In my garden, I snip with abandon. And when my friends visit, I encourage them to do the same. It is a cutting garden, after all. Everything is grown to be anticipated, admired, photographed, harvested and appreciated elsewhere. To be given a job far more important than adorning my garden; to adorn my home or the home of someone I care about. With this in mind, I recently compiled an at-a-glance list of the vase life ranges for all the botanicals I grow specifically for use in floral arrangements and bouquets.
I've always found it intriguing to study the history, floriography, and meaning of the botanicals I grow in my garden. Dahlias, which are just hitting their stride in my garden the past couple weeks, have been my latest obsession. To me, they are the flower of September, continuing to bloom long after the majority of the garden has faded and right up until the first frost. Here are 10 fun facts I've recently learned about dahlias!
Like many of you, my love affair with gardening began as a child. I have fond memories of my grandma walking me around her backyard, with my skinned knees and pigtails, showing me how beautiful it was to grow things. Since then, I’d always dreamed of a big garden. One with a maze of raised beds and archways, trellises and arbors, and gravel paths wide enough to pull a wagon for hauling bountiful harvests. A place to retreat to when I need a moment of solace. It would be the garden I would cherish the rest of my days.
Ahhh...the question as old as time itself. Exactly what is “pinching” and what varieties of herbs and flowers should you pinch? Pinching, quite simply, is the practice of snipping off the top few inches of a young plant. But why?