Cool Flowers: How to Grow and Enjoy Long-Blooming Hardy Annual Flowers Using Cool Weather Techniques

by Lisa Mason Ziegler

Overview

Everyone longs for fragrant early spring blossoms – Snapdragons, Bells of Ireland, Sweet Peas, Sweet Williams and other beauties. But few grow them successfully in their own gardens because they haven’t learned the simple cool-weather techniques that make it possible.

Expert flower grower Lisa Zeigler profiles 30 long-blooming stars of the spring garden, the "hardy annuals" that thrive when they are planted during cool conditions (instead of waiting until the warmth of spring and losing much of the season). Give them a cool start, plant them in the right spot at the right time, and stand back. In no time at all you’ll have a low-maintenance, vibrant spring flower garden that keeps on blooming when the "tender annuals" are dead and gone. Beautifully photographed and filled with simple steps to success.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780989268813
Publisher:	St. Lynn's Press
Publication date:	09/01/2014
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	95,967
Product dimensions:	7.20(w) x 7.10(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Lisa Mason Zeigler is an author, speaker, and renowned expert on cut-flower gardening. Lisa started flower farming in 1998 and she now produces over 15,000 stems a week From April through October from her one-and-a-half acre organic cutting gardens. The flowers from her farm, The Gardener’s Workshop Cut-Flower Farm, are popular among florists and upscale grocery stores and Garden Share members in the Virginia area. Her seed catalog has 20,000 subscribers. The Gardener's Workshop website is a resource and teaching center for flower gardeners.

Editorial Reviews

"Now that I know Ziegler's secret to success, perhaps I can find uses for all of those seeds I've purchased over the years but, for fear of failure, never started." - Jean Starr

Cool Flowers is a lovely, compact book dedicated to the art of growing cut-flowers. - Kathy Jentz, Book Reviews

Every flower gardener needs this book! Lisa Ziegler’s Cool Flowers brings to flower gardening a brand new point of view that introduced me to all sorts of possibilities for my floral palette – as a gardener and floral designer. Her valuable tips for success with hardy annuals will extend your garden’s blooming season, no matter where you live. If you want to make the most of all seasons in your garden, Cool Flowers is a must-have. - Slow Flowers Podcast: Growing Hardy Annuals with Cool Flowers author & flower farmer Lisa Mason Ziegler

Cool Flowers is well... really cool. We are all so intent on keeping flowers blooming through the summer and fall that we forget that fall, winter and early spring plantings produce cut flower gardens like none other. Lisa tells us when, where and how to plant, as well as her recommendations for the best flowers for successful cut flowers. Her writing is practical and credible. Give it a read - you will be glad you did. - Dr. Allan M. Armitage, Professor Emeritus of Horticulture, Universityof Georgia, Athens; author of Armitage's Garden Perennials, co-founder, Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers

Lisa Ziegler takes cut-flower farming to a new level - showcasing her passion for organic gardening and inspiring home gardeners to embrace environmentally friendly living. Her farm is as picturesque as it is productive; its a gardening landmark in southeastern Virginia. Her new book now allows gardeners everywhere to share in its beauty and purpose. - Kathy Van Mullekom, author of the nationally published gardening column "Diggin' In"

From the Publisher

Cool Flowers is a lovely, compact book dedicated to the art of growing cut-flowers.

Book Reviews - Kathy Jentz

"I recommend picking up a copy of Cool Flowers for some inspiring ideas to grow hardy annuals in the cold months of gardening."

Cool Flowers Book Review - Helen Yoest

"Now that I know Ziegler's secret to success, perhaps I can find uses for all of those seeds I've purchased over the years but, for fear of failure, never started."

Don't Mind the Chill - Plant Some Cool Flowers - Jean Starr

Every flower gardener needs this book! Lisa Ziegler’s Cool Flowers brings to flower gardening a brand new point of view that introduced me to all sorts of possibilities for my floral palette – as a gardener and floral designer. Her valuable tips for success with hardy annuals will extend your garden’s blooming season, no matter where you live. If you want to make the most of all seasons in your garden, Cool Flowers is a must-have. - SLOW FLOWERS Podcast: Growing Hardy Annuals with “Cool Flowers” author & flower farmer Lisa Mason Ziegler (Episode 159)

Debra Prinzing

Cool Flowers offers many creative insights for those who can take advantage of seasonal cool months for maximum spring results.

Diane Donovan