Rainy Days and Mondays Always Get Me Down - So Let’s Talk Flowers.
Yesterday was Monday and it was raining, today is Tuesday and it is raining. It’s actually supposed to rain most of this week, which means a halt on all outdoor projects. It doesn’t, however mean idle time! Today I am taking advantage of the rain and doing some indoor crafting. We are labeling our soaps, creating some designs for next year’s vendor event, and I am going to work on planning out my cutting garden for spring.
My next-door neighbor has been gardening for years. She has a 1,000 square-foot garden. She has meticulously researched, prepped and planned to get the most out of her garden. Being that she is right next-door to me, we have the exact same soil and climate conditions, so I am taking some lessons from her. Last year she had a few diseases run through her squashes and she had the same problem with her cucumbers that I did - they were too bitter to even brave tasting. I asked her what she typically plants, and what she has had success with, and most of the things she can grow my family will not even eat. I am so traumatized by the bitterness of our cucumbers last year that I have decided this year I’m going to try to grow things that you don’t have to eat - now I will still have some cucumbers and tomatoes, but I am giving up on most everything else.
My girlfriend is a horticulturist, and she encouraged me last year to throw in some zinnia. Turns out I got more joy out of having these little cut flowers in my house all summer than from anything edible our garden produced.
So here they are, the 10 (non-edible) cutting flowers or plants I plan to grow in my Sunnyvale/Dallas garden. They are all direct sow, because with a full time job, two kids in elementary school and the animals, the garden isn’t devoted quite enough time or money for much else.
Zinnia - direct sow
Sunflower - direct sow
Black-Eyed Susan - seed indoors
Allium - direct sow
Amaranth - direct sow or better if seeded indoors
Cosmos - direct sow or better if seeded indoors
Luffa - direct sow (this is obviously not for cutting - but they grow well here and we combine them with our goat milk soap for a cool exfoliating bar.)
Exfoliating Goat Milk Soap
These will be available this summer!
In the center of our garden I have a little feature raised bed in which I will plant some garden flowers and foliage just for looks.
Lavender - seedlings
Pepper ‘Black Pearl’ Foliage - direct sow
Kale - not sure what variety.In the center of our garden I have a little feature raised bed in which I will plant some garden flowers and foliage just for looks.
I will also invest quite a bit of time and a little more money on our kitchen herb garden this spring. We love to have the fresh herbs and the surplus we dry and give to friends and sell. We are moving it closer to the kitchen, and it will have a new bed, so stay tuned for that!
Concept for our herb garden for this spring. This is the side door that opens to the mud room and pantry areas and leads to the kitchen.
https://thedallasgarden.com/growing-cut-flowers-9-of-the-best-for-north-texas/
https://bblumenflowerfarm.com/blogs/news/the-5-best-cut-flowers-to-grow-in-north-texas
https://www.texasgardener.com/dallas-arboretum-tested-texas-tough-picks-for-your-garden/
