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An American Cutting Garden: A Primer for Growing Cut Flowers Where Summers Are Hot and Winters Are Cold
In An American Cutting Garden Suzanne McIntire describes how to plan a cutting garden, choose suitable plants, keep the garden in good order, and harvest a bountiful crop―all with charm and humor. Using both common and botanical names, she discusses in depth a wide variety of herbaceous perennials, biennials, annuals, and bulbs. McIntire includes information on topics such as the length of stems one might expect from the cutting garden, how many plants are needed of any one kind, when and how to sow seed outdoors, the heat-hardiness of plants, and strategies for coping with the effects of hot summers and cold winters. Suzanne McIntire is a freelance writer and seasoned veteran of gardening in northern Virginia. She is the editor of The American Heritage Book of Great American Speeches for Young People.
- GenresGardening
312 pages, Paperback
First published January 22, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 3, 2019
I absolutely loved this book! It's everything a gardening "manual" should be. Here's why-
The author gardens in VA and doesn't pretend to be able to tell everyone in the US how to grow flowers - the subtitle makes that clear. She adds suggestions for those in hotter and colder areas but recognizes that all the country isn't the same. Since I now live in Virginia, this book is perfect for me! (Though I have sand and she has clay; she lets you know when one type of soil would be better for a plant.)
She doesn't write as if everyone has twenty acres and a staff to help her out, in fact there's a lot in the book geared for those of us who have a small space to grow flowers, including a suggested "small garden" plan, along with shade, beginners' and fall cutting gardens. In the plant listings she often comments "only recommended for large gardens" or "worth their space even in the smallest cutting garden" (like the peony). Then she goes even further and lets you know how many plants you might need for the flower to be useful in arrangements. Often it's only one, or perhaps two or four. I've never seen this kind of information anywhere else.
Profiles of 200 choice plants include Latin and common names, which she helps you sort out when they're confusing. (Like forget-me-nots). The growing advice in this book is very specific. She tells you if she tried seeding outdoors in the fall and how it worked, under glass, outside in spring or purchasing transplants and how they fared in her garden. She also notes when one method seems to give you stronger plants, more blooms or earlier flowers.
Then there's very helpful information on when to cut the flowers, how to make them last, some varieties that she especially likes, and even suggestions one how to choose a few dahlias or mums that will work together to give you great arrangements.
Appendices are "Growing Seeds Under Lights", "Volunteers in My Garden", "Sources and Suggested Reading", and "A Sequence of Bloom with the Dates of First Flowers". The last is based on ten years of record keeping - my kind of gardener. :)
All of this information could make a very dry book, but if you love flowers like I do you may find yourself devouring it like a novel. I've read it through twice so far, the first time just enjoying it, the second with a pen to mark important information. There's just enough of the author's personality to let you see how really passionate she is about her own gardening and keep it from being dull.
Finally, this book contains so much truly useful information about so many wonderful plants I'd happily recommend it to anyone who want to grow flowers, even if they want to leave them all in the garden and not pick anything. :)
The author gardens in VA and doesn't pretend to be able to tell everyone in the US how to grow flowers - the subtitle makes that clear. She adds suggestions for those in hotter and colder areas but recognizes that all the country isn't the same. Since I now live in Virginia, this book is perfect for me! (Though I have sand and she has clay; she lets you know when one type of soil would be better for a plant.)
She doesn't write as if everyone has twenty acres and a staff to help her out, in fact there's a lot in the book geared for those of us who have a small space to grow flowers, including a suggested "small garden" plan, along with shade, beginners' and fall cutting gardens. In the plant listings she often comments "only recommended for large gardens" or "worth their space even in the smallest cutting garden" (like the peony). Then she goes even further and lets you know how many plants you might need for the flower to be useful in arrangements. Often it's only one, or perhaps two or four. I've never seen this kind of information anywhere else.
Profiles of 200 choice plants include Latin and common names, which she helps you sort out when they're confusing. (Like forget-me-nots). The growing advice in this book is very specific. She tells you if she tried seeding outdoors in the fall and how it worked, under glass, outside in spring or purchasing transplants and how they fared in her garden. She also notes when one method seems to give you stronger plants, more blooms or earlier flowers.
Then there's very helpful information on when to cut the flowers, how to make them last, some varieties that she especially likes, and even suggestions one how to choose a few dahlias or mums that will work together to give you great arrangements.
Appendices are "Growing Seeds Under Lights", "Volunteers in My Garden", "Sources and Suggested Reading", and "A Sequence of Bloom with the Dates of First Flowers". The last is based on ten years of record keeping - my kind of gardener. :)
All of this information could make a very dry book, but if you love flowers like I do you may find yourself devouring it like a novel. I've read it through twice so far, the first time just enjoying it, the second with a pen to mark important information. There's just enough of the author's personality to let you see how really passionate she is about her own gardening and keep it from being dull.
Finally, this book contains so much truly useful information about so many wonderful plants I'd happily recommend it to anyone who want to grow flowers, even if they want to leave them all in the garden and not pick anything. :)
May 14, 2021
It is always great to pick this book up and review this author's abundant plantings. It is so appealing to read her planting advice and then tips on cutting the flowers for inside enjoyment. Just like any garden viewing, my demeanor changes when reading about and viewing gardens.
April 13, 2013
Written in the Eastern U.S., but lots of good info wherever you are. I'm in Colorado and still found it a worthwhile read.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews