When and how to harvest

When and How to Harvest

Cutting the stems of your cut and come again flowers correctly will ensure that you will continue to get more flowers throughout the summer and autumn months.

Cutting Rudbeckia

• Cut the main stem just above where you can see new buds are forming.
• These new buds will then grow on and produce more flowers in the coming weeks.
• Strip the leaves off your rudbeckia stem and then dry the stem upright in a vase.

Conditioning

If you are not going to hang your flowers out to dry immediately, say if you are harvesting them while out for a walk or at a friend's house, then you will need to put them in water immediately.

This will help them stay in prime condition until you are ready to hang them out to dry.

Some Tips

• The best time of day to cut your flowers is either first thing in the morning or late in the afternoon.
• Don't cut your flowers during the hottest part of the day as this will stress your plants.
• Cut your flowers in dry conditions.

Growing Wild

Harvesting seed heads when they're a little bit "in the green" and turning to brown will give you the best results. This will ensure your seed heads aren't too brittle to work with and will give your stems a nice range of colours.

Leaving some seed heads in situ to turn completely will ensure you have seeds that you can harvest for the following year.

Chrysanthemums

Chrysanthemums are easy-to-grow annuals that are also cut and come again. While they can be trickier to dry, they are worth the effort.

• Cut the flowers at the base when they are in full bloom.
• Strip the leaves off the stem.
• Hang the flowers out to dry.
• As they dry, they will shrink dramatically and change in appearance.

Growing Height

If you want to create large installations, it's likely you will need some taller plants.

Two of my favourite plants to grow for height are:

• Atriplax
• Artemisia

Biodiversity

The main reason that I grow my own flowers is to create a biodiverse garden for nature. Not only is this enjoyable to be in, it is also great for pollinators, butterflies and the wider ecosystem.

As droughts increase in the UK due to climate change, creating a biodiverse, organic space means that my garden will be more resilient in the future too.

Some things to consider in your own garden are:

• grow according to organic principles, without chemicals
• create beds using the no-dig method to help your soil to thrive
• apply organic fertiliser, such as seaweed, which will give your plants a boost
• mulch beds to improve the soil structure and lock in moisture
• grow plants and varieties that are beneficial to nature
• compost your plant waste
• create a pond to introduce natural predators to your garden
• make sure you are giving back to your garden and not just taking from it