VOA健康报道2023--Grow Cutting Garden for Flowers Indoors All Season Long

Grow Cutting Garden for Flowers Indoors All Season Long

Almost every flower can be cut and enjoyed indoors. But growing a cutting garden of flowers takes some planning.

Jessica Damiano writes about gardening for The Associated Press. Damiano says that she cuts lilacs to bring indoors for their scent¹ in the spring. And hydrangeas and roses make it indoors on her dining room table for the summer.

The first step, Damiano says, is to think about flowers as a crop to be harvested. Just as some tomatoes are better for use in sauces, some flowers are better for cutting and showing than others.

Flowers that do not grow tall nor bloom are not the best to show indoors. Damiano says to look for this information in seed catalogs. The descriptions often include whether specific kinds of flowers, from perennials², annuals or tender perennials, work well for cutting and showing.

Perennials are plants that flower for more than one year. Some flower for just two or three weeks, while others flower repeatedly. And they usually flower in their second year, but sometimes third.

Annuals are plants that live for just one year. But they usually produce more flowers during the growing season.

Tender perennials are perennials in the sense that they live for more than one year. But, they are usually grown as annuals because some do not dependably return and some cannot survive winters.

To ensure a continual supply of flowers for cutting, Damiano says to plant seeds or young plants every two weeks.

Annuals that are good for cutting include cosmos³, globe amaranth, larkspur, and Queen Anne's lace. Perennials to grow and cut include bee balm, coneflower, fox glove, lily, and rose. Tender perennials that work well for cutting include California poppy, snapdragon, and strawflower.

Both annuals and perennials can be grown in the ground, in raised beds, or even in containers. If you have enough room, growing them in separate beds will simplify yearly planting. But it is not necessary. If you are short on space, plant where you can.

Most flowers need fertile, well-draining soil, repeated watering, and at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight each day. You can use plants bought from a garden center, start your own from seed indoors, or plant seeds directly into the garden.

Add a large amount of compost into planting holes to provide nutrients⁴ to the plants. If you're planning ahead, top the soil with five to eight centimeters of compost in the fall, and the bed will be highly fertile by spring.

Beds should not be much wider than a meter. This will help to keep your harvests within easy reach from all sides. When planting, place the tallest flowers at the backside of the bed, middle-sized plants in the center, and smaller plants in the front so that all are easy to get to.

Be sure to follow directions for plants on how much space they need to understand their full-grown size. Plants that do not have enough space often become diseased plants.

After planting, add a balanced, slow-release fertilizer and five to eight centimeters of mulch, then water well. If you are planting seeds directly into the garden, fertilize⁵ and mulch when the growing plants are 10 centimeters tall.

Beginning three weeks after planting, add a liquid flower fertilizer that is low in nitrogen and high in phosphorus. And repeat every two weeks.

Words in This Story

garden – n. an area of ground where plants (such as flowers or vegetables) are grown

scent – n. a pleasant smell that is produced by something

bloom – v. to produce flowers

catalog – n. a book containing a list of things that you can buy or use, and often pictures

drain – v. to remove (liquid) from something by letting it flow away or out

compost – n. a decayed mixture of plants (such as leaves and grass) that is used to improve the soil in a garden

mulch – n. a material (such as straw, leaves, or small pieces of wood) that is spread over the ground in a garden to protect the plants or help them grow and to stop weeds from growing

1 scent   

n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉

参考例句：

• The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
• The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。

2 perennials   

n.多年生植物( perennial的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Name six perennials and six annuals suitable for indoor flower arrangement. 列出多年生及一年生花朵各六种，它们必须是适合插花的。 来自互联网
• Herbage can be divided into three categories: annuals, biennials, and perennials. 草本植物可分成一年生、二年生和多年生。 来自互联网

3 cosmos   

n.宇宙；秩序，和谐

参考例句：

• Our world is but a small part of the cosmos.我们的世界仅仅是宇宙的一小部分而已。
• Is there any other intelligent life elsewhere in the cosmos?在宇宙的其他星球上还存在别的有智慧的生物吗？

4 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 fertilize   

v.使受精，施肥于，使肥沃

参考例句：

• Fertilizer is a substance put on land to fertilize it.肥料是施在地里使之肥沃的物质。
• Reading will fertilize his vocabulary.阅读会丰富他的词汇。