JW: I'm Judy Wagley. This is “From the Ground Up!” It is so delightful to have a bouquet of fresh flowers in your living or working space. The colorful blossoms just make you happy. And wouldn't it be lovely to grow those flowers yourself? Well, you can even in a small space. Kathleen McCoy and Megan West of Oakbrook West Farm in Clare will tell us how. Thanks for joining me today.
MW: Thank you, Judy, for having us today.
KM: Thank you, Judy. We're so happy to be here today.
JW: Kathleen, you suggest there are five simple steps for growing a cutting garden.
KM: Yes, there are. They're really simple. First, choose a spot that receives 6 to 8 hours of sunlight per day. Number two: you're gonna prepare the soil, just make sure you loosen it with a shovel or rake. Remove any weeds, rocks, or debris or grass. Number three: you're going to choose your flowers. But before I go into that, I work with my daughter Megan, and she's the expert in that. Number four: planting your seeds. And #5: maintaining you need to water, fertilize, cut or deadhead to encourage continuous flowering all season long, and I guess really the sixth step is just plain enjoy.
JW: Yes, that's a good step. Megan, do you have some ideas for specific flowers?
MW: Yes. So Judy, this is my favorite time of year. So at your local hardware stores or garden supply stores, you will see all the seed packets that are available. It might be overwhelming at first, but the main ones that we go for that are easy to grow are zinnias--the different varieties of zinnias. Our favorite are cut-and-come-again zinnias.
JW: What does that mean? Cut and come again?
MW: Cut and come again means that the more that you cut, the more that will grow. So if you cut them, they'll come again. So you'll have plenty of flowers throughout the season. And then cosmos, marigolds, snapdragons and sunflowers are also really good seeds to start with.
JW: Can we just buy plants?
MW: Yes, at a garden center you can also buy plants if you don't want to work with seeds. Plant those instead, so you're a couple of steps ahead of the rest.
JW: Why do you like those flowers for cutting?
MW: So like I said, they most of them the more that you cut, the bigger that they'll grow and the more that you'll have and so—they're easy to grow.
KW: Plus, they have a long stem life length, because if you're gonna do a cut flower bouquet at home or I always say, cut one for yourself, give one away to a friend, cause nothing makes anybody happier than receiving a bouquet of flowers. So the ones that Megan was choosing, they have a stem, a longer stem, and you can really see how long the stem's going to be by turning the packet around. If you're doing seeds and it'll tell you how, how tall that flower will get.
JW: Is there a way that we should design our garden?
MW: Yes, that's a good question. And so to start off with, I would start small --you don't want to overwhelm yourself because you will have to weed. So especially if you're using seeds, you have to know the difference between a weed and your little baby plant that's coming out--your new sprout. The one thing I do have to let everyone know is if you are starting with seeds, you have to wait until the last frost. I know we get excited around this time of year to watch things start to grow, but if you plant beforehand and the frost hits, you will have to replant. Both my mom and I have been in that position. So if you want to plant once, pay attention to the weather and then what zone you're in for our state of Michigan.
JW: What about containers?
KM: If I was going to do a container, you really need to make sure how high you want the flower to grow. So really read the back of your seed packet. You don't have to make this complicated. I think it's a stress relief. You know, you get excited, you go out to the garden center, you pick your seeds, you go home. If you're gonna do a container, you clean out your containers, put clean soil in –and then have fun. It's not complicated. There's a famous quote that I really have always enjoyed, and it's by Lady Bird Johnson. And she says “Where flowers bloom, so does hope,” and I love that. And the other quote that I really like a lot is “Happiness held is the seed,” cause we get really excited when we get our seeds. And “Happiness shared is the flower,” and we get really excited when we give away our flowers. It's just fun.
JW: Just have fun. Plant some seeds, plant some plants, watch them grow, cut the flowers, bring them inside and just have fun. Kathleen McCoy and Megan W from Oakbrook West Farm in Clare-- that says it all! Thanks for joining me today for “From the Ground Up!”
