Today we’re walking you through 3 expert tips for growing and maintaining your very own cutting garden, so you can turn your yard into a beautiful and bountiful oasis for you and your pollinators.

We love having a cutting garden, both for what it provides us (blooms & bouquets) and what it does for the planet, like conserving resources and promoting biodiversity through eco-gardening practices. If you've been thinking of starting one yourself, here are a few things to consider.

If you’ve been in our community for a while, you know we believe in the importance of eco-gardening, which essentially means we like to work with — instead of against — nature. We aim to achieve beautiful, sustainable, and biodiverse gardens.

Simply put, eco-gardening is working with — and not against — nature. The goal of eco-gardening is to achieve a beautiful, sustainable, and biodiverse garden that provides maximum health to humans, plants, pollinators and animals, now and for future generations.

As if fresh, beautiful flowers aren’t enough, here are 5 great reasons to join a flower CSA.

Here are a few of my favorite late blooming fall perennials that also make for good cut flowers.

When the flowers die back after the first frost, our work is far from over on the farm. Between tending to what remains of this year’s crops and preparing for the spring ahead — we are busy!

While often considered natural and earth-friendly, the sale of flowers and the art of floristry in current commercial floristry practices are no better for the environment than most large manufacturing operations. Some of the reasons for this include: the huge carbon footprint created by large-scale farms, use of pesticides, the manufacture of single-use floral mechanics, and transportation needed to bring regionally out-of-season flowers to consumers.

The theme for Emily & Joe’s early July Wedding was “Let the Garden In”. The floral design was romantic and natural with an organic and garden-inspired style.

Yarrow is a must-have perennial. It is deer and drought resistant, pollinator friendly, and naturalizes easily (which means it can grow on it’s own and produce a new generation without human assistance).

At Sweet Earth Co. farm it is an early summer workhorse we count on to bring filler blooms to our bouquets and its medicinal herb properties to our teas. For our landscape clients, it’s ideal for cottage, pollinator, meadow, and low-maintenance xeriscape gardens.

On the surface it might seem that flower farming is sweet and glorious. Many imagine us flower farmers spending our days surrounded by fields of beautiful flowers. Yes, there is a lot of beauty in flower farming, but there is also a lot of risk.

Anyone planning a wedding has either considered eloping, or heard from a friend that they should. We’re all for stunning, lavish events -- but we can definitely understand why more and more couples are ditching the pomp-and-circumstance of big weddings for simpler, smaller, more stress-free weddings!

Our most ambitious collaboration to date, the fashion show was truly a community effort. Organized and supported by the local business association, the event was intended to showcase local and environmentally-conscious businesses in the Pound Ridge area. The event included a fashion show and a farm-to-table dinner followed by dancing.

Snip a few stems from your landscape, responsibly-forage for others, and bring some of that beauty indoors. Give your creative senses some free reign and create some spring-inspired floral arrangements. If you’re not sure where to start, utilize one of these design principles when pulling together your own grown and gathered bouquet.

One of the last big fall tasks on a flower farm is getting the bulbs in the ground so we can share them as soon as the winter wanes and warmer temperatures return. Amidst all the covid-19 anxiety, it’s a small comfort to watch the winter give way to spring. The allium (Allium acuminatum), daffodils (Narcissus), and tulips (Tulipa) are all on their way up through the earth. Perhaps even a little earlier than usual, given our mild winter.

A floral designer can help you navigate this path and fine tune your vision. They also do a lot more. Working with clients to educate and inform on what flowers are in season, and how best to accomplish a particular look within varying budgets is what they’re there for!

You need a plan for what you are going to grow. A plan for where on your property you are going to grow it (and more specifically where in your garden beds you are going to locate everything you want to grow.) Lastly, you need a plan for when you are going to plant everything. This What-Where-When Plan is what will keep you from getting overwhelmed.

Dicentra spectabilis, commonly known as Bleeding Heart, has quickly become one of my favorite spring perennials. Its arching stems laden with dangling heart-shaped blooms may make this plant seem dainty and ephemeral, but it is actually a hardy garden workhorse.