I am very pleased to welcome you back to my Cutting Garden for our May tour!
I am delighted to report that the Cutting Garden is a much more beautiful and productive place in May this year than it was in May 2014. This is largely due to the biennials which were sown last June, planted out in autumn and which have grown on through the winter to burst into flower this month. I also have plenty of autumn sown hardy annuals that are just about to flower. Last year, without the biennials and autumn sown annuals, I faced a long gap between the end of the tulips and the first spring sown hardy annuals flowering.
This year last months tulip bonanza has been replaced by ranks of purple alliums surrounded by a billowing sea of light purple and white Sweet Rocket.
There are plenty of rosebuds to be seen and the first flowers are just starting to open.
The purple and white Honesty was the first to flower early in the month and has performed very well as a cut flower, easily lasting 7 days in a vase. Allium Purple Sensation also has a long vase life if picked as it just opens.
The Sweet Rocket is stunning and has a lovely delicate scent, particularly noticeable in the evening. Next year I am going to add some to my garden borders to make the most of this romantic statuesque flower.
This is the first Sweet William to flower and there are plenty of buds, so I will be using these in a vase very soon.
Cerinthe major is a hardy annual that I sowed last September and planted out in October. The plants were very frost damaged by early spring and I almost pulled them out – they have made a remarkable recovery however and now are a stunning block of blue. In the background you can see the orange of wallflower Fire King.
In amongst these alliums are the rows of hardy annuals that were sown directly into the soil in October and overwintered under a fleece tunnel. The ammi majus and nigella germinated and made it through the winter and are just about to flower. In a warmer spring I am sure I would have had flowers in mid May. You can see the green stems starting to overtake the tall alliums, so these annuals are going to be enormous!!
This bearded iris is, I think, called Blue Skies. I have a bed in the front garden where most of my bearded iris live, so I think this must have been a rogue that needed a quick home.
As well as the tall annuals that are about to flower, I also have plenty of rosebuds and peony buds close to opening.
Beds which were empty apart from the edging of tulips last month are starting to look very full this month.
I found the first flower on my favourite climbing rose Crown Princess Margareta this week. I just love this delicate shade of apricot.
The peony beds are full of buds – ready to start opening any day now.
The sweet peas have finally started to move up the supports, but they will be a few weeks before they have any flowers. Fortunately my sweet peas in the greenhouse are producing plenty of blooms for the jug on my kitchen window.
This is a close up of the lovely Sweet Rocket:
Wallflower Fire King from Sarah Raven is a beautiful burnt orange:
An ammi majus flower just about to open:
The allium Purple Sensation has been stunning this year. Whilst some may say that you can never have too many shoes, I believe that you can never have too many alliums in a garden!
Below are the larkspur that were sown in October and overwintered in the greenhouse. I planted them out in early April and they are now tall plants that should flower very soon.
As well as growing flowers specifically for cutting in the Cutting Garden, I also have an area at the edge of my small woodland where I grow shrubs that I like to use in flower arrangements and more bulbs. I added these allium Purple Sensation in the autumn and they have made quite a spectacle this spring.
Along with lilac, my favourite shrub for cutting in May is Viburnum opulus ‘Roseum’. I planted two small shrubs about three years ago and this is the first year that they have grown enough to make an impact. I am cutting from them very gingerly though – the shrubs need a few more seasons to mature, but I can see the day coming when I will have baskets full of these lovely flowers that always remind me of small hydrangeas.
The first foxgloves are just starting to open – another favourite flower of mine, these are finally starting to self seed generously through the woodland and I am happy to cut from this display when I need them. Foxgloves form a very large clump at the base and I find they take up too much room in my Cutting Garden beds for a very long period – on the whole I am happier with them filling the woodland.
Last summer I had some spare plugs of euphorbia oblongata and cerinthe major that I added to the edge of this woodland border. These were not pulled out in the autumn and surprisingly have come through the winter to make enormous plants.
I asked Hardy to pose for you to give an idea of how large these hardy annuals have grown – they may not be in the Cutting Garden, but there are certainly plenty of flowers for cutting here!
This month I have been concentrating on planting out hardy and half hardy annual seedlings and dahlias into the Cutting Garden. Once these are all in place I will begin to plant my gladioli bulbs. I have also sown plenty of zinnia and sunflower seeds, which are now ready for pricking out and will be moved into the Cutting Garden later this month. As we are away on and off for much of July and August I am trying to time the gladioli, zinnias and sunflowers to flower in early September and hopefully keep filling the borders with colour well into October. I will direct sow a batch of hardy annual seeds later in June (cornflowers, ammi majus, larkspur, cerinthe and nigella), which should also provide fresh flowers in September.
My first job next month will be to sow my biennial flower seeds. A biennial flower is one that germinates and develops in the year that it is sown, but does not flower until the following spring after which it sets seed and dies. Seeds sown in June this year will grow into small plants which can be moved into their final growing positions in the autumn as the borders are cleared for the winter. They will then flower in May 2016, to give me plenty of flowers as the tulips go over. I will be sowing largely the same seeds as last year – wallflowers, honesty, sweet rocket, sweet williams and foxgloves.
To get you started with your own biennials, Sarah Raven has kindly sponsored this months Giveaway again! I have two packets of foxglove seeds (Suttons Apricot and the lovely white Alba) to give away to the lucky winner of this months draw. Just leave a comment if you would like to be entered and I will announce the winner on Monday evening in my ‘In A Vase On Monday’ post. Do take a look at the Sarah Raven website for more ideas for biennial seeds to sow in June.
My next Cutting Garden review will be posted on the last Friday in June – 26th June. In the meantime Monday 15th June marks the start of British Flower Week, when growers and florists will be celebrating the beautiful British grown cut flower. I intend to post images of the flowers in bloom in my Cutting Garden everyday that week both here and on Instagram (#BritishFlowersWeek) to show support for this move towards beautiful locally grown flowers and foliage. Although it is my aim to be self sufficient in flowers, I know that not everyone has the time or space to do this. By supporting British Flowers Week I hope that I can encourage all my readers (both here and abroad) to support their local growers when buying cut flowers.
How is your Cutting Garden developing this year? If you are growing cut flowers, please do leave a link below so that we can all have a peek at what you are growing and remember to leave a comment if you would like to be entered into this months draw. Finally I need to say a big thank you to the lovely team at Sarah Raven for once again supporting my Cutting Garden Giveaway!
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Lots of inspiration here Julie. Thank you for the reminder about sowing another wave of hardy annuals in June and I must sow some sweet rocket for next year too. I used to have the white variety and it came back year after year, a delicious scent especially in the evening. The peonies are quite late this year, I guess due to the cold spring but I’m pleased to report that bearded iris lasts very well in a vase and continues to open its buds. The Parma violet scent of my pale blue iris (Jane Philips?) is an added bonus. I’m now cutting Nigella from the allotment which looks lovely and frothy with cow parsley in a jug on the kitchen table. The apricot and white foxglove seeds sound perfect. I have a perennial foxglove which has lovely bronze flowers. Once again thank you for a great post.
Thank you Homeslip – it sounds like you have lots of lovely flowers for cutting. I have been reluctant to cut my bearded iris as they are fairly recently planted but this year I seem to have lots of flowers so will try a few in a vase. I agree about the peonies being late, although with all the rain and wind this month I am pleased that they are still just buds. When did you sow your Nigella? Mine are not flowering yet despite being direct sown in October, but it has been very chilly here in East Anglia.
All lovely Julie – and so very different from my cutting beds! It is great to share our experiences despite these differences as we are all learning from each other. Thanks for hosting and do please enter me in your draw 🙂 My post is at
https://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com/2015/05/29/cutting-beds-the-thrill-of-it-all/
Thank you Cathy for joining in this month – I really enjoyed my look around your cutting beds and it is always helpful to see what others are doing!
I love that Hardy is posing next to the hardy annuals – is he called Hardy because his lovely auburn coat protects him from late frosts?! Thank you for the explanation of biennials… I have sown delphiniums and foxgloves, and now I know when to plant them out. Please add me to the draw, I’d love to win some seeds!
Hardy was originally called after the author Thomas Hardy (one of my favourites) but as we named our second dog Nelson in reference to the quote ‘Kiss me Hardy’ I tend to think more of the nautical connection now. He is always very obliging when it comes to posing!
Your delphiniums will be perennial so should keep coming back for years to come once they are established, whereas your biennial foxgloves will die next year ( but should self seed so you will find young plants all over your borders). Although foxgloves self seed they do not always come true to the seed originally sown, so I do tend to sow a few of my favourite white variety every year just to make sure I have some of the beautiful white stems.
Thank you for this explanation. Why on earth did I harbour the impression that delphs were biennials? Who knows… I am glad that they are not! Foxgloves are fabulous in any colour, but white are especially elegant.
I have just finished Far From the Madding Crowd, and then learned there was a new film, which I saw last week. It was good, but the book is far richer, of course. Hardy’s dry humour and pragmatism wins him a great deal of space on my bookshelf.
Julie – your posts always make my mouth water – such gorgeous colours! I particularly loved the blue of your arches in the area where you have so many alliums blooming. And have noted that I need to buy white hesperis and look out for Crown Princess Margereta. Have you thought of growing double Brompton stocks? Can really see them in your garden and in your vases.
Since I have a new cutting garden (wrestling with the weeds in a bit of former field), I’m going to try and join in with you at the end of June (or maybe even on Sunday this week, if I make an effort!) I guess the draw is really only for people (like Cathy, above) posting about their cutting gardens, but if not, I’d like to be included too.
Thank you Cathy – I really hope you can join in next month! I did try Brompton stocks last autumn, thinking they would overwinter but they did not make it. I agree that they would be perfect for my garden and I will have another go – perhaps I will overwinter them in the cold frames this year. Thank you for reminding me to order some seed. I do have Ten Week Stocks about to flower, but the Bromptons are my favourite.
Everyone is eligible for the draw so your name will be in the flower pot tonight.
Thanks Julie … I’ll look forward to the stocks next year! By the way – I was so thrilled by your comments about the reviving cut flower trade in Britain. I saw such a sad programme about how it had been wiped out by the Dutch a few years back. Good that people like you are passionate about it and report about what’s going on!
Julie your cutting garden is absolutely wonderful, you have made me realise too that the Ammi majus I have planted are in the wrong place if they are going to be taller than Alliums. Your Iris may be Shimmer, I have one that looks very similar to yours.
Thank you Julie – the Ammi is very tall but quite airy, so you it may be ok where you have planted it. Only the seed sown last year or early this year will grow so tall – my later sowings are much shorter. Thank you for suggesting Shimmer – you could be right – I need to check back over old order forms to see if I can locate it.
Hardy is looking very regal!
Dosen’t he just!!
Everything is looking absolutely gorgeous, and you have such a wide variety of flowers on the go. Your Cerinthe look fantastic – I really struggle with them her in Lincolnshire, and find them to be very tender.
Thank you hoehoegrow – it is a shame about the cerinthe – I have been amazed at how well it comes through the winter here. Could you overwinter some seedlings under cover?
Absolutely stunning! I think I am slowly becoming an allium convert, LOL (for me, that’s saying a lot!). I’d love to have a chance to win some seeds… haven’t had foxgloves in the garden for a while. 🙂
Thank you and I am pleased that you are coming round to alliums – they make such a great addition to the garden between the last of the tulips and the start of the perennials and roses.
Hi Julie, a stunning post as ever, just gorgeous.
Here’s my first contribution for this meme – chaos as ever in Duver world!
https://duverdiary.wordpress.com/2015/05/29/the-cutting-gardens-may-2015/
Thank you for joining in this month!! I really enjoyed my peek at your cutting garden and hope you will be able to share its progress with us here over the next few months.
Ooh yes please enter me. Yet again, I am impressed by how organised you are-does your work take all day? I have so many things I want to do but need to prune my ambitions!
Thank you Fiona! Gardening is my main hobby so I do spend quite a bit of time on it, but certainly not all day (with the exception of the odd very lucky day when I get out there from dawn to dusk). I need to get out to water my greenhouses every day and I try to do at least half an hour either in the greenhouse sowing and potting on, or outside weeding most days. Beyond that every week is different and some weeks I get more done than others. You are right that it is important not to set our targets too high – it is meant to be fun after all!
Beautiful. You always have such a nice display in the garden, and it looks like a fantastic spot to wander through. Love the alliums with the Dame’s Rocket, what a great pairing!
Thank you Bittster – I have not heard of the name Dame’s Rocket before. That pairing is a lucky accident as I have never grown Sweet Rocket before, but I am delighted with it and will repeat it next year.
You must be so pleased Julie, it looks wonderful. I only have white Hesperis, the lilac one is much prettier. You are right, a girl just can’ t have too many alliums. I realise now I just don’ t have enough. The Ammi you gave me is doing very well, thank you very much.
Thank you Chloris – I am pleased that the ammi is doing well. Mine should flower in the next week or so as long as the temperatures improve! You are right about the lilac rocket – mine was a mixed packet and only a few whites have flowered. I was disappointed at first, but much prefer the lilac now that I have seen both in flower.
That is a great selection. My Euphorbia oblongata unexpectedly came through the winter too (I understood that they would seed around a bit only) and you are right they are now massive. It has been pointed out that they are now blocking the path and that I need to do something about it!!
What a shame that they are blocking the path – it seems such s shame to remove such magnificent plants!! I wonder if they will regrow for the summer if you just cut them back hard? I might have to do the same with mine which are close to collapsing over the grass.
Absolutely love the alliums! Have only just planted a ‘cutting garden’ as an trial for my daughters wedding in September next year. The plot is usually planted with vegetables that are eaten raw as soon as they are picked and washed under the hose pipe!
Your fresh vegetables sound delicious – you might regret giving the space over to flowers. Does your daughter have a preferred colour scheme? Zinnias, dahlias, annual grasses and amaranthus are all looking good in September. Also gladioli are available in lots of colours, as are snapdragons.
Gorgeous photos, what a lovely page I have stumbled upon. I too love growing flowers from seed and using them in a vase, it’s so rewarding. I find my Cerinthe self seeds and pops up everywhere. My ammi is about to flower too (it’s enormous) but I also grow Orlaya and that grows to about the same height as alliums. One thing I have learnt is always rotate your sowing, the plants are definitely better for it.
Welcome Ruth and thank you for leaving a comment. It is always lovely to met another flower grower! Thank you for your tip about rotating – I do not have a formal rotation plan, but tend to switch where I grow things every year.
Wow! Julie it looks so different from when I saw it just over a month ago. Everything really has grown enormously. Many of the plants that are just finishing here, like the Cerinthe are looking at their peak in your garden. Sorry I’m a little late with my post but here’s my link: https://myhesperidesgarden.wordpress.com/2015/05/31/the-cuttings-garden-at-the-end-of-may/
Hi Julie,
I love Hardy and the annuals .thats a mind blowing shot in this series. As again so much to gain from your garden. I have sown few following some of your advice. I am not able put into much effort for one my climate is very different from my last years gardening plot. I find it quite difficult to follow them as I am a basically tropical Gardner for long. And again for four months I was away from this cold to make my next cut flower project back home. It’s mainly anturium and vanda orchids for the next few years. Crossing my fingers as this is the first time I am trying orchids as cut flowers. Though I have grown them for years , I am trying this as pot plants. Everything is planted and set orderly hope my friends of the farm will do well .in the meantime I am crossing my fingers and learning the hard way growing flowers and veges here in North Bay.. I have gained lots from your posts and hope next season it will be better for me. Anyway I am learning the hard way. I am enjoying my passion for soil in the two continents. Once again Julie,you have lovely cutting garden and pets .
My goodness you have so many flowers in the cutting gardens….most of my flowers are out in the borders, but I do now have a couple of small containers and one bed just for annuals….hoping they look wonderful in about a month as they are finally growing.
Julie, your gardens and descriptions are inspiring! You’ve illustrated your progress beautifully. I planted foxglove…one of my favorites,,,last year and this year it is not doing well so I moved it with the hopes it will like its new location (I think it was too wet before).
Awesome and inspirational-thank you. I’ve made copious notes in my gardening diary to follow your very helpful tips especially on seed sowing. My dahlias have bounced back and will be planted out (again) on the allotment this time protected with coffee grounds and crushed egg shells.