A Guide On Starting A Flower Garden In Australia

Setting up your space to grow

• Size of the garden. Plan what you want to grow and work out how much space you will need. If you are just starting out in your cut flower garden journey, start small. Once you get the hang of growing flowers you can slowly extend your growing space. Make sure you can maintain what you have.

• Planning. The variety you want to grow and the season will determine the garden size needed. Plan the space needed between plants so they have room to grow; this will help determine how many plants fit in your garden. Researching the height of the variety will also help you know where to place it in the garden, ensuring taller varieties don’t shade shorter ones.

• Sunlight. Choose the right spot in the garden. Ideally, aim for full sun for at least 6–8 hours. Watch your garden space throughout the day to see where the sun falls. If the sun disappears behind a shed by midday this will not be enough sunlight for plants to grow.

• Protected from wind, choosing a sheltered area to prevent flowers later on snapping in the wind or young seedlings to be stressed. Less wind also means the soil will not dry out as quickly.

• Fencing. Protect from wildlife, you may need to fence if you have wildlife visitors in your backyard. Possums and kangaroos will pretty much eat everything!

• Water. The area needs easy water access for watering your plants.

• Good soil. The most important factor for your flowers to grow well is good soil, it is the foundation of gardening. You can add compost and well-rotted manure to improve quality.

• No dig method. When setting up a new bed, I use the 'No dig' method. This involves placing down thick cardboard (remove any plastic tape), which blocks the sun to kill the weeds/grass underneath - then wetting it down and placing around 15cm of soil, compost, or well-rotted manure on top. The cardboard will eventually break down. You can also grow flowers in large pots or raised garden beds. 
  
• Access. Make sure you can access the garden easily to tend to it after planting out. 

Starting growing flowers from seed

• If you are new to growing flowers from seed I recommend raising seedlings instead of direct sowing/scattering the seeds in the garden. If direct sowing the seeds they can be washed away with heavy rains or eaten by birds etc.

• Raising seedlings in a greenhouse-like environment ensures a more controlled environment. If you do not have access to a greenhouse you can grow them in a warm spot inside BUT it needs all-day sun otherwise your seedlings won’t grow well or will become leggy.

• Choose low maintenance and easy to grow flower varieties to start with.

• I would recommend starting with flower varieties that have larger seeds that are easy to handle and sow. Sowing them in the correct season ensures the correct temperature for the seeds to germinate. Eg Cosmos in spring/summer, Zinnia in spring/summer, Sweet Pea in autumn/spring (cool climate). These easy-to-grow varieties will also germinate quicker and grow faster to flower.

• Sow the seeds into a punnet/ pot using the best quality potting mix, label and water carefully. Any heavy watering will cause the seeds to dislodge too far down the soil and prevent germination. Water teeny tiny seeds such as snapdragons and poppies using a fine mister.

• Keep the soil moist until the seeds have germinated, then water seedlings daily. If it’s very hot, you may need to water twice.

• A fortnightly seaweed treatment will help with plant health and growth.

• Harden off the seedling for a week before planting to prevent transplant shock, leave the seedling outside for one hour then build up to a full day.

• Plant the seedling into the garden at around 6 weeks of growth (two sets of true leaves).

• Pinching out your seedling at around 15 cm tall or snipping off the first bud will tell your plant to produce more side stems which = more flowers. Do not do this if you are growing single stemmed plants eg stock.

• Make sure the seedling is protected from slugs and snails that love to eat them at this stage. You can get pet safe snail pellets at your local garden store.

Caring for your garden

• Plants will need to be watered regularly depending on the weather.

• Mulch around the base of the plant to keep weeds at bay and help retain moisture.

• Weed regularly.

• Watch the plant closely for any early signs of pest or disease and treat them quickly if needed as both can take over the garden very quickly.

• Implement flower supports where needed, if the plant will be tall it may need staking or flower netting. If it is a climbing flower like sweet peas it will need a trellis. Support will help the flowers to have straight stems and prevent snapping in the wind.

• Deadhead flowers once they have finished and gone to seed, or save the seed for next time!

Ideas of what to plant when:

Spring 

• Rudbeckia 

• Billy Button

• Strawflower

• Dahlia

• Corncockle

• Delphinium

• Aster

Summer 

• Sunflower

• Celosia

• Zinnia

• Cosmos

• Phlox

• Marigold

Autumn

• Queen Anne Lace

• Sweet Pea

• Nigella

• Scabiosa

• Poppies

• Statice

• Stock

• Ranunculus

• Daffodil

Winter

• Calendula - warmer climates

• Cornflower - early

• Pansies/ Viola - Early

• Snapdragon - Late
  
  

Cool climates flowers will mostly be over winter and flower early spring.

Gardening and growing flowers really involves learning as you go and finding out what works best in your own backyard and climate, while learning from other gardeners.