In this Garden Planning for Success series, we’ve covered what to grow and now, let’s talk growing space!

So how DO you create a garden plan that effectively uses your space? 

If you have at least 100 square feet to grow in (imagine a 4’x25’ space), I recommend growing focals in about 3/4’s of it. Then I’d plant fillers in about 4/5 of the remaining 25%, and experiment with some foliage in the final few feet. (Here are some ideas about which filler flowers and foliage to plant!)

I estimate that even at our larger scale (when only considering our cut flowers and not our Dahlia tuber growing operation), we maintain this ratio of 75% of our space in focals and divide the other 25% of our space between fillers and foliage.

Tip: As you choose your flowers, looks for “two-fers,” as in plants that can be used for 2 things, such as foliage and then blooms (like mint) or blooms and then pods (like nigella). You can plant 2x as many as you would need for blooms alone and then use them for twice as long. 

If you’re short on planting area, here’s my best advice: Forage foliage from your landscaping (or buy it from other local growers), and focus on growing focals and filler flowers. (Note: I believe the best seasonal focals for beginner bouquet makers/flower farmers are anemone, sunflowers and ball form dahlias.) 

You can also rotate space if you’re short on room. For example, imagine you know you’re planting 60 sunflowers a week, and you have 5-7 cosmos plants to harvest from in June. You may also know you’ll be moving into cutting from a fresh planting of Cosmos during the first week of July. You could make a note on your plan to pull out your tired, first planting of cosmos that week. Double fork it quickly, weed it, and then plant your scheduled 60 sunflowers in that spot. 

Look ahead, and plan aggressively. Don’t be afraid to yank out the plants you know you’re moving away from and use that space as found space in your garden. In this way your garden will stay looking tidy and you’ll be maximizing your use of space. 

I hope this is useful info! In the next post we’ll be discussing spacing between plants.

Other Posts in this Series

• Making a Plan for Success in Your Cut Flower Garden
• Push Through Fear and Make Your Gardening Plan
• A Brief History of Triple Wren’s Humble Beginnings
• Your Reason for Growing Flowers Matters
• Our Bouquet Palette for 2022 (Free Printable!)
• Start Big and Work Small for Successful Garden Planning
• Don’t Fall Into the Trap of Trying to Grow Everything
• Use a Spreadsheet to Make Detailed Plans for Your Flower Garden
• Cut Flower Garden Planning Inspiration
• Should You Start Seeds Inside or Direct Sow Outside?
• Days from Seed to Bloom for Common Cut Flowers (Free Printable!)
• Two Things to Consider Before Starting Your Seeds Indoors
• Succession Planting is Key to Having Cut Flowers All Summer