Over Easter, my husband and children put in a cut flower garden at the Agape Haus Studio. It had been a long-term vision to turn the old drug house property into a beautifully redeemed flower garden. In fact, when I originally purchased the disgusting, ratty drug house, I had to obtain a mortgage on a house I would soon tear down. The mortgage lender questioned my intent with a simple question. ..
“So, you really want to get a mortgage for a house you will tear down?” What was even funnier was that I was able to convince the bank that a flower garden was a worthy reason to obtain a house mortgage. Long story short, I started tearing apart the old rat-nest that afternoon.
Fast forward six or so years….and I have my first installment of a Cut Flower Garden. I’m so excited! Of course , all that glitters isn’t gold. The ground that was prepared immediately turned into a weed-fest when the rains came. The Zinnias and Bermuda grass were in a deliberate race to establish dominance. Bermuda is a kin to satan, but it didn’t expect the curveball thrown into the match…cardboard. Beautiful, wet cardboard to suffocate the weed intruders and let the worms feast on the delights of the season.
Cardboard is my new favorite. I have read over and over about placing wet cardboard over weeds, then adding layers of compost, green clippings and brown debris. One of my favorite gardening books is called Lasagna Gardening, which explains in detail how to layer your gardens instead of tilling up the earth. It is a fantastic resource for gardening. I am continuing to build to up the paths with organic layers. Over the weekend, I will put straw down over everything, including straw around the Zinnias and Cosmos. The following year, I will (hopefully) plant in the composted walkways and feed the flower rows their cardboard delight. Worms are drawn to the dark, moist conditions. Wonderful for soil enrichment. I’m sure I am missing a lot of important things that I *should* be doing. Many professional flower farmers are just shaking their heads right now, thinking “Dang, Girl……………” (It’s a Texas expression).
I’m not quite sure if I will do an organic “Cut your own” by donation, or a flower subscription. Thoughts? I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to email me at heirloombulbgirl@gmail.com
I’m on my way. I have a viola performance date over the phone, which I need to go warm up my fingers. My left hand has more thorns than I care to admit. I know, I know….wear your gloves!
Happy Gardening, my friends!