Picking flowers in your own garden

Starting in early spring and all through summer, flower bulbs give you that lovely spring feeling. Even if March and April are often still cold and bleak, the first brave bulbs already start flowering. Imagine how fun it would be to cut some flowers from your own garden to put in a vase! In this way, you can enjoy spring inside as well!

A picking garden for everyone

Of course, you want to avoid bare spots in your garden when you pick flowers. That is why it is a good idea to choose a small plot of half a square yard (or bigger, if you like) where you will create your very own picking garden. Vary your bulb choice in terms of shapes, colors and flowering times, so you can pick flowers longer and always have a floral surprise in your home. If you don’t have space for a picking garden, simply plant a few more bulbs in the fall than you normally would. No one will notice if you pinch a few flowers here and there from time to time.

Perfect for picking

Of course, there is the familiar tulip as a picking flower, but you could also consider other spring flowers such as hyacinths, daffodils, alliums and blue (or white) grape hyacinths. If you choose daffodils, make sure you don’t put them in the vase with other flowers straight away. The slime daffodils produce right after cutting is harmful to other flowers. It is best to put daffodils in a separate vase for a few hours first. They will stop producing slime after a few hours and you can then put them in a vase with other flowers.

Planting spring bulbs

Choose your bulbs in the fall and plant them before the first frost. You can plant them in the garden, or in containers and pots. Plant the bulbs three times as deep as they are tall.