Nothing dresses up a home like fresh flowers, and growing them yourself is an added bonus. This small raised-bed cutting garden, edged with low picket fencing, will provide cut flowers for many weeks and can be tailored to your color preferences.
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Nothing dresses up a home like fresh flowers, and growing them yourself is an added bonus. This small raised-bed cutting garden, edged with low picket fencing, will provide cut flowers for many weeks and can be tailored to your color preferences. Here we've chosen a fall palette, for a full-sun position in Zones 4 to 8. Average, fertile soil, amended with compost or other organic material, is fine; good drainage is a must. If you live where drought is a recurring fact of life, soaker hose lines can be installed up and down the rows. A light application of 20-20-20 fertilizer will help the annuals get off to a good start. Avoid high-nitrogen fertilizer, which promotes leaf rather than flower production. At the end of the season, interplant tulips, daffodils and other bulbs for a spring crop.
Key to Plan
1. Fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum') 1 plant in a 15-inch container; 3 feet tall; 24 inches across; dark purple grassy foliage; arching, bold purplish flower spikes. Tender perennial.
2. Helen's flower (Helenium autumnale 'Kugelsonne') 2 single plants; 3 to 4 feet tall and 2 feet across; abundant butter yellow daisy flowers. Cut back by half in midsummer. Perennial.
3. Helen's flower (Helenium autumnale 'Moerheim Beauty') 2 single plants; 3 to 4 feet tall and 2 feet across; brownish red daisy flowers with black centers. Perennial.
4. Dahlia (Dahlia pinnata Redskin Mix) 12 plants spaced 12 inches apart in 4 groups of 3; 18 inches tall and 12 inches across; green-bronze leaves; double flowers 3 inches across in reds, pinks, yellows and white. Seal cut stems with a match for longer vase life. Lift after first frost in cold-winter climates. Tender perennial.
5. Goldenrod (Solidago 'Crown of Rays') 6 plants set 18 inches apart in 2 groups of 3; 2 feet tall and 18 inches across; large heads of tiny, bright yellow flowers. Perennial.
6. Garden zinnia (Zinnia Thumbelina Hybrids) 10 plants set 6 inches apart in 2 groups of 5; 6 to 10 inches tall and 6 inches across; abundant 1 1/2-inch flowers in a wide range of mixed hues. Annual.
7. Garden zinnia (Zinnia Dreamland Hybrids) 10 plants set 9 inches apart in 2 groups of 5; 12 inches tall and 12 inches across; 3- to 4-inch double flowers in a range of colors. Annual.
8. Love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascena) 10 plants set 6 inches apart in 2 groups of 5; 12 inches tall and 6 inches across; grown for their decorative inflated seedheads for fall. Annual.
9. Aster (Aster novae-angliae 'Purple Dome') 6 plants set 18 inches apart in 2 groups of 3; 18 inches tall and 18 inches across; forms rounded domes covered with 1 1/2-inch brilliant purple daisies. Perennial.
10. Rabbit-tail grass (Lagurus ovatus) 10 plants spaced 9 inches apart in 2 groups of 5; 1 to 2 feet tall and to 12 inches across; dense oval flowerheads, soft to the touch, on stiff, wiry stems. Annual.
Garden plans courtesy of Country Living Gardener
Illustrations by Michelle Burchard
