For my In A Vase On Monday post, I cut some sweetpeas, which have finally started flowering. They smell wonderful. I sowed them in my cutting garden around the time you normally plant regular peas here, which is St. Patrick's Day, and they have been slow growers. They're flowering, even though they are barely halfway up the trellis. I'm new to sweetpeas, or maybe they're new to me, however you want to put it, I don't have a clue what normal behavior is for them. I do know you're supposed to keep cutting them if you want more, so I cut every single one that had opened.
I also cut the annual larkspur that I sowed in the cutting garden way back in late winter, under berry cloches. They're getting past their sell by date, so I figured I better cut them and use them. It was nice that one of them was actually in a color that matched the sweetpeas.
I've been very happy with the performance of the cutting garden so far this year, its first year. I haven't used it to its fullest potential, really, just like when I was using the raised bed for veggies. But it takes some getting used to, this cutting of flowers.
Here's a look at the cutting garden. Everything here grew from seed except the Dahlias at the far end, and some tall Phlox in the middle. It's also a bit of a mess all around this area, because it's still cluttered with everything that I moved away from the house so they could paint it.
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| Dahlias with lots of buds |
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| I saved this empty space for Dahlia tubers that I ordered last fall, but by the time they arrived in the spring I had forgotten where I had left room for them, so I ended up potting them up |
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| I sowed Nasturtiums and Calendula all around the edges -- this nasty is called 'Orchid Flame' and it isn't a bit nasty, it's gorgeous |
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| The seeds came from Select Seeds, and every single one came true, although they don't look quite as vibrant as the picture on their website |
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| This is another Nasturtium called 'Climbing Phoenix,' which are all supposed to be vining nasties with split petals |
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| This came from the same packet of seeds, and is vining, but the flower is pretty much like an ordinary Nasturtium |
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| Statice getting ready to bloom |
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| Calendula 'Solar Flashback' |
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| Also 'Solar Flashback' -- these have always appeared in these two colors, always with those red backs on the petals |
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| Calendula 'Bronzed Beauty' -- also lovely |
So, that's a look at the state of the cutting garden this summer. I think I've made a pretty good start.
Cathy at Rambling in the Garden hosts In A Vase On Monday. Check out her post
here.
