The forecast was for a rainy Monday, with possible thunderstorms, but we were blessed with sunshine the entire day! Taking advantage of the unexpectedly clear day, the Cutting Garden was next on the list to be cleaned and tidied. Since the tiny asparagus bed, planted last year, was adjacent those old stalks were cut off first, and then the Cutting Garden got all my attention. It really didn’t need a lot of work, just removing old mum stalks and digging out dozens of baby dandelions. It had gotten a once-over last last fall, when all the frosted zinnias, etc. and weeds had been removed.
Two things were obvious: 1) Very few perennials have returned. There are daylilies, some black-eyed Susans shown here,
a few mums, and thankfully the May Queen shastas. If you like cutting flowers that are extra easy and almost no-work, grow them. 
They are so reliable and produce bouquets of 2″ or more white daisies. (The photo is of the Deck Garden last May, but there will be many identical flowers in this year’s Cutting Garden.) There were no blue salvia, feverfew, or verbena bonariensis and very, very few rudbeckia. 2) There aren’t many self-seeded plants yet either, but maybe since we’ve had cooler than normal weather that’s to be expected. There were maybe a dozen baby rudbeckias that aren’t BLack-eyed Susans, a dozen larkspur (shown below) and that’s it so far!
Maybe a little warmth will bring more, I hope.
I’m realizing it was a GREAT idea to order all those new dahlias, (see “Dallying with Dahlias” to read about my impulse buy) but now I’m thinking maybe I should plant some lily bulbs, too. I’m only hesitant because the Cutting Garden is fully exposed to the prevalent west winds, and therefore tall lilies would require staking, which is not only ugly, but a lot of work. I’ll give it more thought, and a little more time to see if any additional volunteers appear.
How is your Cutting Garden faring? Do you mix the perennials with the annuals, or keep them separate? How do you stake lilies?
herbalblessingsblog 
My cutting garden is a plan in my head. I need to sow the zinnias in the greenhouse this weekend and pot on the larkspur. The antirrhinums are still looking spindly. The dahlias are doing well in the polytunnel but I won’t plant them out until end May. I have a zillion self-sown nigellas – the first year I tried to grow them from seed, none germinated (or so I thought)
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The nigellas in my potager interior border self-seeded like crazy, too. I’m hoping all the poppy seeds show up eventually. Things are slow this year…..
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My English borders consist mostly of perennials with roses and peonies, but I do add summer annuals. Right, those beds are happily “crowded” with tulips in varying stages of bloom. The last beds to cleaned out was my herb garden, not quite a potager as I grow only herbs, but two very old heritage rose bushes add form and color.
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I wish peonies lasted a bit longer. Here they open one day, and are usually blown apart by day 2 or 3!
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I’m not sure how to add when nothing is showing where they are. I’m afraid of diging where I should not dig.There may be poppies coming up. This would be a first as I have always ,well once, pulled them out thinking they were weeds. Not moving too fast this time to see. The hostas divided are looking good,should have devided more and the seeds are sprouting in the hoop ( shasta daisy) Moved some out to the bad this morning. Might have been too wet still but hopefully not. I love daisy flowers.
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It is hard to add when it’s early, which is why I’m waiting to see if more things pop up before I plant in the beds, borders and Cutting Garden. I’m just planting in the raised beds of the potager at this point. I should divide some daylilies, but just haven’t had time or it’s been WAY too wet! Good that you got your hostas done!
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In my shady yard, I have come to appreciate begonias. Not a showy flower, but in their own modest way they look good from June through October.
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Tuberous or fibrous? Angel wing? Or all and more?
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I hang my head in shame. I do not know. I pick up annual packs from a local greenhouse.
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