Create a Cutting Patch for Your Garden

Roz Chandler, founder of Field Gate Flowers, a British-grown flower farm gives her expert advice if you’re considering growing your own flowers at home.

1. THE PERFECT PATCH
A cutting patch is an area you don’t mind taking blooms from, ideally sized 3m x 3m. This would provide ample space for 15 sweet peas, 5 cosmos, 5 dahlias, 5 sunflowers, a row of cornflowers, some roses, and a handful of herbs, for example. With just a little area or allotment corner, you can plan your cutting patch. And with more space, you just plan multiple 3m x 3m plots, or a longer narrower patch, which is equally as useful.

2. THE PERFECT PLACE
Initially we would recommend somewhere sheltered. The wind is the cut flower gardener's enemy. Don’t build a wall as the windbreak, instead consider trellis or hedging. Even better use foliage like eucalyptus, viburnum or pittosporum and you’ll be rewarded with endless foliage for your arrangements.

3. THE PERFECT PICKS
Above everything grow what you love. Grow flowers that remind you of your childhood when you spent endless days outdoors. Add perennials like salvias, lavender, peonies, verbena and veronicas to your borders, and supplement your flower garden.

4. ANNUALS, PERENNIALS & BIENNIALS
Annuals will grow for one season, giving instant satisfaction, and that is their life span. Perennials are plants like delphiniums that come back year after year. Whilst biennials are sown one year, to flower the next. Their average life span is around two years. Grow perennials for reliability, shrubs for foliage, bulbs for early spring colour and annuals for delight and sheer abundance. Biennials are ideal forthe June gap between bulbs and annuals/perennials.

5. PROTECT AGAINST PESTS
Whilst we love rabbits, they also love munching my dahlias. For a small plot, edge it with chicken wire but ensure that it is buried beneath the ground to a depth of 30cm to keep out those burrowers.

6. IN ROTATION
Plants should be rotated around beds/plots to avoid a build-up of pests and diseases in the soil. However, this is not necessary with flowers, or with annuals due to their short lifespan. If perennials aren’t doing well, be sure to move them to an alternative position, when the plant is dormant.

7. IN SUPPORT
Make sure you support from early in the year, often before you need to. Pea netting, string and twine, along with canes will be ideal for smaller patches.

8. FEEDING TIME
Use a simple PH and moisture meter to understand the soil you’re dealing with. Whatever soil you have will need additional compost and nutrition. Work out a feeding regime and put it on your calendar. A space in your garden for making compost will provide a source of food for your garden.

9. STAYING SAFE
If you don’t have the luxury of a greenhouse or polytunnel, a good warm windowsill or a small cold frame is a good place to protect crops. Do your research, start small and build on this.

10. SUCCESSIONAL GROWING
Lots of seeds can be sown directly into the soil. From seed to bloom, in the growing season, takes around 12 weeks. Work out the last frost dates in your area and calculate 12 weeks before this as your last planting of annuals.

Learn more about Roz and Field Gate Flowers, including their online learning, courses and memberships at fieldgateflowers.co.uk or follow @fieldgateflowers on Instagram and Facebook for even more ideas and inspiration.