Flower garden tips: 5 keys to success

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — If April showers bring May flowers, the time to start planning your cut flower garden is now.

Alexis Sheffield, horticulture specialist at University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension, shared five tips for anyone wanting to start a home flower garden.

Keys To Success

1. Conduct a soil test. “Take a soil test,” Sheffield said. “That’s going to be very important. The good thing is, most flowers aren’t heavy feeders, like a tomato. They are great going in after a vegetable garden because they are great nutrient scavengers. However, some need more (nutrients) than others, such as sunflowers.”

2. Don’t use overhead water. “We don’t recommend overhead watering,” the horticulture specialist said. “If you need to overhead water, do it before it blooms. It’s OK with younger plants. Drip irrigation is the way to go. It’s more efficient, as well.”

3. Don’t overfeed. “Flowers are great at scavenging for nutrients,” Sheffield said. “You don’t want to overfeed them. If you overfeed them, especially with nitrogen, you can get more foliage than flowers.”

4. If you want straight stems, use netting. “If you want straight stems, you need to have netting,” the horticulturist said. “Even in a high tunnel, people will use netting or some sort of trellising.”

5. Incorporate foliage, fillers and statement flowers. “If you want a true cut flower garden, you need a little bit of everything,” Sheffield said. “You’ll get a much better product.”

Four Seasons Of Color

Sheffield also shared a list of flowers to plant to see four seasons of color in your garden:

Spring

• Bulbs

• Lilac

• Foxglove

• Columbine

• Mock Orange

• Spirea

• Peonies

• Campanula

• Snapdragon

Summer

• Hydrangea

• Zinnia

• Basil

• Mahogany Splendor Hibiscus

• Dahlia

• Sunflower

• Rudbeckia

• Yarrow

Fall

• Viburnum

• Goldenrod

• Aster

• Japanese Anemones

• Amaranth

• Sedum

• Mexican Sage

Winter

• Red Twig Dogwood

• Witch Hazel

• Nandina

• Golden Cypress

• Beautyberry

• Winterberry