E T FA R M ’ S
R
O
L
F
C UT FLOW E R G A RD E N
PL ANN I N G KI T
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T
here is a magical window of quiet time that comes
during the darkest months of winter. For me,
December and January are spent cozied up by the fire,
sketching out all of my big dreams and plans for the
year ahead. It’s a welcome opportunity for a fresh start
that I look forward to every season.
However, as seed catalogs start pouring in it’s easy to
get caught up in the excitement, and end up ordering
way more than you have room to plant, or even
afford, after you consider drip irrigation, compost, and
other boring, but critical, supplies. That’s why it’s so
important to take the time at the beginning of the year
to make a master plan.
The planning process will help you refine your goals,
identify necessary supplies, and schedule all of the
important dates and tasks in order to have a successful
flower growing season.
In this kit you will find my favorite garden planning
resources, including printable record keeping sheets,
graph paper, and seed sowing worksheets, along with
helpful prompts and key lists to help you create and
grow the garden of your dreams. Additionally, I’ve
provided a two page sample plan for a generously sized
cutting garden.
After nearly a decade of growing flowers I have
learned the importance of planning ahead. Investing
a little time on the front end of the growing season
will ensure a well-stocked garden that provides an
abundance of beautiful bouquets all season long.
Happy growing,
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CUT FLOWER GARDEN PLANNING KIT
Planning your cutting garden should be fun! In this Garden Planning Kit you will find all of the essential
worksheets and planning tools to help you grow the cutting garden of your dreams.
G arden S pecs Before you get started sowing seeds or turning over new beds in the
garden it’s important to spend time plotting and planning out the season
ahead. First, determine what space you have to work with. Evaluate
current and potential garden sites by noting soil type, amount of sun,
and space dimensions. All of this information will inform how you will
ultimately lay out your garden and how many plants will fit in it.
C utting G arden This is a place to let yourself go crazy. Include all of the varieties you’d
W is h L ist like to try this year. Keep your goals for the season in mind. Do you
simply want fresh flowers for your dining room table, or are you growing
specialty varieties to supplement your wedding design business? These
decisions will help inform the types of flowers on your wish list. This is
the spot to dream big, as you can always go back and prune the list later.
G arden S uppl y This is a great excuse to get outside and take inventory of your tool shed
S h opping L ist and seed starting area. What needs to be replaced or restocked? What
supplies will you need throughout the season? There’s nothing worse than
going to sow seeds in late winter only to find you’re out of potting soil or
short on plant flats. Include all things large and small, such as seed trays,
replacement pruner blades, and soil amendments.
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P lant S pacing At Floret, we grow intensively on just 2 small acres and space plants more
R eco m m endations closely than what most seed packets recommend. Closely spaced plants
require less water and less weeding, which in turn will give you more
time to cut and enjoy your flowers. This reference will help you lay out
your garden beds for maximum production, depending on what types of
flowers are on your wish list.
G arden D esign With your wish list and measurements in hand you can start penciling
S ketc h P ad out what you want your garden set up to look like. Determine how long
the beds and paths are. Once that is established, you will easily be able to
figure out how many plants you can fit into your plot. From there you can
narrow down your wish list.
S eed S owing After you’ve determined the varieties you’ll be growing, you can start
S c h edule creating a seed sowing schedule. Some varieties that bloom over a long
span of time only need to be sown once, where other varieties that come
on like wild fire and are gone in a flash should be planted in waves to
extend the harvest. This worksheet will help you schedule when and what
to plant, so that you minimize waste and start just the right amount of
plants for your garden.
F ield N otes It’s important to take time every week during the growing season to record
how different varieties are performing in the garden. This worksheet is a
visual reference of your successes and failures. While it seems like you’re
going to remember all of the details, I find that as time passes, memories
from an entire season become fuzzy. Be as specific as possible because
these notes will come in handy when you plan and order for next year.
I’ve included a sample Cutting Garden Plan that measures 20-by-60-feet
S A M P L E C utting (6-by-18-meters) and includes 1083 plants, about triple the amount that
G A R D E N P L A N would fit in this space if you followed traditional planting instructions. It
will produce an abundance of flowers and foliage from late spring through
autumn. This is enough to fill your house, supplement a floral design
business, or try your hand selling fresh cut flowers.
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G A RD E N SPECS WORKSH EET
Use this sheet to record important information about your potential garden plots. Pay special attention to how
much full sun each receives, if there is any standing water, existing root systems, unusual terrain, or other site
restrictions. Get a long measuring tape and measure the perimeter to determine the total square footage or meters
that you have to work with.
Locat ion/name :
Length
W i dth
Total square feet/meters
H o u rs of f u ll s u n
S oi l type
W i dth
Total square feet/meters
H o u rs of f u ll s u n
S oi l type
W i dth
Total square feet/meters
H o u rs of f u ll s u n
S oi l type
Speci al notes
Locat ion/name :
Length
Speci al notes
Locat ion/name :
Length
Speci al notes
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Locat ion/name:
Length
W i dth
Total square feet/meters
H o u rs of f u ll s u n
S oi l type
W i dth
Total square feet/meters
H o u rs of f u ll s u n
S oi l type
W i dth
Total square feet/meters
H o u rs of f u ll s u n
S oi l type
W i dth
Total square feet/meters
H o u rs of f u ll s u n
S oi l type
Speci al notes
Locat ion/name:
Length
Speci al notes
Locat ion/name:
Length
Speci al notes
Locat ion/name:
Length
Speci al notes
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C u tting G arden Wish List
Use the following pages to jot down all of the varieties that you want to include in your cutting garden this year.
Let yourself dream big and include everything on your wish list. From here you can refine based on your space
limitations and garden goals for the season.
P lant name
Quantity
Supplier/
Source
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Cost
Notes
P lant name
Quantity
Supplier/
Source
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Cost
Notes
G arden S upply Shopp ing LisT
Use this sheet to capture all of the important supplies, tools, and gear that you need to order such as potting soil,
flower snips, plant tags, compost, etc.
s upply
Quantity
Supplier/
Source
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Cost
Notes
s upply
Quantity
Supplier/
Source
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Cost
Notes
P L A N T SPA C iNG RECOMMENDATiONS
Calculating the number of plants you will need for dozens of different flower varieties based on the space you have
available can feel overwhelming for beginners and experienced growers alike. At Floret, we’ve simplified the process
by creating five main spacing regimes: 6-inch (15-cm), 9-inch (22-cm), 12-inch (30-cm), 18-inch (46-cm), and
8-by-12-inch (20-by-30-cm) for vines.
We grow flowers quite intensively on our farm and tend to space plants more closely than what typical growing
instructions recommend. We’ve experimented with plant spacing a lot over the years and have found that 9-by9-inch (22-by-22-cm) spacing is the most versatile, and now a full 80 percent of our flowers are planted using
this spacing.
In the diagrams below, you’ll find various sample plant spacing grids for a 4-by-10-foot (1.2-by-3-m) bed, including
a list of the flowers we typically plant within each spacing regime.
Whatever spacing you choose, be sure to utilize consistent bed widths throughout your cutting garden for ease when
calculating the number of plants needed in a bed. Also, plant varieties with the same spacing requirements in the
same bed. This is particularly important if you are using landscape fabric.
Other Plant Spacing:
Tulips: plant like eggs in a carton
Narcissus/Daffodils: space the width of the bulb.
Cress Crinkle Wrinkle: 2-4 inch spacing
6- i nc h ( 15- c m) spaci n g
• 7 rows per bed.
4 feet (1.2M)
• This tight spacing is recommended for
lisianthus, flowering cabbage and
bombay celosia.
• About 140 plants for every 10 linear feet.
1 0 linear feet
(3 m )
9- i nc h ( 22- c m) spaci n g
• 5 rows per bed.
4 feet (1. 2M )
• Great for dianthus (carnation), sweet
william, zinnias, basil, frosted explosion
grass, snapdragons, ageratum,
bupleurum, and honeywort. This
spacing is used on 80%of our crops.
• About 65 plants for every 10 linear feet.
1 0 linear feet
(3 m )
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12- i nc h ( 30- c m) spaci n g
• 4 rows per bed.
4 feet (1 . 2 M)
• Great for bulky varieties like Bells of
Ireland, celosia, amaranth, scented
geranium, perilla, and lavatera.
• About 40 plants for every 10 linear feet.
1 0 linear feet
(3 m )
18- i nc h ( 46- c m) spaci n g
• 3 rows per bed.
4 feet (1. 2 M)
• Great for large plants like branching
sunflowers, salvia, leucantha, eucalyptus,
and dahlias (small).
• About 20 plants for every 10 linear feet.
1 0 L I N EA R F EE T
(3 m )
• Vine Spacing : 8-inches (20-cm)
between plants in the row, with 12inches (30-cm) between each row. 2
rows per bed, one on each side of the
trellis. About 28 plants for every 10
linear feet (3m). Great for sweet peas,
nasturtiums, love in a puff, and
hyacinth bean.
1 2 i nches
4 feet (1.2M)
v i n e s paci n g
8 i nches
1 0 L I N EA R FE E T
(3 m )
• About 28 plants for every 10 linear
feet.
iNCHES
• Large Dahlia Spacing : 12 inches
(30.5 cm) between plants and 18
inches (46 cm) between rows = 2
rows per bed. Grow dahlias
intensively, with 2 rows per bed.
18
4 FEET (1. 2m)
LARGE DAHLIA SPACING
• About 20 plants for every linear feet.
12
iN CHES
1 0 L I N EA R FE E T
(3 m )
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G arden Design Sketch Pad
Locat ion/name:
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Locat ion/name :
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Locat ion/name :
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S eed Sow ing Schedule
During your winter planning session, fill in desired sowing dates for each variety. Multiple columns have been
provided so that you can account for multiple sowings. Be sure to write in pencil so that you can easily adjust
dates if necessary.
Variety
sow
date
# of
plants
sow
date
# of
plants
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sow
date
# of
plants
special
treatments
Variety
sow
date
# of
plants
sow
date
# of
plants
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sow
date
# of
plants
special
treatments
Field Notes
Use this to record important information throughout the season, such as when you pinched, stem length,
average number of stems per plant, color notes, and what you liked (or didn’t) about any varieties in your
garden. These notes will come in handy when you’re planning for next year.
Variety
sown
transplanted
pinched
1st flower
average # of stems
transplanted
pinched
1st flower
average # of stems
transplanted
pinched
1st flower
average # of stems
notes
Variety
sown
notes
Variety
sown
notes
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Field Notes
Variety
sown
transplanted
pinched
1st flower
average # of stems
transplanted
pinched
1st flower
average # of stems
transplanted
pinched
1st flower
average # of stems
notes
Variety
sown
notes
Variety
sown
notes
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S A M P L E C U TT I NG G ARDEN PLAN
2 0- by- 6 0- feet (6-by-18-m eter s) | 1083 p la nt s
Nearly all of the varieties featured in this plan are annuals and can easily be grown from seed for a fast and
affordable cutting garden. If your soil is in decent shape, you should expect to harvest at least 500 generous
bunches of flowers and foliage over the course of the season. The plan is scalable, so depending on how much
space you have to work with, just increase or decrease bed lengths to suit your needs. The plan below allows for
flower beds that are 4 feet (1.2 m) wide with 2-foot wide paths in between.
20 F E E T (6 M )
LOV E I N A M I ST
LOV E IN A M IST
6 -inc h ( 1 5 - cm ) S PAC I N G
sweet peas
8 0 plants
Sweet peas
LOV E IN A MIST
8-by-12 -inc h ( 2 0 - by- 30 - cm ) S PAC I N G
6 0 plants
Bells OF I R EL A N d and
bells O F IR E LAND
queen anne’ s lace
Q ueen Anne ’s L AC E
1 2 - inc h ( 3 0 - cm ) S PAC I N G
8 0 plants / 4 0 eac h
larkspur
HO NE YWORT
Bupleuru m , L arkspur,
A N D H ON E Y W ORT
9 -inc h ( 2 2 - cm ) S PAC I N G
1 3 2 plants /4 4 eac h
I celand poppies A N D
I celand poppies
snapdragons
snapdragons
9 -inc h ( 2 2 -c m ) S PAC I N G
1 3 4 plants/ 6 7 eac h
Ch ocolate lace F LOW ER A N D
c h ocolate lace F LO W E R
b lack eyed susans
black e yed susans
9 - inc h ( 2 2 - cm ) S PAC I N G
1 3 4 plants / 6 7 each
NOTE, THE SAMPLE CUTTING
GARDEN PLAN CONTINUES ONTO
THE NEXT PAGE, TOTALLING 60
FEET (18M) IN LENGTH.
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30 F E E T (9 M )
b upleurum
S A M P L E C UTTING G ARDEN PLAN
2 0- by- 6 0- feet (6-by-18-meter s) | 1083 p lants
20 F E E T (6M)
Cosm os A N D
cosmos
P INCU SHIO N FLOWER
P I N CU S H I ON F LOW ER
1 2 - inc h ( 30 - c m ) S PAC I N G
8 0 plants (5 4 cos m os,
2 6 P I N C U S H I ON )
Statice , celosia ,
statice
celosia
GLO BE AMA RA NTH
a maranth
bells O F IRE LAND
basil
A N D g LOB E A M A R A N TH
9 - inc h ( 22 - c m ) S PAC I N G
1 3 2 plants , 4 4 eac h
30 F E E T (9M)
A m arant h ,
b ells O F I R E LA N D, A N D b asil
1 2 - inc h ( 3 0 - c m ) S PAC I N G
7 8 plants / 2 6 eac h
Zinnias
zinnias
9 - inc h ( 22 - c m ) S PAC I N G
1 3 3 plants
dahlias
Da h lias
1 8 - inc h ( 4 6 - c m ) S PAC I N G
4 0 plants
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