Growing Flowers

Master Flower Gardening and Learn to Grow Flowers for All Seasons “Anyone wanting to get started with a flower garden will find plenty of expert guidance here.” ―Publishers Weekly #1 Best Seller in Annual Flowers Gardening, Bulb Flower Gardening, and Perennial Gardening Master the art of cultivating cut flowers, from seed to stunning arrangements, with this indispensable guide for gardening novices and pros alike. Create botanical beauty. Niki Irving’s Growing Flowers whisks you away to the serene mountains of Asheville, NC, where her boutique flower farm thrives. Learn to grow florets and cut flowers with the same sustainable, natural practices Niki employs on her mountain-fresh farm. Boost your horticultural skills. This garden journal not only introduces you to the pleasures of growing a cutting garden but also guides you to arrange your flowers into simple-yet-gorgeous bouquets. Immerse yourself in the enchanting world of flower farming and discover techniques using not just blooms and greenery, but even artichokes, vines, and berries. Inside, you'll find: Practical guidance on organic flower gardening, from selecting the right seeds and seedlings to mastering seasonal rotation Insightful techniques for arranging cut flowers Tips and tricks from Niki Irving's successful boutique flower farm for cultivating your own cutting garden Engaging photographic content that transforms the book into a delightful coffee table addition Growing Flowers is a wonderful addition to any collection of garden books. If you’re looking for gardening gifts for gardeners or enjoy flowering plant books and flower books like Floret Farms Cut Flower Garden book, Floret Farm's A Year in Flowers, or The Flower Gardener's Bible, you’ll love Niki Irving's Growing Flowers.

A stunning guide to growing, harvesting, and arranging gorgeous dahlia blooms from celebrated farmer-florist and New York Times bestselling author Erin Benzakein, founder of Floret Flower Farm. World-renowned flower farmer and floral designer Erin Benzakein reveals all the secrets to growing, cultivating, and arranging gorgeous dahlias. These coveted floral treasures come in a dazzling range of colors, sizes, and forms, with enough variety for virtually every garden space and personal preference, making them one of the most beloved flowers for arrangements. In these pages, readers will discover: • Expert advice for planting, harvesting, and arranging garden-fresh dahlias • A simple-to-follow overview of the dahlia classification system • An A–Z guide with photos and descriptions of more than 350 varieties • Step-by-step how-to's for designing show-stopping dahlia bouquets that elevate any occasion Expert Author: Erin Benzakein's gorgeous flowers are celebrated throughout the world. Her book Floret Farm's A Year in Flowers was a New York Times bestseller and her first book, Floret Farm's Cut Flower Garden, won the American Horticultural Society Book Award. Filled with Wisdom: Overflowing with hundreds of lush photographs and invaluable advice, DISCOVERING DAHLIAS is an essential resource for gardeners and a must-have for anyone who loves flowers, including flower lovers, avid and novice gardeners, floral designers, florists, small farmers, stylists, and designers.

Learn how to buy, style, and present seasonal flower arrangements for every occasion. With sections on tools, flower care, and design techniques, Floret Farm's A Year in Flowers presents all the secrets to arranging garden-fresh bouquets. Featuring expert advice from Erin Benzakein, world-renowned flower farmer, floral designer, and bestselling author of Floret Farm: Cut Flower Garden, this book is a gorgeous and comprehensive guide to everything you need to make your own incredible arrangements all year long, whether harvesting flowers from the backyard or shopping for blooms at the market. • Includes an A–Z flower guide with photos and care tips for more than 200 varieties. • Simple-to-follow advice on flower care, material selection, and essential design techniques • More than 25 how-to projects, including magnificent centerpieces, infinitely giftable posies, festive wreaths, and breathtaking bridal bouquets Floret Farm's A Year in Flowers offers advice on every phase of working with cut flowers—including gardening, buying, caring for, and arranging fresh flowers. Brimming with indispensable tips and hundreds of vibrant photographs, this book is an invitation to live a flower-filled life and perfect for anyone who loves flowers. • The definitive guide to flower arranging from the biggest star in the farm-to-centerpiece movement • Perfect for flower lovers, avid and novice gardeners, floral designers, wedding planners, florists, small farmers, stylists, designers, crafters, and those passionate about the local floral movement • For those who loved Floret Farm's Cut Flower Garden by Erin Benzakein, The Flower Recipe Book by Alethea Harampolis, Seasonal Flower Arranging by Ariella Chezar, and The Flower Chef by Carly Cylinder

Experts Clare Foster and Sabina Rüber share their gardening wisdom in this how to garden guide. Growing flowers from seed is an easy and cheap way to enhance borders and bring instant colour to tired gardens. Use this step-by-step guide to grow beautiful blooms and bouquets to brighten your home, all within a single growing season. Author Clare Foster and photographer Sabina Rüber have been experimenting with growing flowers from seed for several years. In this book they pass on that invaluable experience, explaining how and when to sow and grow a huge range of flowers from Aquilegia to Zinnia.

Flowers are delightful to look at, but they also play a critical role in ecosystems around the world. Budding gardeners get a comprehensive look at flowers with this beginner’s guide, which comes complete with diagrams, colorful photos, and fact boxes. The age-appropriate text is driven by curricula standards and covers fundamental concepts such as plant life cycles and ecosystems. The text also includes tips for caring for plants and starting a garden at home.

Learn the secrets to designing showstopping monochromatic arrangements in this spectacular guide from floral artist Kiana Underwood. Underwood shares her techniques for creating dazzling single-color displays using inspired ingredients, dramatic textures, and vibrant colors. Organized by season, the book includes how-tos for 40 arrangements— including a lush green display for spring, an astonishing black bouquet for summer, a striking magenta design for fall, and an unexpected, oh-so-pretty pink arrangement for winter. Featuring hundreds of eye-catching images and easy-to-follow tips throughout—such as suggestions for substituting flowers and options for both the beginner and advanced designer—this book is as useful as it is gorgeous. The ultimate resource, Color Me Floral has an extraordinary arrangement to enhance every occasion.

Table of Contents Introduction Choosing the Right Soil Soil Color and Fertility Humus Preparation of the Soil Best Time for Seed Sowing The Thinning Process Staking Your Annuals Why Mulch? Cultivation and Maintenance Watering your Plants List of Hardy annuals Half Hardy Annuals Annuals Suitable for Cutting Purposes – Annuals for autumn blooming – Half Hardy Annuals for Edging Your Border Knowing More about Biennials Sowing the seeds Preparing the Ground List of Popular Biennials Choosing the Plants Permanent Plants Bougainvillea Hibiscus Cannas Asters The Jasmine Family and Plumeria Lilies Sowing Time Summer Plants Chrysanthemums Winter Plants Sweetpeas Phlox Hollyhocks Sunflowers Gladiolus Perennial Plants Dianthus Cosmos Periwinkles- Vinca Petunias Useful Gardening Tips Appendix Propagation through Buds Preparing a bud Grafting Benefits Wedge Grafting Grafting Wax Solutions Grafting Wax Orchids Collecting Orchids Natural Conditions Division of Species Terrestrial orchids – Epiphytic Orchids – Cultivation of Orchids Cultivation of Orchids at High Altitudes Propagation of Orchids Blossoming Orchids Making an Orchid House Types of Popular Orchids Varieties Dendrobium Epidendrum Cattleya Bletia Vanda Phalaenopsis Vanilla Odontoglossum Cypripedium – Lady Slipper Orchid genus Appendix Why Re-Pot a Plant Roses How To Grow Roses Types and Varieties of Roses Preparation of the Soil Planting Why Stake Your Roses Organic Manure for Roses Pruning Your Roses First pruning Hard pruning. Subsequent Pruning – Other Types of Roses Ramblers Climbing HTs Rose Standards Weeping Standards Floribundas General Management of Rose Plants Disbudding Roses Rose Pests and Diseases Appendix How to Make Rose Water How to Make a Rose Potpourri Rhododendrons Knowing More about Azaleas Ghent Azaleas Cultivation of Rhododendrons Soil for Your Rhododendrons Shade and Shelter for Your Rhododendrons Effect of Wind and Sun So How Do You Get the Best Shade for Your Rhododendrons? Shade Plants to Avoid Best Sheltering Plants Pests and Diseases Rhododendron Types and Hybrids Flower Borders Planning a Border Preparing Your Border Lime Application Manuring General Cultivation Tips Planting of Shrubs List of Different Color Plants Multicolored Plants Borders of Just One Color Getting a Period Border Narrow Borders Aspect Borders General Herbaceous Borders Choosing the Right Background Staking and Supports Growing a Shrub Border Using Bulbs in Your Border Bulb Selection Planting Your Bulbs Border Bulbs – Hyacinth and Crocus Management of your Borders Traditional Control of Slugs Author Bio Publisher Introduction There are far too many people out there who are under the impression that you cannot have a beautiful garden without spending huge amounts of money. That is so not true. A little bit of planning and this fallacy is going to fall to pieces by the wayside. Those who are grown annuals for years are going to give this statement the lie gladly. Their initial investment must have been just a packet of seeds. The next year, the plants were grown from the seeds collected from the previous years’ crop. Do not forget that the life of an annual is limited to just 12 months and so you must not expect them to grow up and bloom again the next year, unless of course you allowed the seeds to lie in the bed without collecting them. That is when they are going to bloom up just like weeds with a little bit of rain, and with the coming of the spring. One of the great advantages of annuals is that they are quite easy to grow and flourish in your garden over a long period. The most common are well known to even amateur gardeners who can recognize a cornflower, nasturtiums, Virginia stock and Candytuft. These are very beautiful in themselves, but every gardener is growing them in his garden.