Longfield Gardens Blog

It’s always such a long wait for spring’s first flowers. When they finally burst on the scene, the bounty of blooms combined with months of pent up flower energy is almost too much to handle! My favorite way to cope with this delightful moment of excess is to cut lots of stems and make lots of bouquets. Week after week, every room in my

Topics: Cut Flowers , Daffodils , Fall Planted Bulbs , How-To , Spring Blooming Bulbs , Tulips

  The National Garden Bureau has put tulips in the spotlight this year, by declaring 2018 the Year of the Tulip. These cheery, easy-to-grow bulbs are already the world’s favorite spring flowers. Yet demand is still growing! According to Statistics Netherlands, commercial tulip bulb production reached an all-time high in 2017, with the number of tulips grown by Dutch farmers increasing by

Topics: Cut Flowers , Fall Planted Bulbs , Inspiration , Spring Blooming Bulbs , Tulips

Dahlias are impressive plants. The sheer volume of their flower production is remarkable. They also offer an incredible range of flower sizes, styles and colors — more than enough to hold your attention for a lifetime! Though every dahlia variety has its own special charm, the most extraordinary of all are dinnerplate dahlias. What Are Dinnerplate Dahlias? Dinnerplates are not part

Topics: Cut Flowers , Dahlias , Summer Bulbs

If you love making fresh flower arrangements, planting a cutting garden is the best way to ensure you will always have lots of beautiful, homegrown flowers, ready for the picking. The purpose of a cutting garden is different from a regular flower garden. You don’t need to worry about design basics like style, flow, scale and symmetry. In a cutting garden,

Topics: Cut Flowers , How-To

After many years running a successful floral design studio, Alicia Schwede decided to take her business in a slightly different direction. She wanted to combine her work experience and creative talents, with her passion for teaching and flair for social media. Her website, FlirtyFleurs.com, is now a hub for other floral designers, specialty cut flower growers and anyone who loves cut flowers. When

Topics: Cut Flowers , Dahlias , Summer Bulbs

I came to dahlias relatively late in life. Had I gotten an earlier start, by now I would have grown hundreds of different varieties. As it is, I’m playing catch up. There are still so many dahlias I have yet to grow — and I want try them all. As usual, this year’s list includes far more varieties than I

Topics: Cut Flowers , Dahlias

January and February are the peak selling season for dahlias. It’s still months before we start shipping tubers, but dahlia lovers are always eager to reserve their favorites. They know from experience that the only way to get the varieties you want, is to order them early.

Topics: Cut Flowers , Dahlias , Spring Planted Bulbs , Summer Bulbs

If you visit a high end floral shop during the winter months, it’s likely you’ll see lots of amaryllis. Floral designers are crazy for these big-blooming flower bulbs, because the blossoms are bold, elegant and long-lasting.

Topics: Amaryllis , Amaryllis and Paperwhites , Cut Flowers , Indoor Bulbs

Wouldn’t it be fun to plant a LOT of tulips this fall? Maybe 200. Or why not 500? Enough to have your own spring cutting garden with a full range of flower styles and bloom times. To finally experience some of the varieties you have only seen in photographs. To inject a big shot of color

Topics: Cut Flowers , Fall Planted Bulbs , How-To , Spring Blooming Bulbs , Tulips

September is here and it’s time to order your spring-blooming flower bulbs! Our new designer bulb collections can inspire you with uncommon varieties and unexpected color combinations for fall planting. Working with floral designer Alicia Schwede of flirtyfleurs.com, we are introducing three gorgeous new flower bulb collections for fall 2017. All are based on arrangements that Alicia

Topics: Cut Flowers , Fall Planted Bulbs , Spring Blooming Bulbs