The Cutting Garden Dried & Pressed Flowers

Help with Christmas gift / starting my wife with a cut garden.

last year

last modified: last year

My wife has expressed an interest in wanting to start a cut garden, particularly she wants to potentially have flowers she can hang and dry and make bouquets for guests that visit, however I'm sure making fresh bouquets would also be nice. I wanted to make that part of her Christmas gift this year is basically everything she needs to get started with that but I have very little knowledge of flower gardening. I was hoping that perhaps someone here wouldn't mind imparting some wisdom so I can get her started right with it and buy the right kind of things.

So first, we have a few raised garden beds down at the edge of our yard that we've grown leafy greens in (our soil is extremely rocky so we require raised beds to plant anything). She was just going to use those but 1) they don't have full sun option and 2) I've found she really prefers to keep and tend to potted plants up on our deck so I was considering maybe investing in a nice planter for the deck, perhaps even in addition to the garden beds? I was looking at rolling carts like this: https://www.gardeners.com/buy/demeter-mobile-planter-cart/8594148.html or some sort of self watering thing like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079SQRL46 . Frankly I just don't really know the first thing though and don't know if these stand up type boxes are not ideal / only for folks with out yard space or what. Any advice on that is super appreciated.

Second, we have a basic trowel and a short shovel but I'm positive we don't have all the tools and implements required to really get into flower gardening. I'm not sure what the exhaustive list of gardening tools needed are or what things are for. I seem to see a lot of sets with what looks like little rakes? Some sort of sort thing? I'm really lost. What really is required to get started? Is there significant brand differences? Are there any "buy-it-for-life" tools or products that would make a nice gift / starting out much easier?

And finally... The main bit of the gift... seeds! or bulbs? or I'm not really sure! I've been skimming internet lists of "Top 10 best flowers for drying" or "Easiest flowers to care for starting out" Or even what does well in our area. We are in update NY, ~1hr south of Albany, Zone 5. Full sun on the deck if I got the planter box or partial sun in the (maybe 8 total hours of full sun a day, maybe more of dapled light, due to unavoidable tree cover) in the large beds.) But even still, even if I could compile a full list of a bunch of varieties, I'm not sure where is a good place to purchase. Should I be going to a nursery? Or is there a good place to buy seeds/bulbs/etc online all at once? I'm not even sure how much is sufficient for one person to garden for their first time. I'd rather over buy to give her maximum options to choose from.

Maybe this is too nebulous a question of just "What do I do?" but if there's any other ideas to make this a really special gift for her I would be very appreciative. I'm sure once she really dives into it we'll both know a lot more about what type of things we need for future gifts.

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Comments (2)

callirhoe123
last year
If I were you, I would spend some more time discussing what she is truly wanting. You don't want to build something that turns out not to be what she has in mind. Nor do you want to purchase tools that she may not want or need.

What you want to do is a lovely and generous idea, but to make sure it succeeds, have some more discussions about what she envisions. When you have that, you can proceed with confidence.
Stephen
last year
last modified: last year
A cutting garden should be a mix of annuals and perennials. Here are my tops:
1. Zinnias - easy to grow and come in a variety of colors
2. Dahlias - come in many different shapes and sizes
3. Sunflowers - make a statement in a bouquet and come in various heights and colors
4. Cosmos - delicate and airy flowers that look great in arrangements
5. Sweet peas - fragrant and colorful flowers that come in a variety of hues
6. Larkspur - tall spiky flowers that add height to arrangements
7. Snapdragons - tall, colorful flowers that bloom for a long time
8. Gladiolus - tall, dramatic flowers that come in a variety of colors
9. Ranunculus - soft, delicate flowers that come in many different hues
10. Peonies - large, showy flowers that are perfect for bouquets
More good info on annuals and perennials.
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Help with Christmas gift / starting my wife with a cut garden.

Comments (2)

callirhoe123

Stephen

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