Creating a picking garden is not only fantastic because you can later put together your own bouquets, it is also relaxing. A lot of work, sometimes, but mostly enjoyment and looking forward to those first flowers. But h ow do you start with a picking garden? Where is it best located and what do you need to know before you start? Read on quickly, we have collected all our tips for you. Because a picking garden is for everyone, whether you have a lot or a little space.
The ideal place for your picking garden
The vast majority of (annual) flowers prefer to grow in the sun. This means that the location of your cutting garden is very important if you want flowers that will grow optimally. A spot in the semi-shade is also possible, but at least 5 to 6 hours of sunlight per day is recommended. The less sunlight there is, the more difficult it is for the plant to stay healthy and produce many flowers. A cutting garden in the shade is not possible, that is the harsh reality. This is mainly because almost all cutting flowers also need warmth and naturally come from slightly sunnier areas .
The bottom of your picking garden
Without healthy soil, no healthy plants in the picking garden , that's very simple. You can only get healthy plants if the soil on which those plants grow is balanced, healthy. You keep your soil strong by adding compost every year. Don't dig, just add a layer of about 5 centimeters. The soil life, which lives in the first 20 to 30 centimeters, will work it in for you in the coming months.
Does your picking garden need fertilizer?
Many people are already ready with fertilizers, even before they know whether they are needed. Because no, they are not always needed. Usually not actually. Focusing on a good soil structure and by extension a healthy soil is much more important. Adding fertilizers to an exhausted soil is of no use to plants. You can better enrich the soil with compost, as you can read above. It is not for nothing that it is called the black gold of the picking garden . It has the property of retaining moisture and nutrients and contains many natural components. So rather invest your time and money in improving the soil, instead of adding fertilizers to it. Which by the way do not mean anything without a healthy growing environment for your plants.
The type of flowers in the picking garden
If you are just starting to make a cutting garden, it is advisable to start with easy flowers , so that you gradually get to know how plants grow. Cosmos is easy, but zinnias, snapdragons and dahlias should not be missing either. They are 'cut and come again' flowers, as the English say so nicely. The more often you cut, the more flowers you get.
