Flowers for cuttting - Come and tell me what to plant and where to get it from. Please be bossy!

[LemonDifficult]

I know very little about gardening but we're about to take over a large garden. DH has got the big stuff covered and know tons about trees, hedges, mowing etc.

But what about flowers? I'd love to grow some for the house. I adore fresh flowers. What should I get and where should I order them from?

I'm not going to be planning the garden layout for a couple of years so I'm not too fussed about special shades or companion planting.

We've got a couple of beds but our main problem is deer. The previous owners had a huge problem with them and just gave up with flowers. There are some really nice foliage shrubs though. DH reckons we should just plant in tubs right by the house for now.

What do you suggest?

(We're in Scotland btw)

have you tried sarah ravens website and catalogue as a guide?

Am on Sarah Raven's website now. Don't know where to start!

Cosmos I think. And DH just said he'll build a thing if I want sweet peas. Any recommendations?

You need a wigwam for sweet peas - just a load of bamboo canes tied together at the top :)

Lilies, agapanthus, sweet william are all happy in pots. And grasses - I grow a lot of grasses which are good for greenery. You could try gladioli if you like them (I do but I know lots of people don't!)

I have just plante some freesia bulbs.

Freesias have now been added to basket - thanks.

Grasses sound manageable. Which should I get?

deer adore some plants and won't touch others. before planting anything i would check the lists - you can google or ages ago i printed one off from here www.lotf.com/misc/deer/deer.htm.

for example, lilies they love, iris and antirrihinum they don't. it will make a huge difference to the damage. dianthus they don't like or daffodil and many herbs, sweet peas and sunflowers

i ahve also tried hanging soap and putting human and dog hair down - this makes no difference. currently trying a spray - but not sure yet how good as only did 1 session week ago - though no damage yet

Most of the Stipas are quite a good size for flower arranging. Zebrinus is stripey which can look good with flowers and S. calamagrostis is also nice. Tenuissima is too feathery for flower arranging (although it's lovely) and gigantea is too ... err ... big :o

I was also wondering about roses - you could plant them out when you have the space but some varieties make great cut flowers. Not sure how deer feel about them though

roses are medium preference according to my list. i have 3 very large bushes and they nibble the leaves but i still get lots of flowers.

A lot of my faves are biennials - anchusa azurea, sweet william, iceland poppies, verbascum. Of the perennials, I love peonies for cutting, and they can survive pretty much anything, scabious and roses.

Bulbs are great value - tulips, allium, iris, nerines are my favourites, and great for cutting.

A few years ago, I gave over our entire veg patch to cosmos as I didn't have time to tend it with 2 under 3's. It was absolutely stunning. Can't recommend cosmos highlt enough. En masse they make a massive statement, or are also great fillers.

If you're growing for cutting, consider what foliage plants you'll need to offset. Sarah Raven's Cutting Garden book gives some great ideas.

OK, I think I'm nearly there with the order. Thank you all for you're replies so far. I've got the deer list open and am checking across.

Can anyone tell me what they think of Sarah Raven's Cut Flower Collection? Do you think this is a good idea? On Taffeta's advice I'm also going to get some chocolate cosmos seedlings, though there's two types of cosmos seeds.

All views welcome.

DH definitely on board with the flowers and has done some beds for them. We're going to do no-dig gardening. We're both getting excited about it, so we may even invest in some deer proofing this year.

Although next up is the David Austin website for roses!

Couldn't wait! Have completed order. Got the seed collection, some more cosmos, some peonies and some freesias.

BTW if you want a Sarah Raven code it's SS11A4

Any suggestions for the roses?! Am on a roll...

Thanks for the code, Lemon, what does it give you?

Chocolate cosmos are perennials, although a mite tender so you may need to dig them up once they're over and protect them from very harsh frosts. My veg patch I gave over to the annual ones, a mix of the Sonata ( pink ) and Purity ( white ). They look great all jumbled up, IMO.

I adore David Austin Roses. I have a few Alnwicks, and a few St Swithuns, but I also want some Gertrude Jekylls ( unparalleled for scent ), Geoff Hamilton and Scepter'd Isle. I love pale pink.

10% off. But not free p&p. I'm pretty sure there are better codes to use because I rang SR saying i've lost my catalogue and what was the code and they were all cagey about it!

Haven't yet chosen roses. Pale pink also my favourite but I'm a bit of a sucker for cream ones too.