Wednesday* Workday - The Cutting Garden

Seeds from Stokes and Renee's Gardens and marker stakes.

Thanks to the lovely Belinda (Wild Acre) and her series on how to make a cutting garden, I have set that as my number one project for this fall.


I've identified an area that needs to be cleaned out and re-purposed as a cutting garden, but decided that maybe it's too small for the seeds I want to plant, so laid out a second area in the "bowling alley" - that long, straight side yard with which we have never been particularly excited.  It gets lots of morning sun, but water will be a problem.  The area I laid out is bounded by the camellia and a small Japanese maple tree - about 25 feet long and four feet wide.  If I do get flowers the color will be seen from the street, but not the detail.  It will add a layer of color to the side yard.


Using the instructions from Belinda's friend Ben, I set out this afternoon to plant the hardy annuals I bought ...  Nigella (Love in the Mist) in pink

Grass killed, dug out, raked with plant food and humus added.

'Mulberry Rose', blue 'Persian Violet' and white 'Bridal Veil', poppies 'French Flounce' and 'Shirley', stock (multi-colored) and larkspur ('French Alouette', 'Earl Grey', 'Cannes Rose Stripe' and 'Cannes Deep Blue'). 

In fairness I should say that Belinda did not recommend growing larkspur, but it's one of those flowers that I have wanted to grow since I was a teenager.  I think I first met it in a Nancy Drew mystery, something like "The Mystery on Larkspur Lane".  Have bought seeds several times, but always discovered too late that they should have been planted in the fall - not this time!

I followed Ben's directions: watered first, marked the rows with sand, and then watered it all again.  Ben didn't tell me to put in tags, but I did it anyway!

Rows marked with sand and labeled.

I can hardly wait to see what comes up!

While I only used about 2/3 of the seeds, I am not sure where I will find enough space to plant the rest of what I already have.  In addition to these, I have plenty of seeds for spring - scabiosa, cosmos, cornflowers, and sweet peas, plus astrantia and zinnias that are ordered, but have not yet arrived.  Had planned to do a second planting in a couple of weeks, but now I am thinking of waiting until spring and just mixing all of the leftover seed together and broadcasing it - but I don't have a clue where!


So, now we wait.  I'll let them come up in a couple of weeks and get started, then they follow Persephone to Hades and sleep for the winter, to re-emerge in March ... hopefully with flowers!  This is so much fun!

*I know it's only Tuesday, but couldn't wait until tomorrow!