Home-grown BLOOMS

Picture stepping out of the house on a summer’s morning, flower basket and florist’s scissors in hand, to be greeted with a garden full of dew-laden, graceful and nodding blooms. The simple satisfaction and pride of selecting flowers to cut oneself and display indoors or proudly present to a loved one is much to be desired.

Creating a cut-flower patch or cutting garden offers the chance to grow exactly the types and colours of blooms preferred for interior arrangements or to indulge a passion for specific flowers. For instance, dahlias, sweet peas, delphiniums and peonies come in myriad varieties, most of which are not available commercially or through florists, so growing them is usually the best way to appreciate them at first hand.

PLANNING A PATCH

A cut-flower garden should be sited somewhere sunny, well-drained and away from overhanging trees or hedges that can steal valuable moisture and nutrients from the soil. Look