DIY Bouquets: Growing a Cutting Garden

I spent the weekend in the City of Roses (Portland, OR), so it seemed only right to visit the rose garden. Walking down the tiers of grass and mounds of mulch that show off new varieties of roses in the International Rose Test Garden, I was amazed by the intricacies of color and overwhelmed by the scent of the wild ones.

I wonder if any bride on a budget has been tempted to break in after hours, guerrilla gardener shears in hand, to sneak off with a gorgeous bridal bouquet?

Surrounded by beautiful blooms, I dreamed of taking some home, too, bringing the garden into my apartment to brighten my desk, mantle, and kitchen table with rich shades of corals and purples.  Up on the hill, a little away from the roses, there was also a hydrangea in bloom, surrounded by ferns, that could turn my workspace into a reminder of my weekend away.

Growing up walking trails in the woods, I was always told never to take anything home – as lovely as a blooming flower may be, and as tempting as it was to take to enjoy it for hours on end, I had to leave it for other hikers to see its wild beauty. Growing and cutting flowers out of my own garden feels like a guilty pleasure.  I love bringing the outdoors in.

Do you have a cutting garden as part of your green space?  What do you grow?  My friend harvested sweet peas and gave them to me in a big, fragrant riot of color, reds, oranges, yellows and purples tumbling out of a blue teapot.  Check out a list of easy-to-grow flowers that make great bouquets at gardeners.com – including asters (September’s flower), sunflowers, and dahlias, a few of my favorite flowers.  The author has tips on growing your own cutting garden, *maybe* a better idea for those brides on a budget than risking going to flower garden jail.

Show us your homemade bouquets – tweet photos to us @TheCity Farm & @RebeccaSnavely.