Creating a Cutting Garden on a Budget
Having a cutting garden allows you to enjoy a constant source of fresh cut flowers for your home, to use in arrangements for special occasions, or to gift to friends and loved ones to sprinkle a little joy into their lives. But starting a cutting garden can be a little intimidating, especially if you are on a tight budget. Here are some tips we’d like to share for creating a cutting garden for seasonal blooms that will help to not break the bank.
The first thing to think about is to choose flowers that are both easy to grow AND have a long vase life. Some good examples of flowers that fit both of these catagories include zinnias, sunflowers, celosia, cosmos, and rudbeckia. These flowers are not only beautiful, but they are also fairly easy to grow and generally have a long vase life. They’re some of our favs!
Attempt to start your flowers from seeds rather than buying already grown plants. Seeds are usually much cheaper than plants. With a little patience and care, you can grow a wide variety of flowers from seed. Just make sure to choose high-quality seeds from a good source. If you need seed starting tips, we have some great videos for several different seeds on our YouTube channel you can access here. Not only do we provide seed starting tips, but if you check the detail section, we provide sources for all of the seed starting supplies we use.
Utilize free or low-cost resources. Instead of purchasing compost or mulch, consider using free or low-cost alternatives, such as leaves, grass clippings, or wood chips from a local tree service. Also, consider checking with your local nursery, gardening club, or online plant swap/trade/giveaway sites for any seeds or division plants they may have available to share.
Reuse and recycle. Instead of buying new pots or containers, consider using recycled containers or items you already have on hand, such as old buckets, milk jugs or pots. You can also reuse old pots by sterilizing them and adding fresh soil. Some of our trays have been reused for over 11 years and are still going strong. Reduce and reuse whenever possible!
PepperHarrow Seeds
Our seeds from the farm generally are offered online in early January through the end of February each year. Included are customer favorites: Chester Copperpot, Starlight celosia and our Butterfly Garden Seed Kits.
Consider planting flowers that have multiple uses. Some flowers, such as lavender, not only look beautiful in arrangements, but they also have other uses such as drying, cooking, crafting, or flowers that are good for pollinators. Looking for flowers that cross all of these categories can help you get more value out of your cutting garden. Our favorite flowers for multiple uses include: lavender, sunflowers, strawflower, herbs, and pennycress. These may not hit each category, but we at least like to pick flowers that at least hit two different uses.
We hope that this has given you a few small tips to save a little money starting your very own cutting garden. By following tips, you can create a beautiful cutting garden without breaking the bank and you’ll have flowers to enjoy all season long. Happy gardening!
XX Jenn and Adam
