Should I Start Growing Cut Flowers at Home?
Now that you understand the appeal of cut flowers, it’s time to decide if you want to commit to cultivating them. Growing cut flowers takes a different gardening strategy than other plants, but the effort is well worth it for the right people.
Before you get started, you need to determine if you fit into that category. Here are the top reasons to grow cut flowers. Do they describe your motivations?
1. Improve the Beauty of Your Home — and Your Backyard
Surrounding yourself with plants is great for mental health. The appeal of cut flowers is that they will look beautiful both in your garden and within vases in your home. In essence, you get double the value from every plant, making them twice as worthwhile to grow.
2. Control Exactly Where Your Flowers Come From
The commercial cut-flower industry isn’t good for the environment. It takes a lot of natural resources to grow flowers indoors and ship them around the world. Grow your own instead, and you use fewer fossil fuels and control exactly what pesticides and herbicides are used in the process so you can avoid using toxic compounds.
3. Get Outside and Exercising
There’s no denying that gardening is great exercise. Working up a sweat while moving around outside can boost cardiovascular health and improve your flexibility. If growing beautiful flowers is what it takes to get you outdoors, then a cut-flower garden is well worth the effort.
4. Experiment with Rare Varieties
Most commercial flower shops stick with tried-and-true varieties. This can make it hard to get bouquets that stand out from the crowd. Grow your own cut flowers, in contrast, and you can have complete control over the varieties and colors you plant. This makes it possible to enjoy entirely original bouquets that highlight your unique personality.
5. Bless Others
Giving someone a bouquet of fresh flowers is an easy way to make them feel loved. Grow your own, and you’ll always have some on hand. So, pass out a bouquet to the brand-new neighbors, send some to a sick friend, or even give them away for free in front of your house. It’s an easy way to give a gift to those around you.
6. Start a Side Business
One of the biggest appeals of growing cut flowers at home is the opportunity to make money from doing so. This is a relatively simple farming business to set up because you won’t need much space and can sell the flowers without a permit, depending on where you live.
Many people find that a simple farm stand out front offers an easy way to make a side income from cut flowers, and you can easily make enough to cover the costs of raising your own — and potentially a lot more.