London Cottage Garden

Blogging about cottage garden style in a town garden

  • Subscribe to London Cottage Garden

    • Home
    • About
    • Contact

    Small town garden – flowers for cutting


    March 12th, 2019 - Popular posts, Pots and containers, small garden ideas

    Share this post:

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Pinterest
    • Email

    I want to grow flowers early in the year to cut for vases indoors. However I don’t have room for a cutting patch.  What to do?  Well last autumn I crammed spring bulbs into 6 big plastic pots.  I’m pleased to say they are coming up and I can cut a few every few days for the house.

    I can’t bring myself to cut blooms from the borders as then I’d be left with nothing to look at and I know others feels the same.  I  had the idea to grow daffodils and tulips for cutting crammed in 6 big plastic pots. Because I wanted to have flowers early in the year I chose early scented daffodils and the more unusual and exotic tulips.

    Small town garden flowers for cutting

    two pots of daffs and two of tulips

    Just three stems in a vase are enough to have on the table and these pots will provide that for several months.

    Small town garden flowers for cutting

    Narcissi cut when just in bud so they open in the warmth of the house

     

     

    Scented narcissi from the cutting garden pots

    Three stems of multi-headed narcissi are enough for a small vase

     

    What will I do when they’re over?  Well one thing I can do is to leave the bulbs in for next year.  .By early July I can then pull away the yellow foliage and put some colourful summer bedding in the pots on top of the bulbs. That way I will have interest till about  November.

    I could alternatively let the foliage die down and then lift and store the bulbs in the shed to replant them in the borders in October. I would then buy fresh ones for the pots for flowers next spring. Luckily bulbs are relatively cheap to buy in bulk from wholesale companies and they can be planted as late as December.

    I’ve written more here about spring bulbs for show.  I think tulips look so wonderful in a pot the last thing I would want to do is cut even one of them.  You could think about having a cheap pot full of one type of bulb for bringing indoors next February when we all need all the colour a scent we can find.

    Have a look at Instagram for more photos of the garden.

     

    Share this post:

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Pinterest
    • Email

    6 comments on "Small town garden – flowers for cutting"

    1. Beverly says:
      12th March 2019 at 3:24 pm

      I’ll need to think about this. sounds good.

      Reply
      1. Julie Quinn says:
        13th March 2019 at 7:51 am

        You can really cram them in touching each other. Doesn’t look decorative but does produce the goods.

        Reply
    2. Belinda says:
      12th March 2019 at 4:55 pm

      What a good idea. I can’t force myself to pick so much as a rose for the house which is silly because I’d reallysee more of it indoors than out !

      Reply
      1. Julie Quinn says:
        13th March 2019 at 7:50 am

        I know what you mean but me too, can’t bear it cos it can last so much longer outside and indoors only a few days. Lucky old huge gardens who can have a vast cutting garden tucked away behind the tennis courts next to the swimming pool so they can pick things and not notice they’re gone!!!!!

        Reply
    3. Lisbeths Haveblog says:
      19th March 2019 at 9:01 am

      It is a very good idea that I will remember.
      I have pots with springbulbs too but just to look at. Because I also have a very small garden, I know the problem with hiding the pots during summer. Last year I found out that I can hide them in the borders. Under/behind small bushes and under the leaves of perennaials and other plants. One pot here. One pot there. I only have six to hide, and it works ok. I used to think that they should be hidden all together. They don’t need so of course and that made it easier.
      Kind regards Lisbeth

      Reply
      1. Julie Quinn says:
        19th March 2019 at 5:53 pm

        Oh what a clever idea! I had never thought of that. I had always had them sitting about on the paving but now I can see I could tuck them under shrubs. Oh my goodness how we can give each other such great ideas! Thanks so much for your comment and I shall go to your blog at once. best wishes Julie

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    − 5 = 2

    London Cottage Garden
  • Subscribe to London Cottage Garden


  • Popular Posts

    How to use colour in the cottage garden style

    How to have colour in the cottage garden style town garden without it being too much work for one person to manage.  Well I would…


    Daffodils in a small garden – tips on how to grow them.

    If you have a small garden like a town garden and want to grow daffodils, here are my tips on how best to do it,…


    front gardens cottage gardening town garden

    Sixty seven on Saturday February 2nd 2019

    It's my 67th birthday today and here is a very short story of my gardening life through six decades. [caption id="attachment_1756" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Mum and…


    Tulips, daffodils and forget-me-nots

    “Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance……

    everybody thinks it's true" - Paul Simon 2007 We gardeners think about and work towards the future - we are assuming a future. We are…


    Ideas from an Adam Frost Garden School Masterclass

    After attending Adam Frost's September Masterclass,  I wrote in a previous post about his ideas for thinking about designing and using your garden space. Adam’s…




    londoncottagegarden

    Mr Fox just outside the back door finishing up the Mr Fox just outside the back door finishing up the stray cat’s dinner. What a beautiful creature he is.
    Washed the table ready for Spring but careful not Washed the table ready for Spring but careful not to disturb the moss in pic 2. #londoncottagegarden
    Sitting with the door wide open for the first time Sitting with the door wide open for the first time this year. Sun shining. #londoncottagegarden
    Double early supermarket tulips now and 10 days ag Double early supermarket tulips now and 10 days ago.  Aren’t they fab.
    20 mins later. Is it the same one or another one? 20 mins later. Is it the same one or another one? I wish I knew.
    Foxy visits us every evening around 6/6.30. Lovely Foxy visits us every evening around 6/6.30. Lovely creature.
    Double early tulips, scented, in my favourite vase Double early tulips, scented, in my favourite vase. 1930s I think. Earlier? #londoncottagegarden #tulips #vintage
    Miss Popsie Poppit is on the shelf #tortiekitten Miss Popsie Poppit is on the shelf #tortiekitten  #tortiecat
    😳is this the end of my geranium tomentosum ?? H 😳is this the end of my geranium tomentosum ??
Help! #londoncottagegarden #geraniums
    Lovely pattern of snow on our brick path. #londonc Lovely pattern of snow on our brick path. #londoncottagegarden #frontgarden #brickpath
    Set up my table and chair today - ready for my mor Set up my table and chair today - ready for my morning coffee someday soon #londoncottagegarden #cottagegardenstyle #colourinthegarden
    Spot the blurry bee 🐝 on the winter honeysuckle Spot the blurry bee 🐝 on the winter honeysuckle- that’s why the shrub is so vital #bees #wintershrubs #londoncottagegarden
    Just cut back a pot of hakonechloa grass. New shoo Just cut back a pot of hakonechloa grass. New shoots will appear within 2/3 weeks. #grasses #japanesegrass
    Grasses with and now without snow on them. They ar Grasses with and now without snow on them. They aren’t affected at all #grasses #ornamentalgrasses
    Lovely snow. Lovely snow.
    Amazing light in the back garden today #londoncott Amazing light in the back garden today #londoncottagegarden #londongarden #wintersun
    Collecting local leaves for my compost again #leaf Collecting local leaves for my compost again #leafmould #londoncottagegarden #compost #lovelyleaves #organicmatter
    Into my pot of tulips it goes! Eat that and weep y Into my pot of tulips it goes! Eat that and weep you pesky squirrels! #londoncottagegarden #tulips #squirrels
    Garden looks golden today #londoncottagegarden #gr Garden looks golden today #londoncottagegarden #grasses #hakonechloa #japanesegrasses
    Tiny species tulip bulbs from @blomsbulbs perfect Tiny species tulip bulbs from @blomsbulbs perfect for a small pot #tulips #containergardening #cottagegarden
    Load More… Follow on Instagram

    UK Gardening Blogs

    © 2021 London Cottage Garden - The London Cottage Garden Blog

    Website Design www.beamtwenty3.co.uk

    loading Cancel
    Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
    Email check failed, please try again
    Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.