The beauty of your cutting garden is the “no-guilt” strategy of growing beautiful flowers that beg to be cut and enjoyed inside. That is, after they’ve done all the right things for the places you plant them! Whether annuals or perennials, you’re going to cut them, so their soil needs to be rich in organic matter. They’ll need a spot with good water retention and drainage and several inches of good compost or leaf mold worked into the soil before planting. Blooming can be blooming hard work, so keep them strong! TIP: If their blooming doesn’t seem to keep up, give them a bit of liquid fertilizer and a bit more tender loving tending! You may even choose to put your Cutting Garden in an out-of-the-way spot, sunny, and meeting soil requirements. These flowers will be all the more wonderful when you cut, arrange and bring inside! Or, you may select a few rows or parts of several rows in your vegetable garden. Certain bright and cheerful flowers discourage bugs. Others attract those busy pollinators to your veggies, and they’ll all help keep a smile on your face! But don’t forget to CUT them and enjoy inside! TIP: Whether out of the way or along a pathway, make sure you keep your Cutting Garden weed free! Annuals or perennials? Annuals are beautiful, but don’t last the entire growing season, so have extra seeds to replenish. If a particular group of plants is fading or just not doing well, use Tough Love and remove them. Perennials will last the entire season, from early spring through late fall. In the long haul, you may find yourself defaulting to perennials! TIP: Organize your space. Since flowers don’t all bloom at the same time, try arranging them in the order they bloom. Early, mid-season, or later. Enjoy!