DIY: make your own picking garden

For a party in your garden and in your vase

Do you love colourful field bouquets? Do you dream of a freshly picked bouquet whenever you want it? And all that without having to wait months for the first harvest? Then create your own picking garden! We will explain below how you can do this. We will also give you tips for maximum picking happiness. And don't worry - you don't need a large garden.

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a STEP-BY-STEP PLAN FOR CREATING A PICKING GARDEN

  1. Depending on your outdoor area, choose a suitable spot for your picking garden. Do you have a large garden? Then you can make your picking garden in a spare flowerbed. Do you have a small garden, balcony or patio? Then create a picking garden in pots, containers or boxes. Whatever you do, choose a sunny spot, as that is where annual picking garden flowers grow best.
  2. Think about what plants you like, what colour combinations make you happy, what smells you like, and then adjust your choice of plants accordingly. Create a mix of richly flowering perennials, bulbs and annuals which will also remain beautiful in a vase for a good long time. Think, for example, of a combination of perennials such as delphiniums, sundew, knotweed, gypsophila and climbing roses, together with annuals such as cosmos, sunflowers, marigolds and snapdragons.
  3. Finished your wish list? Then go shopping! Don't just think about the plants, but also other necessities, such as a sharp pair of secateurs to pick your flowers with. 
  4. Prepare the soil, container, box or pot for planting - get some tips here. Would you rather sow your own plants instead of a ready-made picking garden? Then mark the spring of 2023 in your diary, because that is the best time to sow.
  5. Enjoy your picking garden and reap the benefits! And don't forget: gardening is all about patience. It is a matter of trial and error, of picking and revising. Not all plants will grow equally well in your picking garden. It takes some time to discover what works best.

picking tips

Once you have created a picking garden, you will naturally want to enjoy it to the full. We will give you a few tips to maximise your picking pleasure:

  • Don't have much room for a picking garden? Then combine cut flowers from the florist with a few flowers from your own garden. This will produce a surprising and playful bouquet, such as the one in this colourful bouquet of flowers and plants.
  • Pick flowers in the early morning or late evening, when it's cool. Use sharp secateurs for this. Make sure to cut long stems, so you can cut all the stems of your bouquet to the same length.
  • Place the plucked flowers in a clean vase with fresh water as soon as possible. Remove any leaves that get into the water to prevent them from rotting.
  • Pick flowers that have just opened. Flowers with long spikes, such as delphiniums, should be picked when about half of the flowers have opened.
  • Do not place your bouquet in bright sunlight or near a fruit bowl, as this will reduce its blooming time.
  • Tip: to enjoy your flowers even longer, you can dry them yourself. It's easy to do this on the washing line! See our instructions here. 

MORE INSPIRATION

Need some more picking garden inspiration? Then discover how to create a picking garden full of colourful plants or get inspired by this picking garden for kids. And don't forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest!

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In the picking garden shown above we used sunflower, lampshade grass, giant lavender, physalis, allium, pineapple plant, Coreopsis Grandiflora, crocosmia, ironheart, dahlia, purplebell, dill, phlox, wild delphinium, licorice plant and prachtriet.

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