Cut flower production is on the rise.
What's the next big garden trend? Experts are betting on cutting gardens.
“As I travel the world in search of new plant breeds for Tesselaar, I’ve noticed cutting gardens are coming back,” says Anthony Tesselaar, co-founder and president of Tesselaar Plants. “I’ve noticed that Europe tends to be a bit ahead of the U.S. in terms of garden trends, and based on what I’ve seen there, I suspect cutting gardens will begin to gain momentum here in the U.S. once again.”
While experts are still attributing the rise in vegetable gardening to the slow economy, a recent survey by the National Gardening Bureau suggests there are still 11.2 million households in the U.S. that have continued to buy flower seeds along with vegetable seeds, and that's a lot of flower power. “After more than a decade of decline, America’s cut flower production is on the rise, with significant increases every year,” declares the new book The 50 Mile Bouquet by Debra Prinzing.
“I think the cost savings, self-expression and powerful connection to interior design’s popularity in the media make cutting gardens a coming trend,” says Miriam Goldberger Jenkins, president and founder of Wildflower Farm, Canada’s first pick-your-own flower farm, located in Coldwater, Ontario. “I myself have been absolutely besotted with cutting gardens for 25 years,” says Jenkins, who specializes in wildflowers as specialty cut flowers and whose farm specializes in wildflower and native grass seed production for gardens and meadows “I love the endless amount of creativity it gives me, and the way it helps me bring nature inside my home.”
Photo by Gabriela Delgado