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Earlier in the summer season, my dahlias made their appearance. Of the 5 tubers I planted in the spring, I was able to harvest about half a dozen bouquets. I’ll definitely be planting more next year! I hope you’ve seen some of the beautiful blooms on my Instagram page @jillivictorio.

I remember the excitement of planting and growing my first dahlias in Issaquah, WA. It all started with only three tubers I ordered from Floret Flower in 2017. As soon as the first Breakout Dahlias bloomed, I was hooked. I’m so happy I’ve been able to grow a few here in North Texas, as the flowers I tend to love most (peonies) are not suitable for hotter climates and mostly thrive in the NW. Dahlias however, thrive here, so I’ll be growing more for sure. My dream is to plant hundreds of dahlia tubers on acreage for my own mini flower farm to enjoy fresh bouquets at home, and to share with neighborhoods, family, and friends.

Here’s a look back on my flower cutting garden’s progress this summer. This year, I’ve stuck to dahlias and zinnias. Next year, I hope to plant more floral varieties.

Dahlias in June

Dahlias in July

 

 

At late summer,  Zinnias have taken over my flower garden beds.  I’ve been growing zinnias for a few years now, but this year has been my favorite batch of blooms. I sowed only one pack of zinnia seeds, and we’ve been graced with a ton of these beautiful blooms all summer long, even after they are cut! Zinnias are the flowers that keep on giving. They are truly one of the easiest flowers to grow!

Zinnias in June

Zinnias in July

Zinnias in August

I’ve cut down these zinnas almost weekly to encourage more flowers to bloom, and to my surprise, they’ve doubled the amount of blooms! I’ll definitely be purchasing this variety of seeds again for next year. I order a lot of my seeds from Eden Bros and have had fantastic results every time. This was my first time ordering Pumila Zinnia seeds from Eden Bros. According to the description, the more you cut, the more they bloom!  If you want easy to grow, bountiful blooming flowers all summer long, I highly recommend Pulimia Zinnia seeds!

What flowers have bloomed in your garden? I would love to hear from you.

jillivictorio@gmail.com /

Peppers (jalapeno, banana, habanero), basil, rosemary, & parsley

It’s been three months since we sowed new seeds again for this year’s spring season. The raised beds which John built and installed last year , have been a great addition to the garden and investment as it has provided two spring and summer seasons of an abundance of fruit, vegetables, and herbs.  The kids have their own bed to grow their choice of fruit and vegetables, and John has his own raised bed dedicated to growing peppers and herbs. The herb garden is truly a treat for the senses. I just love the smell of fresh basil and rosemary.

This year, I decided to try something different by growing purely flowers in two of four the beds for my very own cut flower garden. I’ve always been inspired by flower farmer Erin Benzakein of Floret Flower after reading her book a couple of years ago, Cut Flower Garden. My long time dream has been to have a large garden or acquire some land and grow a peony farm. Well, I finally got that large garden, so I can at least make a sliver of my dream come true on a much smaller scale with raised beds of flowers right? More land will come in due time.

First Peony, bloomed April 17, 2019 (planted March 2019)

 

Dahlia bloom June 3, 2019 (planted March 2019)

Because peonies and dahlias are my favorite flowers, I chose to plant and grow these as tubers and roots. I grew peonies and dahlias at our last home in Issaquah WA and they provided beautiful flowers in the spring and summer.  The Texas climate is different from what I am accustomed but it is a challenge I am having fun and learning through trial and error. Our raised beds get a ton of full direct sun which the flowers need to grow and thrive. Since I planted these peony roots, I’ve received one early flower bloom so far. The dahlias on the other hand seem to be growing better as they are a later blooming flower too. I’ve received one dahlia bloom the last week of May, with four more stems and buds ready to bloom.

 

Baron’s Zinnias, planted March 20, 2019

A project I did with Baron to celebrate the first day of spring was to plant Zinnia seeds. These zinnia seeds were leftover seeds I had from last year when we started our beds to attract butterflies. A few flowers have emerged and the joy and surprise on Baron’s face when he saw them was priceless. His exact words were, “I didn’t know that was going to happen!”  I replied with, “That’s the magic of gardening, you don’t know what will come out or happen.”

Edible Flowers

In addition to my attempt at growing a cut flower garden, I’ve planted seeds to grow edible flowers. John and they boys gifted me these adorable seed packets for Mother’s Day and I couldn’t wait to get them into some soil. The seeds have been planted for one month now and are sprouting well. Can’t wait to see some beautiful flowers soon. My plan is to use the edible flowers on summer salads and desserts.

I’ll share another update on how the raised beds and edible flowers are blooming in July!

Who else has peonies or dahlias in bloom? Do you cut them to enjoy in your home or do you leave them?