Remember that tulips will not reliably perform year after year (this is particularly important if you are cutting for business) unless you have selected from the botanical or Darwin hybrid range. This means that you need to replace tulip bulbs each year to ensure good growth and reliable blooms that are true to type. Different types of flowers are harvested at appropriate stages in their development. Flowers with multiple buds on each stem should have at least one bud showing colour and one bud starting to open before being cut. Flowers that grow on individual stems should be cut when open Knowing where to start can be the first hurdle. Let us point you in the right direction if you’re starting from scratch. With this guide, we hope you will be encouraged to don your boots and get in the garden, making the first step towards creating your very own flower patch.

Expert tips and ideas from growers listed in the Sustainable British Flowers category of the From Britain with Love directory. Rachel Siegfried, Green & Gorgeous The New Flower Arranger (contemporary approaches to floral design) byFiona Barnett (Lorenz Books 1995, ISBN 1859670806)New Improved Online Store Be secure knowing the fresh flowers that we are known for are still being artfully arranged Home made flower preservative can be added to the water - 1 tspn sugar, 1 tspn bleach, 2 tspns lemon juice to approx. one litre of water

Scabiosa caucasica var. alba Semi-evergreen perennial, with pure-white flowers for up to four months For a year-round supply you could have options such as hellebores, spring bulbs, aquilegia, wallflowers, pinks, sweet William, peonies, alstroemeria, sunflowers, dahlias, asters, chrysanthemums, kniphofias to daphne in winter.

Sweet peas being top of my list, those sown in the autumn make strong plants and produce good, robust flower stems for cutting. I don’t sow my sweet peas direct into pots but start them off on damp kitchen paper. Seeds are placed on the damp paper, on a windowsill, and over just a few days, they start to germinate. With a little tail starting to poke out of the seed, they are just about ready to be planted, and overwintered into pots. Hopefully you now feel inspired to have a go yourself at home – do send us pictures of your efforts and don’t forget to enter our Kent Life Garden Competition this year. As well as the satisfying process of growing your own cut flowers, there are clear benefits besides flowers in a vase: Garden designer Hannah Miles-Watson, inspired by Blooming Green, also grows an array of seasonal flowers from her cut flower farm in Benenden and holds bespoke workshops on a range of topics, including starting a cutting garden. An important consideration is also how much time you intend to make available to care for your cutting patch. Don’t take on a large space if you may not have time to maintain it during the growing season. Some plants may require staking, regular deadheading/cutting, potting up and growing on, frost protection or winter storage. There will also be weeding and watering to make time for during the summer months.

Cut the stem as long as possible depending on how you intend to use the flower once cut. Cut above a node so that the plant can produce another stem or bud afterwards. Cut clump-forming perennials at the base of the stem and the roots will push up new stems. Bulbs can be cut at the base of the flowering stem, but leave any foliage intact where possible to feed the bulb for next season, if leaving in situ. For anyone starting their own cutting garden there are lots of books. Some of my favourites are The Cut Flower Patch By Louise Curley, In Bloom by Clare Nolan and The Flower Garden by Clare Foster and Sabina Ruber. Georgia Miles, The Sussex Flower School A classic cut flower, long-adored for its long-lasting blooms, luxurious, silky petals and delicate fragrance. Another plus is that Paeonia is a long-living and very low maintenance hardy perennial that will offer more blooms year on year. Some of the best cut flowers are not fully hardy, which means that during winter they may need some frost protection. Consider designating an area for more tender plants to grow where you can erect a small polytunnel of simple cane and horticultural fleece structure during winter, or set aside a storage space for overwintering lifted summer bulbs and tubers.Dahlias are on trend not only because there is such a wide variety of colours and shapes, but because they repeatedly produce perfect blooms all through summer and well into autumn. The more dahlia flowers you cut, the more will grow. Dahlia Cafe au Lait Royal (the sort of flower you will fall in love with and a total show stopper.)