GROW YOUR OWN CUT FLOWERS

You don’t need Amanda’s space or expertise to fill your vases with freshly cut blooms. Here are some tips for getting started:

Pick a sunny, sheltered spot in your garden – a corner of your vegetable patch or allotment also tends to work well – and make sure it’s weed free and drains well.

Plant cut-and-come-again varieties –

cornflowers, catmint, cosmos and sweet peas produce several lots of fresh flowers during a growing season. Picking them has the same effect as dead-heading – the more you harvest, the more you promote growth.

Choosing annuals gives you an opportunity to experiment

with colours and shapes – try zinnias, daisies and poppies.

Bulbs allow you to extend your picking season.

Select early-, mid- and lateflowering cultivars to provide blooms from late winter through to summer.

Early morning or last thing in the evening

is the best time to pick flowers, as they will last longer. Avoid cutting the stems too close to the ground to ensure some side shoots are left for regrowth.

Amanda harvests greenery and herbs from her raised beds to add form and fragrance to her floral arrangements