements. Flowering shrubs are mainstays for the spring cutting garden.

Now that you have the backbones of your garden, fill in with flowers, grasses and foliage of all kinds – annuals, biennials, perennials, bulbs small shrubs and roses.

During spring and summer, it’s easy to have plenty of cutting choices but fall and winter takes a little more planning. For a succession of bloom throughout the growing season in your area, choose plants that blossom in different seasons. For the highest bloom production, plant annuals with early season, mid-season and late season bloomers grouped together. Plant taller plants toward the back of your garden so they won’t shade out shorter varieties of other plants. Don’t forget to add plant supports for those tall stems and heavy flowers. Supports will help keep them standing tall and straight and looking gorgeous in your bouquets.

Picking blossoms regularly is the best way to keep plants blooming throughout the season. Removing faded blossoms (deadheading) also keeps plants from forming seeds, which slows down flowering. While you’re in the garden harvesting and deadheading it is a great time to check for insects and pests that might be attacking your plants and take appropriate action.

When a plant’s main blooming season begins to wind down and it stops flowering, pull them, cultivate the bed, and replant with new seedlings. Pansies are early summer bloomers but they won’t bloom once the days get too hot. You can then replace them with marigolds or zinnias.

When harvesting your blooms, keep in mind that every flower has the perfect stage at which it should be harvested to insure the longest vase life. For beautiful arrangements that last a long time in the vase, cut your flowers during morning or evening hours when it’s cooler.

Once cut, strip off the lower leaves on the stems, so the leaves don’t sit in water. It’s best to re-cut the stems under water to make sure they absorb water easily after harvest. This can be done by keeping a small bowl of water nearby when preparing the flowers and snipping off about a quarter inch of the stem under the water in the bowl. To condition your flowers and even further increase the vase life, plunge the stems into a fifty-fifty solution of lemon-lime soda and water with one or two drops of bleach to the gallon added. You can use this same solution to feed the flowers in the vase, and it will keep well in the refrigerator. Change the water daily in your arrangement and be sure no leaves or flower buds are left underwater in the vase to rot or decay.

Here are some suggestions for plants to go in your cutting garden. Remember, annuals last one year unless they self-seed themselves. Perennials will return year after year to supply you with bouquet material. Biennials will bloom every 2 years, needing a year to grow and a year to bloom. A well thought out cutting garden will contain some of each to keep the blooming season going as long as possible.

ANNUALS: ageratum, Bells of Ireland, calendula, campanula, celosia, cleome, cosmos, dianthus, lisianthis, geranium, gypsophila (baby’s breath), strawflower, nicotiana, pansy, petunia, phlox, scabiosa, snapdragon, statice, sunflower, sweet pea, zinnia

PERENNIALS: yarrow, aster, campanula, carnation, coreopsis. delphinium, dianthus, foxglove, purple coneflower, coral bells, lupine, phlox, poppy, black-eyed Susan, sage, Shasta daisy, veronica

FOLIAGE PLANTS: artemisia, coleus, dusty miller, hosta, lamb’s ears, lavender

TREES AND SHRUBS: juniper, pine, cedar, lilac, mock orange, red twig dogwood, pussy willow, forsythia, magnolia, gardenia, azalea, maple, willow

Now that you’ve planted your cutting garden, do you have more flowers than you can handle? Drop some off at an elderly housing center, hospital, hospice or make arrangements for friends and family. Many of the flowers from the cutting garden will also dry well. Hang them upside down in a cool, dry place to dry. Once dry, spray them with a preservative and use them in dried flower arrangements.

One of the best organic methods of pest control is to encourage beneficial bugs in your garden. Lady beetles, Tachinid flies, lacewings, soldier bugs and other beneficial insects will help keep bad bugs like aphids, slugs and armyworms under control. You may not see your obliging friends unless you spend some time gazing into the flowers or digging in the dirt.

Lady beetles and their larvae feast on aphids, mealy bugs, soft scales and spider mites. The larvae of lady beetles are very distinct spiny creatures.
Tachinid flies or hover flies look like tiny bees or wasps. Although the adult is not predatory, feeding on pollen and nectar from flowers, its larvae are parasites to plant-chewing caterpillars.

Gardening Tips: Beneficial bugs in an organic garden

Although many children will scream and run from ground beetles, these allies that live under mulches and plantings are voracious villains for slugs, cutworms and other soft-bodied pests.

Spined soldier beetles are another predator of soft-bodied caterpillars and grubs. And lacewing larvae have an insatiable appetite for aphids, leafhopper eggs, thrips and more.

How do we encourage the good bugs to spend time in our gardens? With an easy and lovely addition: throw in some flowers among your vegetable plants.

Let me give you a little history about our farm. When we started our CSA business, I had dreams of adding flower subscriptions, along with the vegetable subscriptions. To easily harvest weekly bouquets of flowers, I planted most of the annual flowers in front of our pole shed, away from the main vegetable garden. I had visions of annual and perennial flowers flowing down the hill.

As we improved our vegetable production, I had less time to cut flowers even though I still planted dozens of zinnias, asters and celosias. Then came the year that we ran out of space in the main garden.

There was a little room on the flower hill so the beans moved in front of the pole shed. As we were planting, we noticed that this was the richest, crumbliest soil that we had. What a nice spot for carrots.

Needless to say, my vision of a hill of flowers has changed. Now we put them in among the vegetable gardens. A row is saved here and there, some for perennials and some for annuals. That way while working in the garden, we enjoy the beauty of the flowers and the vegetables enjoy the benefit of the bugs. The business world would call this a “win-win” situation. Once again, nature is way ahead of us.

Some good plant food sources for your allies are daisies, sunflowers, marigolds and yarrow. Be sure to let some of your herbs flower. Sage, thyme, lavender, fennel, mint, and dill not only treat your good bugs they also look nice in the garden or in a bouquet. Even better than that, most herb flowers are edible so you can create a masterpiece salad from your herbs.

Go ahead; bring on the beauty and the bugs by mixing up the flowers and the vegetables.

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Now is the time to start protecting those outside plants and gardens to keep the foliage from folding under this cold snap.

When it comes to protecting your outdoor plants from the winter months there are some definite dos and don’ts to help ensure you save them and continue to see green.

“We’re kind of caught off guard. This freeze is coming really fast. We’re not ready, so we’ve got to prepare quickly,” said Robyn Conley, Green Acres Nursery Supply.

Calling all green thumbs, if you have ferns, tropical, citrus, cacti, vegetable gardens, or even Christmas trees outside, all of your hard work and pricey plants could be in jeopardy of snapping as the valley prepares for some seasonable weather.

Fortunately, Conley has some ways to help keep your plants from feeling frostbitten.

“Do water your plants. It will provide an insulating effect to the roots of the plants.”

Second, cover your plants with a frost cloth. One sheet protects an entire vegetable garden at Green Acres and costs about $12.

“Frost cloth is designed to provide sunlight, airflow and water penetration,” said Conley.

Lastly, spray wilt stop on the plant. An entire bottle costs about $10, and is much cheaper than replacing a $75 mandarin citrus tree.

But not everything has to brave the elements.

“If you have any of these in pots, you can move them under a porch or into the garage for the duration of the freeze,” said Conley.

However, you should avoid bringing them inside because it will take too long for plants to adjust to climate and temperature changes.

Some plants, such as azaleas, violas and pansies, can hold up in the winter elements without any protection.

Experts also advice, avoid pruning your plants until spring if they suffer some weather damage.

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Now is the time to start protecting those outside plants and gardens to keep the foliage from folding under this cold snap.

When it comes to protecting your outdoor plants from the winter months there are some definite dos and don’ts to help ensure you save them and continue to see green.

“We’re kind of caught off guard. This freeze is coming really fast. We’re not ready, so we’ve got to prepare quickly,” said Robyn Conley, Green Acres Nursery Supply.

Calling all green thumbs, if you have ferns, tropical, citrus, cacti, vegetable gardens, or even Christmas trees outside, all of your hard work and pricey plants could be in jeopardy of snapping as the valley prepares for some seasonable weather.

Fortunately, Conley has some ways to help keep your plants from feeling frostbitten.

“Do water your plants. It will provide an insulating effect to the roots of the plants.”

Second, cover your plants with a frost cloth. One sheet protects an entire vegetable garden at Green Acres and costs about $12.

“Frost cloth is designed to provide sunlight, airflow and water penetration,” said Conley.

Lastly, spray wilt stop on the plant. An entire bottle costs about $10, and is much cheaper than replacing a $75 mandarin citrus tree.

But not everything has to brave the elements.

“If you have any of these in pots, you can move them under a porch or into the garage for the duration of the freeze,” said Conley.

However, you should avoid bringing them inside because it will take too long for plants to adjust to climate and temperature changes.

Some plants, such as azaleas, violas and pansies, can hold up in the winter elements without any protection.

Experts also advice, avoid pruning your plants until spring if they suffer some weather damage.

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Now is the time to start protecting those outside plants and gardens to keep the foliage from folding under this cold snap.

When it comes to protecting your outdoor plants from the winter months there are some definite dos and don’ts to help ensure you save them and continue to see green.

“We’re kind of caught off guard. This freeze is coming really fast. We’re not ready, so we’ve got to prepare quickly,” said Robyn Conley, Green Acres Nursery Supply.

Calling all green thumbs, if you have ferns, tropical, citrus, cacti, vegetable gardens, or even Christmas trees outside, all of your hard work and pricey plants could be in jeopardy of snapping as the valley prepares for some seasonable weather.

Fortunately, Conley has some ways to help keep your plants from feeling frostbitten.

“Do water your plants. It will provide an insulating effect to the roots of the plants.”

Second, cover your plants with a frost cloth. One sheet protects an entire vegetable garden at Green Acres and costs about $12.

“Frost cloth is designed to provide sunlight, airflow and water penetration,” said Conley.

Lastly, spray wilt stop on the plant. An entire bottle costs about $10, and is much cheaper than replacing a $75 mandarin citrus tree.

But not everything has to brave the elements.

“If you have any of these in pots, you can move them under a porch or into the garage for the duration of the freeze,” said Conley.

However, you should avoid bringing them inside because it will take too long for plants to adjust to climate and temperature changes.

Some plants, such as azaleas, violas and pansies, can hold up in the winter elements without any protection.

Experts also advice, avoid pruning your plants until spring if they suffer some weather damage.

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Now is the time to start protecting those outside plants and gardens to keep the foliage from folding under this cold snap.

When it comes to protecting your outdoor plants from the winter months there are some definite dos and don’ts to help ensure you save them and continue to see green.

“We’re kind of caught off guard. This freeze is coming really fast. We’re not ready, so we’ve got to prepare quickly,” said Robyn Conley, Green Acres Nursery Supply.

Calling all green thumbs, if you have ferns, tropical, citrus, cacti, vegetable gardens, or even Christmas trees outside, all of your hard work and pricey plants could be in jeopardy of snapping as the valley prepares for some seasonable weather.

Fortunately, Conley has some ways to help keep your plants from feeling frostbitten.

“Do water your plants. It will provide an insulating effect to the roots of the plants.”

Second, cover your plants with a frost cloth. One sheet protects an entire vegetable garden at Green Acres and costs about $12.

“Frost cloth is designed to provide sunlight, airflow and water penetration,” said Conley.

Lastly, spray wilt stop on the plant. An entire bottle costs about $10, and is much cheaper than replacing a $75 mandarin citrus tree.

But not everything has to brave the elements.

“If you have any of these in pots, you can move them under a porch or into the garage for the duration of the freeze,” said Conley.

However, you should avoid bringing them inside because it will take too long for plants to adjust to climate and temperature changes.

Some plants, such as azaleas, violas and pansies, can hold up in the winter elements without any protection.

Experts also advice, avoid pruning your plants until spring if they suffer some weather damage.

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Now is the time to start protecting those outside plants and gardens to keep the foliage from folding under this cold snap.

When it comes to protecting your outdoor plants from the winter months there are some definite dos and don’ts to help ensure you save them and continue to see green.

“We’re kind of caught off guard. This freeze is coming really fast. We’re not ready, so we’ve got to prepare quickly,” said Robyn Conley, Green Acres Nursery Supply.

Calling all green thumbs, if you have ferns, tropical, citrus, cacti, vegetable gardens, or even Christmas trees outside, all of your hard work and pricey plants could be in jeopardy of snapping as the valley prepares for some seasonable weather.

Fortunately, Conley has some ways to help keep your plants from feeling frostbitten.

“Do water your plants. It will provide an insulating effect to the roots of the plants.”

Second, cover your plants with a frost cloth. One sheet protects an entire vegetable garden at Green Acres and costs about $12.

“Frost cloth is designed to provide sunlight, airflow and water penetration,” said Conley.

Lastly, spray wilt stop on the plant. An entire bottle costs about $10, and is much cheaper than replacing a $75 mandarin citrus tree.

But not everything has to brave the elements.

“If you have any of these in pots, you can move them under a porch or into the garage for the duration of the freeze,” said Conley.

However, you should avoid bringing them inside because it will take too long for plants to adjust to climate and temperature changes.

Some plants, such as azaleas, violas and pansies, can hold up in the winter elements without any protection.

Experts also advice, avoid pruning your plants until spring if they suffer some weather damage.

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Now is the time to start protecting those outside plants and gardens to keep the foliage from folding under this cold snap.

When it comes to protecting your outdoor plants from the winter months there are some definite dos and don’ts to help ensure you save them and continue to see green.

“We’re kind of caught off guard. This freeze is coming really fast. We’re not ready, so we’ve got to prepare quickly,” said Robyn Conley, Green Acres Nursery Supply.

Calling all green thumbs, if you have ferns, tropical, citrus, cacti, vegetable gardens, or even Christmas trees outside, all of your hard work and pricey plants could be in jeopardy of snapping as the valley prepares for some seasonable weather.

Fortunately, Conley has some ways to help keep your plants from feeling frostbitten.

“Do water your plants. It will provide an insulating effect to the roots of the plants.”

Second, cover your plants with a frost cloth. One sheet protects an entire vegetable garden at Green Acres and costs about $12.

“Frost cloth is designed to provide sunlight, airflow and water penetration,” said Conley.

Lastly, spray wilt stop on the plant. An entire bottle costs about $10, and is much cheaper than replacing a $75 mandarin citrus tree.

But not everything has to brave the elements.

“If you have any of these in pots, you can move them under a porch or into the garage for the duration of the freeze,” said Conley.

However, you should avoid bringing them inside because it will take too long for plants to adjust to climate and temperature changes.

Some plants, such as azaleas, violas and pansies, can hold up in the winter elements without any protection.

Experts also advice, avoid pruning your plants until spring if they suffer some weather damage.

Here you will find necessary information on growing, storing, forcing, and caring for hyacinth flower bulbs, pests, and soil preparation.
The hyacinth, otherwise known as Hyacinthus orientalis, is one of the most aromatic flowers found in a spring garden. Best suited for USDA hardiness zones 3 –7, its sweet ambrosial scent is as distinct as it is potent. Hyacinths are a wonderful selection that will add brilliant color as well as fragrance to your spring beds, container gardens, and borders. Hyacinths can also be grown indoors.

Growing hyacinth bulbs indoors is easy and rewarding. With proper care and a few simple steps, you will be able to fool Mother Nature and enjoy these beautiful flowers any season of the year.

Garden tips: How to care for a hyacinth flower bulb

First you need to choose firm healthy looking bulbs, which are free of blemishes and mold. Then you will need to find an attractive glass container with a small opening and a wide base. There are special containers called “forcing jars” especially for forcing bulbs indoors. They are available at most garden centers and florist shops. Add water to your jar so it is near the top, but does not touch the bulb. It is important to keep it out of the water to avoid rot. The roots will begin to develop and grow as they seek moisture. Be sure to replace the water as it evaporates. Soon you will see green spikes emerging from your bulb. When the spikes are between two and three inches tall, and the roots are well developed, move the container to a location with filtered light and moderate temperatures. After a few days, your jars should be placed in a window where it will receive indirect but bright light. Your hyacinth will lean towards the light, so be sure to rotate the container to keep the stem straight. Your indoor hyacinth will last longer if the temperature is kept at a moderate sixty to sixty-five degrees F.

After your indoor hyacinth bulbs have bloomed, you can save them to plant outdoors in the fall, however, the next blooms will not be as large as the first. Be sure to allow all of the foliage to turn brown and dry before storing. This will allow the nutrients to go back into the bulb for the next season.

Before planting your bulbs outdoors in the fall, prepare the soil in an area that drains well and receives full sun. Soil that retains too much water will cause your bulbs to rot, and they will be more likely to acquire disease.

In the cooler climates of the north, plant your hyacinth bulbs at an approximate depth of four inches. In the warmer southern climate, plant them at a depth of six inches. They should be planted approximately nine inches apart.

During warmer weather, pests such as thrips and aphids can damage blooms. If you notice pests attacking your hyacinths, insecticidal soap can be used to control them. It is safe and usually effective.

Hyacinths will produce blooms for only about four years. Although the hyacinth bulb does not have a long life span, their showy fragrant blooms made a gorgeous addition to any spring garden or sunny windowsill.

Tips and how to for growing hot peppers in your own home food garden.

Peppers, one of the most popular vegetables grown in home gardens, are available in an astonishing variety of colors, shapes, and heat levels. Peppers are not difficult to grow, but most gardeners find that the hotter the pepper, the warmer the weather they need to produce their best.

Choose a variety of hot pepper that suits your taste, and according to the purpose you have in mind. Some “hot” peppers are actually quite mild, but others are so fiery that you need gloves just to harvest them. The heat in peppers comes from a chemical called capsaicin, and is measured in Scoville Units. Seed catalogs often rank their varieties by Scovilles, so you’ll know how hot the peppers (also called “pods”) will be. Much of the capsaicin is concentrated in the seeds, so if you’re using the peppers in a recipe you can choose to either include or discard the seeds to control the level of heat in the finished dish.

Home food garden tips: A guide to growing hot peppers

Peppers are rarely direct-seeded into the garden soil; most growers plant them in seed flats or other seed starting containers early in the spring. If you start your own, make sure they’re in a warm spot with lots of sun or bright grow lights. Peppers can be difficult to germinate; applying bottom heat helps. An ideal spot for the seed flats is the top of the refrigerator – but move the flat as soon as the seeds sprout so it can get plenty of light. Exposing the seedlings to a light breeze or brushing your hand over them several times a day will help them to grow stocky stems.
If you choose to purchase seedlings from a grower, select stocky, bushy plants with a deep emerald green color. Avoid plants with yellow, mottled, or black speckled leaves, as these are signs of disease. If your seedlings have blooms or peppers already developing, you should remove them. This will give your pepper plants a bit more energy for root development before more pods are produced, resulting in a higher yield later on.

Plant your peppers in a location that has fertiled, well-drained soil and gets full sun for at least eight hours a day. They like plenty of nutrients in the soil, so be sure to amend it with plenty of compost or fertilizer. Peppers are not cold-hardy, so you’ll need to wait until you’re certain there will be no frosty nights. The season can be extended somewhat by using plant shelters, but since warm soil is needed too, gardeners in northern climates may need to apply black plastic or landscape cloth for additional heating.

Pests that may nibble on your pepper plants include aphids, flea beetles, and hornworms. If they invade, you may want to apply a spray containing pyrethrins. Alternatively, let them defend each other – make or purchase a hot pepper spray. This hot stuff will defend your peppers, and other garden plants as well, from most pests from bugs to hungry bunnies. This is a great reason to grow hot peppers, even if you don’t want to eat them!

Your peppers are also susceptible to diseases such as tobacco mosaic virus, blossom end rot, verticillium wilt, anthracnose, and bacterial spot. To prevent these diseases from affecting your garden, take the following precautions:

•  If you smoke, wash hands before handling seedlings.
•  Only purchase seedlings from reputable sources, or grow your own.
•  Don’t plant peppers near related plants, such as tomatoes, potatoes, or eggplant.
•  Water thoroughly, regularly, and make sure it’s early enough that the plants have time to dry out before dusk.
•  Space plants properly to allow for good air circulation.
•  Destroy plants that show signs of disease immediately.

Most pepper varieties can be harvested either green or later, when they change their color – whether it’s red, yellow, or even purple. It may be difficult to wait for them to ripen and mature, but ripe peppers have a more complex, full-bodied flavor and are more attractive in dishes.

Once you start growing this versatile, beautiful plant, you’ll want to experiment with every variety there is and with the many ways to serve them. Chances are you’ll run out of garden space long before you run out of hot peppers to grow there.