My 2024 Gardening Plan
If you’re new here, you may not know this about me, but I am very into gardening. Over the years, I’ve gotten more and more into it, and in 2023, I started on the adventure of starting vegetables, herbs and flowers from seeds. Last year was very successful given that it was my first year attempting gardening from seed (plus, I did all of my garden from seed – not just some of it, though there is absolutely nothing wrong with buying starters!). If you want to read more about what I grew last year, check out My 2023 Gardening Plan blog!
Now of course, in 2024, I was ready to step it up even further. This year, my mom and I decided to take our love of gardening flowers in particular to the next level. We purchased a 9.5 x 2 ft 17” Modual Raised Garden Bed from Sproutbox (we also purchased one single extension package to make the bed a bit longer than the standard set!) to grow almost all of our cut flower garden in! In addition to this, I’m still growing herbs on my apartment balcony – safe to say, I’ll have my hands full this year.
Herb Garden on our Balcony
When thinking about the gardening plan for 2024, I was determined not to overdo it (every gardeners famous last words, huh?) and only focus on the flowers in the raised bed this summer. Well, that idea quickly became a distant memory as I found myself in the aisles of the local gardening centre, grabbing packages of new herbs to grow on our balcony. Given that my balcony leans more partial-sun than full-sun (we get approximately 6 hours of sun a day on the balcony at the peak of summer), herbs and radishes have done extremely well growing out there. Instead of fighting against our growing conditions, I decided to lean into it. Here’s what we’re growing on our balcony this year:
· Basil: Dolly, Lettuce Leaf, Basil Blend.
· Cilantro: Santo Long Standing.
· Dill: Heirloom, Bouquet.
· Garlic Chives: Heirloom.
· Mint: Spearmint.
· Oregano: Greek.
· Parsley: Curled Parsley.
· Radishes: French Breakfast, Cherriette.
· Rosemary: Rosmarinus officinalis.
· Sage: Salvia officinalis.
· Thyme: English Thyme.
You may notice oregano and rosemary aren’t listed on the graphic… well that would be because I bought them after my initial planning! They’ll be planted along with the sage, parsley & thyme. Herbs do well being planted in together and don’t require much space.
Cut Flower Raised Bed Garden
Buckle up everyone, this section is going to be lengthy. As much as I love growing vegetables & herbs, my real passion in gardening lies with growing cut flowers. There’s nothing that makes me smile quite like having a fresh bouquet of flowers in my home, and after getting a taste of having them on hand, to cut whenever they were ready & sprinkled around my home without spending money at the store, I became addicted. Last year, we definitely had a lot of flowers, but we’ve taken it to the next level this year. Here’s what flowers we’ll be growing throughout the entire gardening season (May-September):
· Ranunculus: ‘Crema’ (Pale Yellow) & ‘Elegance Pastello’ (Pinks, Salmons, Soft Oranges, etc).
· Anemones: ‘Blanco’ (White) & ‘Rosa Chiaro’ (Pink).
· Dahlias: Café au Lait (Dinnerplate, Light Pink), Coralie (Decorative, Magenta), Hy Suntain (Ball, Burnt Orange), Mystique (Decorative, Dark Pink), Sweet Nathalie (Decorative, Pale Pink), Apple Blossom (Collarette, Pale Yellow), Apricot Desire (Waterlily, Pale Orange), Dark Spirit (Ball, Dark Burgundy), Jowey Winnie (Ball, Magenta), Peaches & Cream (Ball/Decorative, Light Pink & Orange)
· Cosmos: Cupcake Blush (Pale Pink), Velouette (Light-to-Dark Burgundy Red), Purity (White), Xanthos (Pale Yellow) & Double Click Rose Bonbon (Pink).
· Zinnias: Queeny Lime Blush (Lime Yellow), Queen Lime Orange (Orange), Queeny Red Lime (Pinky-Red & Yellow), Zinderella Lilac (Light Pinks), Floret Originals Alpenglow (Soft Orange & Pinks), Floret Originals Golden Hour (Muted Yellow & Oranges).
· Stock: Apricot (Pale Pink), Lavender (Purple).
· Snapdragons: Chantilly Light Pink (Light Pink), WPF Sunrise Mix (Orange, Light Pink, Magenta).
· Statice: Sunset Mix (Yellow, Muted Pink, Pinks).
· Poppies: Shirley Poppies ‘Pandora’ (Magenta & White).
Some of the flowers farms and retailers I purchased these seeds, corms & tubers from include Antonio Valente Flowers, Whistling Prarie Flowers, Roam Flora and Floret.
Investing in Quality Materials & Tools
Lastly, one thing that I made sure to do last year was to upgrade my tools and supplies, and I can definitely tell it made a huge difference in the quality of the plants. Even though I didn’t have perfect growing conditions, the small amount of things that did bloom on my balcony thrived & were stunning. You may be wondering what I mean by “upgrading to better quality materials & tools”, well, when it comes to soil, you ultimately could buy the cheapest $3/bag option at the grocery store, but good quality soil is going to make a difference in how happy & healthy your plants are, regardless of if they’re food or flowers. If you think about it, the soil your plants grow in provides them with nutrients they need! Now, I only purchase OMRI certified, organic soil from Pro-Mix for all of my planters, and start all of my seeds in their OMRI certified organic Seed Starting mix. Additionally, I purchased a natural fish emulsion fertilizer and even upgraded my containers to UV-protected, all weather planters in various sizes (+ they have drainage! No more roots rotting in overwatered soil!) last year, which I’ll be reusing this year. Of course, I’ll also be watering all of my herbs (& radishes) using a galvanized steel watering can, while our flowers will primarily be watered from a Flexzilla Watering Hose that is completely safe to drink from.
If you’ve made it to the end of this blog, you’re a real one! I have really fallen in love with gardening over the last few years, and it only gets more intense each year — I really could talk about it all day! Even though half of this plan involves growing flowers in a raised bed in a backyard, I hope this blog has inspired some of you who maybe live in apartments, or don’t have a large backyard to give container gardening a try… I always say that you don’t need a backyard to be a successful gardener!
* Note: Links and linked products featured in this blog post are commissionable links. Should you purchase a product with these links, I will make a small commission at no additional cost to you.
