The Cutting Garden

Chancing upon a vase of flowers in a home always gives me a thrill. When I say flowers, I mean those cut from a garden close by, so fresh they awaken all the senses. I have long aspired to have a cutting garden so I was delighted to receive a request to review The Cut Flower Patch by Louise Curley.

One of the reasons I don't have flowers in the house more often is the guilt I feel about bringing in a thriving bloom which fades once in the vase. I may not be the only one who frets about this as it is one of the first issues Louise addresses in the section on what makes a great cut flower. All the flowers included in the book will last at least five days, some up to two weeks, before beginning to flag. This section also covers abundance and length of blooming.

The Cut Flower Patch is divided into the following chapters:

Planning a cutting patch-the darling girl has planting plans, from easy to advanced, and shopping lists

Recommended flowers with extensive information about each and a colour photograph:

Annuals & biennials

cornflower

- Bulbs, corms & tubers

- Foliage & fillers

Dianthus barbutus 'Green Trick'

Making your cutting patch

• Caring for your patch
• Cutting time
• Showing off

The invaluable tips page takes any stress out of flower arranging-Louise is a proponent of quick and simple.

Rich pickings-plants to pick for each season

opium poppy seed heads

A year on the patch-Louise takes us through a year in her own cutting garden

It is hard not to be effusive about this book. Louise is a master of her craft. The book is crammed with detailed practical steps however her writing dances lightly across the page making it easy to absorb. The images, a delight for the eye, are used well and complement the text.

As with all books written on one side of the pond or the other, Louise is in England, resources are specific to that country. Don't let this put you off, however, as the book has a depth of knowledge which will be appreciated and useful to gardeners everywhere. All the plants mentioned grow well in most parts of the northern hemisphere.

Louise is the writer behind wellywoman a respected blog out of the U.K. The beautiful and abundant photographs in the book, some of which are featured in this post, are by Jason Ingram.

For anyone who understands the destruction caused by the commercial cut flower industry, but still wants flowers in the house, this book is the answer.

The Cut Flower Patch
Author: Louise Curley
Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Frances Lincoln (March 6 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0711234752
ISBN-13: 978-0711234758

$21 average price