Summer's Reward

The Cutting Garden

Hello, friendly readers! I have a mid-week post for you in Memoir-ish Musings. Thank you for being here. The first version of this essay was published in Halcyon Days several years ago.

Once upon a time, The Cottage Gardener was my business name, until my life was radically altered by stroke and disability. I've never lost my keen interest in plants, the science and art of horticulture, the craftwork of growing plants; the gardening life and aesthetic still feeds my spirit.

From a townhouse in the PA suburbs to a Victorian farmhouse and land in the high reaches of Bucks County, my dream to grow speciality cut flowers and pots of perennials blossomed. Our interests expanded to greenhouse gardening, raising a flock of fancy chickens, and a few dwarf goats. Fixing and furnishing our needy but structurally sound home and putting the lofty carriage barn back into service for the critters, we made an intense, glorious life of sunshine, rich earth, and hard work.

I'd love to hear about your gardens - now and of the past, and your plan for fall planting. Have you been learning, growing, and enjoying your gardens?

Let me know :-)

Cutting garden (a.i.)

Summer’s Reward: The Cutting Garden

No matter how small your property, if you're willing to give up a patch of lawn, a cutting garden will provide you with simple beauty, out of doors and in your home. Find inspiration in choice mail-order catalogs or gardening books, and whet your appetite for species and hybrids cut flowers. Plot out your space, tilling in compost as needed — many hardy perennials and annuals suited to cutting grow well in ordinary garden soil if its well-drained.

Steeped in the rhythm and repetition of rows and the symmetry of your layout, under your straw hat's wide brim, you may find yourself cultivating and harvesting for the sheer joy of it, immersed in shape, color, and texture, warm air, and birdsong.

In row after row, annuals like the bright, hot pinwheels of Zinnia are easily grown from seed in warm soil. Gently thin the young plants to allow air circulation and health. Sunflower seed packets yield multi-floral pale yellows, golden mammoth, and sunset hues. Bring in the stalks cut to the size of your container; a white ironstone pitcher, a primitive crock, or a blue Ball jar for your kitchen table or mantle. A bunch in a rubber band wrapped in waxed paper is sure to cheer a friend.

Site hardy perennials in separate rows or beds from the annuals. Their clumps will need to be divided and replanted in a year or two for best growth and yield: Siberian Iris, puffy clouds of Baby’s Breath, flat-headed yellow Yarrow, purple Liatris, or Black-Eyed Susans. Carry your bucket of fresh water (with floral preservative if you choose) out into the morning glow to harvest your summer’s reward.

Photo by Marc Pell on Unsplash

Thank you for reading!

© Mary Ellen Gambutti