It took a good week and a half to lay out my garden plans. I have 2 parts to planning for 2023: first is a calendar to lay out when to start each plant/variety seed, and when to set them outside. Second is to lay out where the plants will go in garden.

The Calendar

First I print a free online calendar- January to December, each month on a single sheet of paper. Then I make a list of each of the packets of seeds I have, or want to plant this year. (I also started a spreadsheet to keep track, after I realized I was purchasing duplicate seed packets.)

Then I start going through the list, checking the propagation instructions on the back of the packet, and sometimes looking up plants on-line. I keep two books next to me when I start planning- Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden by Erin Benzakein and Cool Flowers by Lisa Mason Zeigler (I referred to Cool Flowers in this post too.)

I mark the date of our estimated last frost for the year, and count backwards every two weeks from that date. Indoor sowing for most seeds are 6-8 weeks so it’s helpful to have those days marked on the calendar.

Then I start plugging the plants in the calendar. You can see I add reminders for any special care a seed might need.

I’m starting some seeds quite early this year (February) because I’m adding row covers to four of the raised beds in March. Row covers act as little greenhouses, warming up the soil and adding protection from the cold to the seedlings. I never did this before and I’m pretty excited about it.

You may notice some plants are repeated! This is called succession planting, and it allows me to have certain flowers in perpetual bloom through the summer.

Some flowers, like feverfew, will get used up, pulled up, and new plants take their place. Others, like gladiolas and sunflowers, are one and done. If they are all planted at the same time, I would have 400 flowers for one week and that’s it!

Others, like zinnias, keep blooming no matter how many stems you cut, but they get tired after a month or so. They’re also prone to powdery mildew, which will take its toll on the plants. So it’s good to have at least a second sowing with fresh plants.

The Garden Plans

This is where the fun starts! There is NEVER enough room for everything! This planning stage entails much erasing, haha.

Let’s start with the raised beds. They are all 4′ x 8′.

There is recommended spacing for each plant. In cutting gardens, you can plant closer together than in the landscape. This is good because the more you can plant in your given space, the more flowers and the more income.

Considerations when planning the beds:

*Where to put succession plantings- If you have succession planting together in a bed and one gets pests, they spread quickly. Planting further apart can help deter bugs or give the gardener time to combat them.

*You want to rotate your crops between beds each year.

*Plan for flowers that will re-seed themselves. The bottom second bed to the left are all flowers that will reseed (larkspur, bachelors button, love-in-a-mist, and sometimes poppies).

*Plan space for cool annuals that will be fall-planted and overwinter. This will be the bottom far left bed. I thought about planting early season flowers that will be finished flowering and can be pulled out (the ones in red) but then I crossed that out. I don’t yet have a good sense of how long some of these plants will bloom so I’m playing it safe this year.

Already I have to update my numbers! For example, take a look at the top left bed. It will have a row cover and be the first succession planting of snapdragons (already started on Feb 5th and seedlings are growing!), indicated by snaps #1. In cutting gardens, the spacing is 9″, so I can fit 35 plants in this 5.5′ x 4′ space. BUT, two of my favorite flower farmers on YouTube, are successfully planting their snapdragons at 6″. So I’m going to try it and plant 80 in the same space.

On top of that, I ordered 4 new packets of seeds this week and now I have to find space to plant those. It’s an addiction!

On to the no-till beds.

This also includes two 3′ x 6′ metal raised beds from a friend, that will go next to the greenhouse.

There you have a view of what the garden will look like this summer!

I’ll close with a picture of feverfew sprouted in winter sowing jugs! They’re so cute!

Thanks for visiting, garden friends! Only 26 days to spring.🌷