To grow a patch of grass of our very own

Knowing why you are growing flowers gives you a clearer idea of what it is you should be growing. Use your resources to grow the kind of flowers that are inline with your personal goal. For instance, grow flowers that you actually want to place inside your home or need to design with. Flowers that you do not like the scent of, for instance, or are allergic to or are already available in abundance are not the best use of your cutting garden space.

My goal for my gardening space is for it to give me more design options. It truly is my floral craft supply pantry. I do not have enough space to grow everything I need for my floral designs so I am concentrating on things that I craft with… the things that can make my work unique. Things that I can’t necessarily buy at the floral market.

What are your values as a flower arranger and what kind of flower grower do you dream of being?

There’s work and care and life that we need to fit around growing flowers, right? Fortunately the seasons don’t all happen at once, as life often does. But you do have to be realistic about how much time you can set aside for growing a cut garden that will supply you with flowers all year round.

My small growing space is right for me, for my lifestyle right now. Bigger would have been too much, all things considered. I have only a few plants to prune and maintain year round. Most of what I grow annually is planted around those plants from seed starting fresh each year to maximize soil coverage.

Even if you are busy, or rather especially if you are busy, grow something. How about a single mixed container for you to cut and design with… at whatever time of day or night you can or planted up wherever you can find that time?

What are your growing conditions and seasons like?

There are some plants that I would love to grow. Bamboo is one. But nope. They are not happy in my balcony garden even though they grow perfectly fine just across the street waving at me from a neighbouring roof garden. I take this very personally and for now we are not on speaking terms.

It is important to consider the climate and growing conditions and how this will limit… or benefit your ability to grow the plant material you require. You can extend the range and plan to make sure you have seasonal flowers by growing in window sills, greenhouses, polytunnels or even a cold frame or find a suitable substitute and improve the soil to suit your planting needs. I grow a few plants year round inside in containers and in a high humidity terrarium for orchids. All depends on what you have available or are willing to invest in.

How much money would you be willing to invest into growing flowers?

The good news is that 5-6 square meters is a perfectly reasonable amount of space for a cut garden. Yes, more would be great. Yes, less is still possible. You really do not need a huge amount of land to start growing.

I have a precious 5 square meters, but my entire garden is grown in containers. We have two balconies, one east (average 7 hours of full sun in places) facing and one south facing (average 6 hours of full sun in places).
Still, my most important consideration when planning my gardening space though is that I absolutely do not want a cluttered space (clutter overwhelms me and will completely ruin any benefit gardening brings) so I am a neat and restrained grower and carefully curate my cutting garden.

This collaboration is supported by the BC Government’s Buy BC partnership program, delivered by the investment Agriculture Foundation of BC with funding from the Government of British Columbia to enable us to have an interdisciplinary relationship between BCLandscape and Nursery Association members and non-members from the floral designer, growers, the landscaper and garden centres.

Next month's Plant Something BC's article I will show you another design made from what I am growing and what is new in my balcony garden for this year.