A small personal supply of flowers will require less time however the more flowers you require, the more time you will need to commit to tending to the patch and usually a daily routine is essential. A successful cutting garden is a year-round commitment —outside of the growing season, digging, mulching and weeding to prepare for the season ahead needs to take place. How to design a cutting garden The Cutting Garden (growing and arranging flowers) by Sarah Raven (Frances Lincoln Ltd. 1996,ISBN 0-7112-1047-0) What to do now: in Autumn (no later than October) we take cuttings from all of the Pelargoniums and Salvias. We also sow some hardy annual seeds. This year we have sown: Antirrhinum Chantilly Bronze (above, available here from Chiltern Seeds); Clarkia; Linaria; Calendula; Agrostemma; Larkspur; Poppy; Daucus (below, available from Chiltern Seeds); Scabious; Akebia Vine.

New Improved Online Store Be secure knowing the fresh flowers that we are known for are still being artfully arranged Cutting-garden membership association Flowers from the farm, with members across the UK ( www.flowersfromthefarm.co.uk) Some of my favourites for foliage include Hornbeam, Eucalyptus and Rosa glauca. For flowering branches in the Spring and early Summer I rely on Spiraea argutea, Viburnum opulus and Philadelphus. For berried branches in the Autumn, Snowberry and Hypericum varieties are mainstays. Professional flower grower Bek Bibby of Blooming Green in Linton (where you can buy glorious cut flowers and also attend one of their courses on arranging or growing flowers at home), offers some advice.

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The New Flower Arranger (contemporary approaches to floral design) byFiona Barnett (Lorenz Books 1995, ISBN 1859670806) I love to watch the busy eco system at work – so many butterflies, bees, ladybirds and naturally healthy plants. Is there anything better?

Gladiolus ‘The Bride’ Its pure-white starry flowers should overcome any anti-gladdie prejudice. Also try acid-green ‘Evergreen’ and orangey-brown ‘Bimbo’

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I came away feeling really inspired to grow more myself. I have always loved spending time pottering in my garden but struggle to take the snippers to flowers when they look so beautiful in the flower bed. It feels like vandalism somehow. But I do love to fill the house with simple jugs and jars of seasonal blooms and foliage. It got me thinking about doing more with a forgotten and overgrown area of my garden. I made up my mind to create a dedicated sustainable flower cutting garden.

Home made flower preservative can be added to the water - 1 tspn sugar, 1 tspn bleach, 2 tspns lemon juice to approx. one litre of water I created a small formal rose bed in my front garden this year, but with mixed success. I suspect I under-estimated how much water they needed (they seem so much happier now after some really rainy weather) and I’m not sure if the rusty support I’m growing them against is good for the leaves….You will need to have your bed prepared for planting cut flowers either during autumn or spring, but you can make a start on preparing it anytime. This will mean that the bed is cleared of all unwanted plants, weeds, roots, and large stones and it is thoroughly dug over. While the bed is empty, it’s well worth enriching the soil with a good quality mulch, such as well rotted leaf mould or compost. This will help young roots to develop, keep any weeds down and assist in maintaining the soil moisture. Leave the newly prepared areas bare for at least a few weeks prior to planting, that way it is easy to remove any missed weeds. Most importantly, choose flowers that you like! When starting this endeavour, it’s best to choose plants that you are fond of —it adds motivation and a sense of pride and achievement to the process of growing, especially when growing for personal use. With the days getting shorter, you might think now is the wrong time to be sowing seeds but, now is the time to get ahead with sowing next years hardy annuals making strong plants. If you have a greenhouse, make sure it is clean, allowing as much light through the glass as possible, to help aid germination otherwise, a bright windowsill, out of draught will do just as well. My must grow annuals are those that I know work hard, which I cut and come again throughout the summer season.