How a Cutting Patch Revives Generational Gardening Traditions
Gardening traditions often pass down through generations, but styles and approaches can shift over time. One family’s experience shows how attitudes toward picking flowers and designing garden spaces have evolved. While older generations once discouraged cutting blooms, newer methods now embrace dedicated areas for growing flowers just for that purpose.
For many years, the women in this family avoided picking flowers from the garden. The mother and grandmother believed it 'robbed' the garden of its beauty. Instead, they preferred to buy florists’ deliveries for special occasions, keeping their outdoor displays intact.
The daughter, however, takes a different approach. She enjoys picking flowers for the house but avoids cutting the largest or best blooms to preserve the garden’s appearance. Her style leans toward looser, fuller beds with softer colours, unlike her mother’s preference for bold contrasts and neatly turned earth. A Cutting Patch–a small area dedicated to growing flowers specifically for cutting–offers a practical solution. These patches can be set up in containers or a corner of the lawn with minimal effort and cost. Annuals like 1800 flowers and cosmos thrive even in poor soil and need little care once established. For a longer-lasting patch, shrubs and perennials such as roses and peonies work well with better soil preparation. At 96, the mother still loves visiting nurseries and garden centres, though her physical frailty now limits her hands-on gardening. Despite this, her passion for plants remains strong, showing how gardening connects the generations in different ways.
The idea of a Cutting Patch bridges old and new gardening habits. It allows flower lovers to enjoy fresh flowers indoors without harming the main garden. With simple setups and low-maintenance plants, this method makes it easier than ever to bring garden beauty inside.
