DESIGN SOLUTIONS
Treat yourself to fresh flowers every week in summer, says Louisa Gilhooly
Q How can I create my own cut flower patch?
HAVING A constant supply of fresh f lowers for the house might seem a bit decadent, but when you’ve grown them yourself from seed they’re ever so affordable. Besides, they not only make us feel good, they also brighten up the house and make a thoughtful gift for others. Supermarket f lowers might seem a cheap and cheerful option, but on closer inspection there’s a uniformity of blooms, plastic wrappings and in many cases the hundreds of air miles they’ve travelled – which can be off-putting. Harvesting blooms from your existing plants is one way to go about it, but in practice it’s awkward raiding borders to bring f lowers indoors. For one thing you’ll deplete your garden display and for another, taking your secateurs to newly developed buds can feel a bit brutal. Fortunately, it’s possible to have the best of both worlds, by creating a separate f lower patch just for cutting and harvesting. Having a dedicated area, no matter how small, creates a clear distinction between plants for the garden and blooms for indoors.
Finding space
A cut-flower garden might sound like an extravagance when space is precious and you need areas for play, eating and entertaining. Yet if you consider the design here, it’s easy to incorporate this productive area within an attractive garden space. Besides, dividing up a small garden can actually make it feel bigger by providing separate areas for different activities and preventing you from seeing the whole garden at once. The key is to keep things simple – using the proportions of the house to guide your dividing lines and sticking to two or three key landscape features to link the areas together. In this plot two gardens have been created in one; the first an open lawn framed by a small pergola and surrounded by mixed borders; the second a space to eat, sit and grow cut f lowers. The areas are separated by a simple post and wire fence, which takes up minimal space and allows you to grow colourful climbers. Even very small gardens can accommodate various seating areas, allowing you to follow the sun’s progress and offering alternative positions from which to view the garden. Once you know how to grow your own cut f lowers, you’ll never go back. They’re better-looking, more environmentally friendly and easier on your purse. Have a go and you could soon be enjoying huge bouquets of homegrown loveliness for months on end!
Dividing up a small garden can actually make it feel bigger