I don't blog very much about The Cutting Garden... not sure why... I guess all those romantic photos of weddings and floral arrangements just take precident most of the time. But now that it is January, we are through the darkest days of the year, and I am starting to see the *very* beginnings of spring (narcissus starting to poke up through the soil!!! a flowering plum tree IN FULL BLOOM yesterday!!!!), I am getting really excited about this year, and The Cutting Garden is really on my mind!
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| An Iceland Poppy saying "hello" to some Cerinthe (July 2012) |
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| Zinnias (August 2011) |
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| A bucket of poppy pods harvested for a dear friend's wedding last summer. |
Today I am ordering seeds: the winter ritual of dreaming about all the possibilities for next year, making lists of seeds, editing the list, adding more seeds back onto the list, trying to figure out how on earth I am going to grow all those plants in this backyard, deciding I better go ahead and expand the garden, maybe a bed full of heirloom roses would be nice, YES!!! YES, YES, YES! AND MORE ROOM FOR DAHLIAS!!! You can see how excited my mind gets dreaming about all of these things......
This is such an exciting time, when I am reminded of all the possibilities, and also reflecting on what happened last year, and how I can work smarter this year.
It is also very inspiring to me to see how much happens in such a short period of time. The following photos show the evolution of last year's garden from January (just a sketch on paper) to July (an off-the-hook, wild flower jungle!)
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| The initial plan.... |
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| Implementation! Which involved a lot of serious WORK!!! Sore muscles for days...... |
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| By May, things are starting to take shape... and looking EXTREMELY organized.... WOW! |
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| And by the end of July it is just a riot! |
Looking outside at the windy, bare trees and the empty garden (the only things still standing are a patch of dusty miller, and one, very haggard cardoon that I just refuse to take down for some reason...) it is hard to imagine that the garden in this photo really existed just a few months ago! But also so exciting to realize that it will be back in the blink of an eye (I planted hundreds of frittilaries, muscari, and parrot and peony-flowering tulips last fall, which will be the first to come up this spring!)
Dreaming, dreaming, dreaming.... OH MY GOSH, I AM SO EXCITED. Now time to get this seed order in so I can make this year's garden a reality!
you are such an inspiration!
ReplyDeleteAgreed! Kelly, your little cutting garden is what makes you and your floral designs super special!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Whitney and Debra! You will both have to come over this summer when the garden is in full bloom!
ReplyDeleteCan see why you're so excited...that's a gorgeous cutting garden! Be sure to keep us updated as it starts to bloom this spring. Can't wait to see it!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the photos Kelly, I've always wondered what your garden looks like! It looks beautiful! Wishing you another productive year.
ReplyDeleteI left California with a cardoon in my suitcase!!! I love cardoons. What a beautiful garden you have created!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Amy, Agnes and Holly! I will try to be better about posting Cutting Garden updates and photos this year!
ReplyDeleteHolly, that is hilarious that you brought a cardoon home with you from California :)
Wonderful Garden... You have great inspirations !! Melbourne florist
ReplyDeleteLovely! I'm planning to grow a cutting garden this year and thought I was getting ahead of myself wanting to order seeds in January.
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