Fresh bouquets of flowers look even better when they come from your own backyard. Crafting a gorgeous centerpiece for a summertime soiree is a cinch when you have a perfectly-planned garden that is designated for cutting. Here are some tips for starting your own cutting garden.

Choosing the Flowers – When deciding on the flowers that you want to grow, try to limit yourself to a half-dozen to keep things manageable. Also, be sure to focus on flowers with longer stems, as these are the best for cutting. Another helpful tip is to plant a few varieties that bloom in the spring, some that bloom in the early summer and others that bloom in the late summer to have a fully-stocked garden all season long.

Picking the Spot – A sunny site that is well drained is the perfect home for a lush cutting garden. While the size of your plot depends on how many flowers you want to grow and the time you have to take care of them, there’s no need to get fancy with design, as you’ll be planting in crop rows. Don’t forget to leave room between rows to fertilize, deadhead and cut.

Planting – As a rule of thumb, group plants with similar sun and water needs together and place tall flowers in the back so they don’t steal sunlight from their shorter buddies. Fertilizer and mulch should cover the bed once planting commences to help the plants thrive.

Cutting – Professionals suggest doing your cutting during the coolest part of the day, putting your flowers in water immediately after they are snipped and doing research on best practices for cutting certain types of flowers to prolong their vase life.