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December 8th 2021

Growing Resources Roundup

Written by
Floret

We’ve spent the last 15 years writing, filming, and sharing as much as we possibly can about gardening, growing cut flowers, and flower arranging. We have a tremendous library of resources that we’ve created and I thought it would be helpful to give you an overview of where you can find the answers to all of your growing-related questions.

After reading through all of these resources, if you still don’t find what you’re looking for, we probably haven’t written about it yet, which is hard to believe! You’re welcome to leave your question in the comments section below and we’ll be sure to consider it for a future resource. 

The first part of this post is dedicated to giving you an overview of the different resources that we’ve created, and the second part is dedicated to answering some of the most common gardening questions that we get each week.


OUR FULL RESOURCE LIBRARY 

Floret Books
My first book, Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden: Grow, Harvest & Arrange Stunning Seasonal Blooms, covers everything you need to know about growing flowers on a small scale and is the perfect jumping-off point for beginning gardeners. It includes detailed growing instructions for more than 175 different flower varieties and is overflowing with so many beautiful photos.

My second book, Floret Farm’s A Year in Flowers: Designing Gorgeous Arrangements for Every Season, picks up where Cut Flower Garden left off and teaches you how to create beautiful arrangements using flowers from your garden or those grown close to home any time of the year. 

And finally, my third book, Floret Farm’s Discovering Dahlias: A Guide to Growing and Arranging Magnificent Blooms, does a deep dive into one of the most beloved cut flowers—dahlias. In addition to sharing all of my secrets to successfully growing dahlias, this book also features 360 of my very favorite varieties organized by color and also includes a chapter on breeding your own new dahlias, plus how to save your seed. 

Over on the Floret Books page, you can watch a short video that Chris and I filmed about each book. 

Mini Courses
Throughout the year, we offer a series of video tutorials called Mini Courses which demonstrate the techniques we use to grow and harvest flowers on a small scale. These online classes are free, but registration is required. Visit our Workshops page to sign up for the Mini Course that’s currently available.

You can check our Resources page to see what Mini Course is currently available.

Floret Online Workshop
Each year we host the Floret Online Workshop, a 6-week intensive online course that covers everything I’ve learned about growing cut flowers and building a successful flower business on a small scale. 

Registration for the Floret Online Workshop opens in the fall and the class runs January through mid-February. You can learn more about the workshop and join the waitlist here

Online Resources  & The Floret Library
The resources section of our website is overflowing with photo-filled tutorials on dozens of topics, including soil preparation, seed starting, variety selection, and so much more.

While you’re there, be sure to check out the Floret Library, which includes more than 1,500 unique cut flower varieties that have all been grown and tested here on our farm. You can search the library in a number of different ways—by plant collection, by color, by form, or by special features.

Floret Blog
In the early days of Floret, I decided to start a blog in an effort to become a better writer. It’s hard to believe just how far it’s come since my first post way back in 2006! The Floret Blog takes you behind the scenes here on the farm and is filled with hundreds of photo-filled stories about what I’ve learned along the way.

Documentary Television Series
In 2021, season 1 of Growing Floret, a four-part documentary series about our farm, debuted on the Magnolia Network. Each episode is centered around a specific season and explores what it takes to grow a heart-centered, creative business. After receiving two Emmy nominations for “Outstanding Cinematography” and “Outstanding Lifestyle Program” we began filming a second season, which premiered in the spring of 2023. For all the details about this project and how to watch, visit our show page to learn more.


COMMON GROWING-RELATED QUESTIONS

NEW TO FLOWER GROWING

I’m new to gardening. What varieties should I start with?

If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed with all of the choices available, we’ve put together a list of the best flower varieties by category depending on your growing needs. This list includes the best varieties for hot climates, cold climates, attracting pollinators, those suitable for containers, and even a few recommendations for shade. You can download it here.

I want to save my seeds but don’t know where to start. Do you have any advice?

Very little information about seed saving exists at this time. We are deep in the throes of documenting all of the processes that we use here at the farm related to seed saving. If this is a topic you’re interested in, be sure to sign up for our newsletter where we will be sharing progress updates.

In the meantime, be sure to check out Dawn Creek Farm (sign up for her newsletter for seed-saving tips) and Blomma Flower Farm has some wonderful how-to videos on Instagram.

If you have a copy of Discovering Dahlias, you can find seed-saving instructions starting on page 100.

CLIMATE-RELATED ADVICE

I am growing in a hot climate and I’m trying to figure out what varieties will do best here. What do you recommend? 

We have a resource called Heat-loving Flowers & Foliage that covers all of the best varieties for hot climates that can be grown from seed. All of the varieties featured in it are suitable for beginning growers too!

If you’re looking for some inspiring flower growers to follow that are growing in hot climates, be sure to check out 3 Porch Farm in Georgia, FarmGal Flowers in Florida, and La Musa de las Flores in Mexico. 

I’m confused when it comes to hardy annuals and I’m not sure if I should start them in the fall or in the spring. Help!

Hardy annuals are prized for their ability to withstand cold temperatures and are some of the first seed-grown flowers to bloom in late spring and early summer. We have an entire resource called Easy-to-grow Hardy Annuals dedicated to these hardworking flowers.

If you want to do a deep dive into this plant group, Lisa Mason Ziegler wrote a book all about them called Cool Flowers: How to Grow and Enjoy Long-Blooming Hardy Annual Flowers Using Cool Weather Techniques

I don’t have any ground to grow in and I’m wondering what cut flower varieties are suitable for pots and containers?

Most cut flowers get too big to grow in containers, but there are a handful of compact varieties (that can be grown from seed) that we recommend for small spaces and pots. You can find the list here.

Small pots (especially terracotta) dry out very quickly so try to use the largest container you can get your hands on. 

Sarah Raven’s 2021 book A Year Full of Flowers: Growing for all seasons includes lots of beautiful examples and information about growing flowers in containers, including bulbs, perennials, and more.

Claus Dalby’s 2022 book Containers in the Garden is filled with creative ideas for small garden spaces. It is one of the best I’ve seen on container gardening and is packed with stunning displays of texture and color. If you’re pressed for garden space, you’ll definitely want to pick up a copy.

I don’t have any sun in my garden. Do you have recommendations for flowers that do well in the shade?

While most cut flower varieties need at least 6 to 8 hours of full sun each day to thrive, there are a handful of varieties (that can be grown from seed) that are suitable for some degree of shade. You can find the list here. There are also some wonderful perennials that you might want to consider including, astilbe, astrantia, bleeding heart, columbine, ferns, hellebores, heuchera, Japanese anemones, lady’s mantle, and Solomon’s seal.

What are some of your favorite seed companies?

For a full list of our favorite domestic and international seed companies, be sure to read our blog post Floret’s Favorite Specialty Seed Sources

How many flowers/bouquets will one packet of seeds produce?

Typically a packet includes between 25 and 100 seeds depending on the variety.  

It’s impossible to predict exactly how many flowers you can get from each plant because there are so many factors at play, including weather, growing conditions, and the varieties’ growth habit. 

When it comes to planning your garden, seed-grown varieties can be organized into three main categories: cut-and-come-again, medium producers, and one-hit wonders. You can learn about each of these groups and what kind of harvest you can expect in our blog post Succession Sowing: How to Keep the Harvest Going All Season Long

SEED-STARTING QUESTIONS

I am new to gardening and have never grown seeds before. Where should I start? 

To answer all of these questions and more we created our Winter Mini Course. In it, I show you everything you need to know to grow cut flowers from seed. Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to be notified when this course is available.

You can also find step-by-step instructions in our Starting Flowers from Seed resource and in the first chapter of Cut Flower Garden.

My sweet pea seeds aren’t sprouting. What did I do wrong?

Sweet peas are notoriously slow to germinate, especially the Chloranthus variety, which can sometimes take over a month to sprout. For step-by-step growing instructions, check out our How to Grow Sweet Peas resource. 

DAHLIA GROWING

I see that you don’t sell dahlias anymore. Where do you recommend that I buy tubers? 

For a list of our favorite sources, be sure to check out our Recommended Dahlia Sources blog post. 

I have so many questions about dahlias. When do I dig them up? Do you have to wait to wash and divide dahlias until the winter or can I do it right away? How do I spot the eyes? What’s the best way to store them so they don’t shrivel?

To answer all of these questions and more we created our Fall Mini Course. In it, I show you everything you need to know to successfully dig, divide, and store dahlias for an abundance of blooms year after year. Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to be notified when this course is available.

I live in a hot or humid climate. Can I still grow dahlias?

Dahlias can often struggle to thrive in extreme climates (like Florida, Hawaii, Texas …) but it is possible to grow them and there are a handful of wonderful growers that you should follow to learn more: 3 Porch Farm in Georgia, FarmGal Flowers in Florida, and La Musa de las Flores in Mexico. 

The Dahlia Society of Georgia has a big list of Heat Tolerant Dahlias for Southern Gardens that might be helpful when it comes to variety selection. 

PLANT & BULB SOURCES

Do you sell tulips, daffodils, chrysanthemums, peonies, or roses? If not, where do you recommend I buy plants from?

You can find all of our favorite sources for trees, shrubs, perennials, and bulbs here. The nurseries that we share are all ones that we’ve worked with for many years and highly recommend.  

SUPPLIES

Where do you get your paper flower sleeves, black buckets, and flower food?

For a full list of all of my favorite flower arranging and packaging supplies and where to get them, be sure to check out A Year in Flowers.

Where did you get your cute little seed-starting greenhouse?
Over the years we have built nearly 40 hoop houses and greenhouses in half a dozen different styles, and each one has its pros and cons. This past year we discovered Farmers Friend, and I am so impressed with all of the innovative work they are doing to help small-scale growers succeed when it comes to season extension and production.

We recently purchased a 14 by 50 ft (4 by 15 m) Gothic Pro tunnel kit from them and I can’t say enough good things about it. The hoops are pre-bent and all the supplies you’ll need are included (along with great instructional videos) so it’s super quick and easy to assemble. It’s a perfect size for a small farm or big backyard.

Where do you get your flower support netting and those metal hoops you use in the field?

For low tunnels, also known as caterpillar tunnels, we bend our own hoops using 10 ft galvanized ½-in EMT conduit that we get from the hardware store. We bend the conduit using Johnny’s Selected Seeds 4 ft Low Tunnel Hoop Bender

The white flower netting that we use in the field to support plants is 48 in wide Hortonova netting from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. It can also be used vertically for trellising sweet peas and other vines. 

Where do you get your black bulb crates?
When you order bulbs in large quantities (wholesale) they are delivered in these heavy-duty black plastic bulb crates. If you have any bulb farms in your area or large nurseries, sometimes they sell their extras. If you are looking for them to store your dahlia tubers in, you can also use plastic milk crates or vented vegetable harvesting totes. 

PESTS, DISEASE & FERTILITY

How do you deal with slugs, snails, aphids, powdery mildew…?

Here at Floret, we practice organic farming and only use products that are OMRI certified and take a pretty laid-back approach when it comes to pests and disease. We like to focus on growing the healthiest plants we possibly can because we’ve found that healthy plants have fewer pests and less disease pressure. To read more about how we prepare our growing beds be sure to read our Soil Preparation resource. 

We also use compost tea as a foliar fertilizer for many of our field crops. We have two professional-grade brewing systems that we got from Growing Solutions, and while they were quite the investment, they have been in active use for many years and are the backbone of our fertility program. 

When it comes to brewing tea, it’s important to source very high-grade compost—not the same type you apply to your garden beds. We buy our tea-grade compost from Sound Horticulture. We apply the tea both through our drip irrigation system and when plants are young, we spray their leaves with it using a battery-powered backpack sprayer. 

Arbico Organics is a great resource for organic pesticides, fungicides, and beneficial insects. They have a fantastic website and catalog that we reference often. 

For powdery mildew, we use a combination of Milstop and Cease which we get from Arbico. 

For slugs, snails, and earwigs, we use Sluggo Plus. And for aphids (inside a greenhouse) we use beneficial insects like lacewing larvae and outdoors (if an infestation gets out of control), we will spray them with Safer Soap. 

DEER, RABBITS & OTHER CRITTERS

I have a major problem with deer. Are there any deer-resistant flower varieties that I can grow or do you know the best way to protect my plants from them? 

Here at Floret, we have only recently started to see deer around our area so we don’t have any personal experience or advice to offer just yet. Many of our customers have recommended a book called Deer-Resistant Design: Fence-free Gardens that Thrive Despite the Deer by Karen Chapman. 

If you have ANY resources that you’d recommend for other gardeners dealing with deer, please leave them in the comments below!

I have trouble with voles eating my tulip bulbs. What should I do?

We have trouble with voles eating our bulbs in the greenhouse and have found that trapping them using the method that Eliot Coleman detailed in his book The Winter Harvest Handbook: Year Round Vegetable Production Using Deep-Organic Techniques and Unheated Greenhouses has been the most successful. You can find videos and plans online. 


 

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41 Comments

  1. Lois on

    I planted Dahlias from Floret seeds in my community garden plot. It’s time to clear the beds but we haven’t had a frost yet – can I dig and store; dig and clean? These were such stunning flowers, I want to save as many tubers as possible. Please advise.

    Reply
  2. Laura Yelseth on

    Hi wonderful Floret team,
    I have purchased Seeds from your Floret Originals.. most varieties.. I’m preparing the paddock and making beds but have a question if possible?
    … If you lived in Northern Rivers NSW, Australia.. and your summer temps ranged from 68-86 F and some hot days up to 104F .. Nov- March was your highest rainfall and you have humidity as it’s a subtropical climate.. Would you still use landscaping cloth for weed control or would you use a heavy mulch instead for controlling weeds and keeping moisture in? 😅 I’m worried the fabric cloth, being black will make the zinnia, dahlia and celosia roots too hot? 🥵 These seeds are too precious to make mistakes with 😱
    Many Thanks, Laura

    Reply
  3. Tracy Rice on

    Hello! I recently purchased 2 dahlia seed packets and they are growing in my seed starting tray! Yeah!!! My question is, do I need to pot them up at some point of can they continue to grow in the cell until transplant? I also watched Erin’s video on planting her dahlia seed and she mentioned that she doesn’t pinch them. Can you or is it not necessary?
    Thank you and I can’t wait to see what beautiful flowers come!
    Tracy

    Reply
  4. Angela Zwingli on

    Regarding deer…Our acreage (2.5 acres) is down in a little dell at the edge of a ravine in Washington state. We can have up to 11 deer laying down or grazing at a time who have no fear of me no matter what crazy thing I do to try to shew them. One adolescent male even hissed at me! I didn’t even know that was a thing. I gave up on the landscaping and now just landscape with deer ‘resistant’ plants. However, we were determined to find a solution for the vegetable and flower garden which is 5,000 sf, and that we did! The deer still frequent our property – even more so with all the new homes being built – but our garden has been deer free for 11 years except the period the fence was damaged by our dog and the deer were in in no time. It’s a very simple and relatively inexpensive solution: 10′ metal T stakes – we’ve upgraded to 10′ chainlink horizontal bars meant for the top of the fence, rolls of 7’x100′ bird block. It works like a charm. The deer can’t really see it, but they can feel it – the combination of the two keeps them unsure of what is going on and stay away. If they could see it, they could easily jump it and even walk right through it with a little determination. I know this is a “fence”, but it fades in the background so to speak. We got this idea from our friends that did this around their blueberry ‘orchard’ and fruit tree orchard. You might not want to do it for your entire garden, but it just might be what allows you to have those irresistible to deer plants. Before the fence, the deer ate 50 rose buses to nubs! Hope this helps or sparks what might work best for you.

    Also, a few years ago, I was having breakfast on my porch looking down to our garden and our raised garden boxes started exploding bunnies! I went down to investigate, only to discover we had a weasel who had found a rabbit nest. I didn’t know that we had rabbits in our garden nor that we had weasels in the area! When we upgraded our fence stakes, we added rabbit fencing to the bottom of the fence and built proper garden gates.

    Reply
  5. Patricia on

    I literally use to sleep in my garden to keep the deer out – my husband could no longer take it and looked high and low for something to keep them at bay – the product he found is called Bobex – you have to start spraying early in the season so the deer look else where for food – it STINKS to high heaven but the smell only lasts for over night usually – and you have to reapply every week or so and put it on at least 24 hours prior to rain –

    Reply
  6. Kathlean Faver on

    Hello,

    I just watched the old rose episode, there was a rose in one of the last shots, a deep dusty rose color, can you tell me the name, it was so beautiful.

    Thank you,

    Kathlean Faver

    Reply
  7. Heather on

    I’ve bought and grown Linaria (northern lights mix) for the first time this year! It’s blooming beautifully. I can’t find a whole lot of info on it. I know when to harvest from your site, but I’d like to know if you cut stems back to the ground ? It looks like a branching plant, should I pinch next time around or leave I pinched for longer stems? Is Linaria a cut and come again? Thanks for offering these “mini snaps”! They are truly lovely 🥰

    Reply
  8. Jeannie on

    Hello.

    This is my second year starting your lace flowers from seedling. I just potted them up yesterday and still have them under lights. I noticed today that the leaves are starting to turn yellow, and then I remembered this exact same thing happening last year, and wished I hadn’t ordered them again.

    What am I doing wrong? None of my other plants (herbs, veg, multiple other flowers) for the past three years have had this issue. I ended up losing all the lace flower seedlings last year and I would like to prevent that this year.

    Thank you

    Reply
  9. Jacquie on

    I live in a colder climate with last frost date being May long weekend (canada), I thought if I started my seedlings in house & transferred them to the greenhouse when day temperatures reached above freezing and night temperatures were at a low of -5 I could put a heater on & they would be fine…😖I’m struggling to keep them going, & so now I’m wondering if I’m too late to start new seeds in a week’s time? I just reordered poppies, sweet peas,& a few others so I won’t get them till next week

    Reply
  10. Brecken Penner on

    When transplanting from cell packs to a larger container before planting out, should I still use a seed starting mix or potting soil?

    Reply
  11. Courtney on

    Good Evening. I’ve scoured your site for the answer to this and haven’t found it. I am sorry in advance if you already have this out there or if it is horribly obvious and I just missed it. I am really new to gardening and I’d like to try a cut garden. While I completely understand your new starting from seed resources, I wasn’t quite set up to make that happen this season. Therefore, can I start a cut garden just from sowing seeds directly into the ground? Are there some seeds that fair better than others for this? Will my results just be “less” because I didn’t maximize the growing season? Thank you for your time. Looking forward to sending in my seed order.

    Reply
    • BriAnn, Team Floret on

      Seeds can be directly sown into the garden when soil temps have warmed up to 50-55 degrees. Just keep an eye out for pests and critters as they like to munch on little seedlings.

  12. Diana H. on

    Hi Erin and Team,

    As I start through your books and info, you briefly describe what you write down in your growing journal. Would you please post a page of your journal so that we can get an idea of how you’ve organized it and what headings/topics are relevant to keep track of, e.g. temperature, seed planting date, sprouting date, transplant date, etc.? Thanks!

    Reply
  13. Julie on

    Hi,
    I have recently moved to Springfield, Oregon from Hawaii and I’m excited to grow all sorts of new flowers, but I’m not really familiar with when the last frost would be. I think we are in a similar area to where you are in WA. I have bought Sweet Peas, Zinnias and Stock from you. When do you start those seeds? I just got a little mini greenhouse, but I don’t want to start too early.
    Thank you, Julie

    Reply
  14. Linda on

    During one of your videos on developing specific seeds you showed the small hoop houses you grow in to prevent cross pollination (you explained about the flies you use). Where do you get the small hoop houses. I would love to find something that has some kind of door. Thanks for all the info and help.

    Reply
    • BriAnn, Team Floret on

      We custom made our “flysolations” out of EMT conduit and mesh. Ours don’t have doors as we simply tied the mesh on each end of the tunnels.

  15. jyl on

    hi Erin,
    I saw a picture of you in your garden with a clipboard evaluating plants. There was gorgeous pink lupin, solid pink no white. I have tried to find it without success. Where did you get yours. It is one of those must have plants if you know what I mean.
    thanks so much,
    jyl

    Reply
  16. Harper on

    Hi! I have a couple pots of tulip bulbs that I just put in the ground. It has rained really hard for the past week and that’s when I planted them. They have sprouted but I noticed today that the sprout was turning pink/red. I don’t know what to do. The average temperature right now is about 50*F to 60* F if that helps. Thank you!

    Reply
  17. Lauren on

    Thank you for gathering this! What materials do you use to cover your small caterpillar tunnels?

    Reply
    • BriAnn Boots on

      4 mil greenhouse plastic.

  18. Janet Murphy Shope on

    Hi Floret! I would like to know if there is a particular mixture of compost that you prefer to use on your sites. I have some local choices of mushroom compost, leaf compost and worm casting compost. What would you suggest, or is it based on your individual soil condition? Thank you.

    Reply
    • BriAnn Boots on

      I’d suggest getting a soil test done and see what nutrients it could benefit from.

  19. Rachel on

    We are building a home along a wide ditch. I would enjoy incorporating a lot of flowers throughout the ditch, but do I have to hand sew hundreds of seeds? Is there a scatter method that will work? I’m interested in poppies, zinnias, cosmos… really any of the hardy annuals or perennials. Thanks!!

    Reply
  20. Emily on

    Caterpillar worms fell out of the bouquet and onto the table. I was so embarrassed. How do you get little worms out of snaps and/or zinnias (not sure which they are in) before gifting a bouquet?!

    Reply
  21. barbara on

    can you do an article about what roses are the best for cut flowers…. thank you

    Reply
  22. Diane Komorowski on

    Diane Mar20
    I just checked my dahlias that I’ve stored over the winter in plastic bins. They look good but some of them are already sprouting. How do I deal with it I think if they stay in the plastic boxes though , they will rot. What do I do with them? I think I am signed up under a gmail account that is not working now. So I sent my original email.

    Reply
  23. Genevieve Sauve on

    Hello, hoping I am reaching out in the right way here. I purchased some of you lovely Euphorbia seed this year. Sadly, I have had no luck germinating them at all (0 of the first 40 seems pretty bad!). I am an relatively experienced professionnal grower (porfessional horticulture school and have also followed the -fantastic- Floret online course!), and generally have no problem with germination, doing the necessary research for each plant. As the full botanical name is not indicated, I am struggling with this one. I have possibly misidentified it as euphorbia oblongata, and so i have surface-sown it in mini soil blocks in a 10×20 tray, covered with a dome and exposed it to grow lights, kept between 20-26C temperatures and maintained good moisture, and have had not results after 15 weeks. I have it down as a fairly slow germinator (20-30 days) so maybe this is normal and I am not giving it exactly the right temperatures for it to sprout within its normal time. Any help would be greatly appreciated, I would love to finally grow these gorgeous blooms. Thank you!

    Reply
  24. Molly Kim on

    Hi. I just watched the 3 part video of “seed-starting 101;” it was great and very helpful. I purchased some seeds from you back in January. I have 2 seed packets for shirley poppy…it states that they “resent transplanting.” Do you recommend that I direct sow? My frost free date in MA is May 15 so I’d love to get a head start with the seeds but prefer to heed your advice! Might there be enough seeds in the packet that I try to do both–start early inside and direct sow? Thanks.
    Molly Kim
    Wayland MA

    Reply
  25. Chelsea on

    I’m looking for a drip irrigation resource

    Reply
  26. Cheryl Fishko on

    I have attempted to grow snap dragon for the last 2 years and never got a seedling that was viable. I have read everyone of your books and the print out that accompanies your videos I print out and put in a three ring binder. I have read the Ziegler book constantly and many on line articles. There are many different approaches to how to start these seeds. Some want them in the frig ,some do not say. Some want them on the heat mats, covered in plastic but then how do they get enough light to germinate? I started a 18 seeds from Select Seed on the 27th of January and as of today (2/10) I have 4 seedlings up? They were dusted with vermiculite and put on a heat mat. I moved them between indirect light and heat and grow lights because, I do not know what to do to get the 14 other seeds to germinate. I planted 2 packages of your seeds dark red snapdragons and thought maybe I should not use the vermiculite to see if they would germinate any better.

    I would like to know a successful way to start these seed. Heat mat with cover in a indirect light or under grow lights on heat or in unheated grow tunnel on grow lights???? I am very confused and very frustrated and I am sure in the growing community, it is not only me . This is a flower that is frustrating and I don’t want to fail at it any more!

    Cheryl

    PS:I have been vegetable gardening for a long time and started adding flowers to the garden in the last 5 years, I have always started my own seeds.

    Reply
  27. Cindy Nordaker on

    While I haven’t had the chance to read Karen’s book on deer resistant design, we’ve had deer in both neighborhood’s we’ve lived in rural & urban. In plotting out an inventory of our shrubs & trees, learned the upside of lilacs is they’re deer resistant! If you have the room (they’re spreaders depending on cultivar) and are ok w/ lack of winter interest (like bark or berries, but this a.m. the frosty branches were cool, too!) they make a gorgeous natural hedge. In most months spring through fall the buds, foliage and flowers are stunning giving loads of material as Erin’s fond of saying. Just think about placement as they do best in full sun and prefer fairly neutral soils.

    Reply
  28. Rachel on

    Thank you so much for this incredibly useful roundup! I’ve bookmarked it and will return to it often, especially as I make my way through creating my first cutting garden. To celebrate our 40th birthdays this year, my best friend and I both got copies of your book, ordered your seeds and text each other non stop about our cutting garden plans. I was paying particular attention to the section above where you talk about sourcing structures – my dream is to put in a rose arbor this year (in metal) and am having a really hard time sourcing one that isn’t very poorly reviewed for being of low quality. I keep returning to the image of the metal arbors you put in along the cutting gardens, and wondering if you wouldn’t mind sharing where they came from? I’m in Canada so there’s a chance I still wouldn’t be able to get my hands on it (or afford it!) but have been actively researching for the last couple of months and any lead would be super useful! Thank you for all that you do!

    Reply
  29. Lisette on

    Thank you so much! I am enjoying the workshop 2022, and can really recommend enrolling. Here I do miss yours cats walking in front of the cameras – in almost every last film shot, as if they were lowly worm Richard Scarry or Wally :)

    Reply
  30. Nancy Pharr on

    Thank you for all of your knowagable and beautiful inspiration! Every thing about you is just Ahhhh!
    This isn’t a flower question specifically but needed if you do flower gardening. What kind of sunscreen do you use when out in the sun so much? Thank you!

    Reply
  31. Stella on

    Do you have a book, pages, or video on how you decide to plant what where and when? Deciding the layout of the garden is the most difficult for me. Any advice?

    Reply
  32. Leslie Emanuels on

    In the picture, you are writing down a wish list of varieties. I have a garden journal that I love but it is packed to the brim and I need to buy a new one. Does Floret have a monthly garden journal? Could it be your fourth book?! ;)

    Reply
  33. Rebecca Rowley - Ingadi Flower Farm on

    Deer solution: One method I use that has been fairly effective and the cheapest one I’ve found is use t-posts (6ft+) and fishing line. I spread the t-posts anywhere from 15ft-25ft apart and then wrap layers of fishing line about 1ft apart from top to bottom, creating an almost invisible fence around my large gardens.

    Since the deer have a hard time with depth perception, they don’t jump it. I’ve used the weakest strength (15lb) and 30lb. The 30lb is holding up better now in winter bc I’ve noticed they are pushing against it and some of the 15lb is breaking. But it is easy to rewrap and very inexpensive. I haven’t had any problems during spring- fall with it though.

    Hopefully that helps!

    Reply
  34. Melisa on

    I’ve received my pink and salmon zinnias and double click cosmos; additionally, I have ordered my statice pastel mix and amaranth Mira.
    Is it best to plant the seeds in individual species rows, or since each seed should be sown about 12” apart, would this mix work to grow mixed rows?

    Thank you; I can’t wait!!

    Reply

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