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

People kept telling me to buy this book for months before I finally purchased it. When I got it, I wondered why I had waited so long! Fifteen pages in and I already knew more than I had before I picked it up--and knew I was going to love it. For anyone in the mid-atlantic or northeast--or really anyone with some type of 'cold weather'...this book will come in very handy if you want to get earlier flower blooms in spring. I had no idea that there were so many varieties I could plant in fall to overwinter and bloom earlier in spring! Of course you think well sure these 2-3 plants, but there are over 15 in this book. One of the big eye openers for me was sweet peas! I struggled along to start them early this spring and did not get blooms til June in our zone 7 climate. I'm trying them this fall to see how early I can get blooms next year. Along with the information on each are tips on germination, growth, harvesting on each plant, so helpful. I like that the book is small, an easy read (who has oodles of time to be sitting reading pontifications?!), and you can easily grab it later if you want to reference something. I have caught myself referencing this book to other growers when they ask questions as in 'Well if you had Cool Flowers...you could read your answer'... exactly how others would address me when I had questions relating to hardy annuals, overwintering, how to get blooms earlier in spring, etc. Info on soil blocking, overwintering in climates with snow etc are fantastic. I especially love how every plant has specifics on just how low you can go zone-wise so that this book is not just for people in Lisa's zone 7, but I know a few zone 5 growers who also swear by it. If you love flowers and want to expand your own personal garden OR grow commercially and want to extend your season for sales, either audience would benefit from reading this. Completely recommend.

Lisa Ziegler has become a well-recognized expert flower farmer with many years of experience. This great book will teach you how to plant in fall for the earliest spring blooming cut flowers. Great for home gardeners & cut flower farmers alike, she uses a novel method of seed starting which can be purchased from her farm store (The Gardener’s Workshop Cut Flower Farm). The method is compact, easy to do at home-no greenhouse or extra space is needed. She is an organic farmer successfully using non-chemical methods to harvest bountiful crops, but you can learn to grow at any level (from a 10’ plot up to acres) with this book as your guide. Can be adapted to all USDA growing zones ( & internationally if you convert temperatures to your seasons). She is a generous and talented teacher & writer. This book is a bargain, and also includes a free video short course. Highly recommend her books & courses! See her other book, “Vegetables Love Flowers,” also about growing flowers-warm season annuals. If you hope to learn more, look for her hands on videos on FB & on-line education courses on her website. No-I am not related, nor an affiliate, just a happy customer! I paid full price for her book and instantly became a fan. You will too, I promise! If you want the book to give as a gift, she also sells direct and will custom autograph. It arrives beautifully wrapped & is gift ready for any occasion. Shipping would not be as fast as prime, though If you have a little time to spare, the presentation they ship is very nice!

As a gardener, I am working on learning how to extend my growing season, and this book offers tons of great info on which flowers grow well in cooler weather, how to plant in fall, winter sow, etc., it's very useful!

Great info! Written to digest easily. It doesn’t feel overwhelming when reading it. Great starter book. It’s a perfect outline of cool flowers and how they work. Index of flowers to use. Gives just the amount of info I need to understand the concept and if I want more I could dive down that rabbit hole. Or just go sign up for her workshops if I want to get more serious about it. I follow her podcasts and you tube. She talks about cool flowers a lot but I’m always on the go so this is a great reference tool to have.

I’ve been growing for 20 years and every year I pull out this little book and read it covered to cover. So much wonderful information! Lisa presents it in such a clear concise easy to understand format. Whether you grow On a small plot in your backyard or an acre of marketable stems, this is a must read!

I found I loved this book even more after realized the author was local to me and a lot of her application directly applied to my situation. I am doing a wildflower field though and it wasn't exactly apples to apples scenario. Even so though a lot of great information that I will be following this fall in my new wildflower field. It helped me make sure I focused on a lot of seeds that could be planted in the fall.

Very helpful in getting a better understanding of growing hardy annuals.

Lisa is the cut flower Guru.. she has so much knowledge and shares it all in her book. You won’t be disappointed. I read it cover to cover and reference it all the time. She has compiled all the need to know information

Hi there! I cannot recommend studying with Lisa enough! Over the course of the last year I purchased many of the most recommended flower growing books, all which I found a bit thin on content and requiring further research. Reading Cool Flowers was eye opening and very clear on how to plant cool season hardy annuals earlier and when to do it. I also purchased Lisa's other book Flowers Love Vegetables and took her online seed starting course. All are superb and she generously offers many free resources, book studies, podcasts, talks to help to further clarify the content and answer questions! I wrote her company email to further clarify some misunderstanding and had the wonderful opportunity to correspond with Anne who further illuminated me and offered spectacular customer service! If I could I would offer 10 stars!

I use this book all the time as a reference and inspiration. Having spent so much on courses on how to grow my own flowers for sale, I wish I had just used this from the beginning. It would have been a lot cheaper and it’s full of the best education for would be and seasoned flower farmers!

Molto carino il fatto che al fianco delle foto dei fiori ha messo le foto anche delle giovane piantine. Libro piccolo, io avrei messo più specie. Comunque è utile

well written, easy to grasp, good structure to the topic, di love the plans and combinations, well explained when looking on how its done. What I would have wished for: clearer timelines and more season relevant dates for the different cultivars/species.

c'est le livre qui explique comment étendre la saison de culture tôt au printemps (avec juste des voiles de forçage pour la plupart, du mulch,) la période où l'on manque de fleurs pour nos bouquets, merci à l'auteur