Growing flowers for cutting

[SilverSixpence]

I want to grow lots of flowers in the garden a la Sarah Raven but am a complete beginner and have a tiny garden. Last year I attempted sweetpeas from seed and they were doing pretty well until they got eaten by slugs everything else I planted also got eaten and I found it hard to distinguish them from weeds. Our soil is heavy clay. Any tips?

If I wanted to grow cutting flowers in a heavy clay garden I would seriously consider making some raised beds & putting some decent soil in,if you don't fancy that see what neighbours are growing & ask them what does well

Start stuff off in seed trays or little,pots where you can see what they are doing and also keep an eye out for slugs. If sowing seed direct in the garden sow in patterns eg diagonal lines or circles, when they are grown you won't notice the shapes as they will blur together but it's much easier to see the plants among the weeds.

cosmos are pretty indestructible, I grew a large white variety last year and when cut lasted for a good 2weeks! if only I could remember the sodding variety!!