Receiving a bouquet of fresh-cut flowers brightens anyone's day! Grow your own Gift Bouquet Garden—featuring showy cut flowers and aromatic herbal greenery—and you'll always have a cheery, thoughtful gift for a dinner-party host, a friendly neighbor, or any special someone.

Follow these instructions to plant a Gift Bouquet Garden in a 4' x 6' raised bed. If yours is smaller, follow the spacing guidelines to adjust the number of plants. Be sure to fill it with premium soil designed specifically for raised beds, like Miracle-Gro® Raised Bed Soil. Short on space? Choose a few favorite plants and grow a mini Gift Bouquet Garden—for mini-bouquets—in containers!

What You'll Need

• The following flower and herb starter plants, from quality growers like Miracle Gro® Brilliant Blooms and Bonnie Plants®:
  • 3-4 sunflower plants—choose branching varieties for the most blooms
  • 4 cosmos plants
  • 4-5 zinnia plants
  • 3 chamomile plants
  • 2 calendula plants
  • 1 each of these plants: Genovese basil, dill, Italian oregano, and lavender
• Trowel
• Watering can or hose
• 36" tall, thin bamboo stakes and twine
• Miracle-Gro® Water Soluble All Purpose Plant Food

Plant Your Gift Bouquet Garden

Use this planting plan as your guide to what goes, and grows, where in your Gift Bouquet Garden. Pay special attention to the distance between plants: Your garden may look small and sparse now, but it will be bursting with blooms and greens in the blink of an eye. Plant row by row with room to grow!

Area 1: Plant your Italian oregano and lavender plants about 12"-18" apart. Leave about 6" of space, then stagger your two calendula plants, about 6"-8" apart.

Area 2: Plant your three chamomile plants in a staggered row along the side of the bed, about 8"-10" apart.

Area 3: Plant your Genovese basil about 12"-18" from the closest chamomile plant, then put your dill plant about 18" away from the basil.

Area 4: Plant your zinnia plants about 8"-10" apart.

Area 5: Plant your cosmos plants about 12" apart.

Area 6: Plant your branching sunflowers at least 12" apart. Depending on the variety you've chosen (some need more space than others), you may be able to fit in a fourth sunflower plant. Don't crowd them or you may get smaller blooms on taller, spindly stems.

Give your new plants a thorough watering, then tend to them while they grow. Deadhead spent blooms, and gently stake and tie your flowers as they grow taller. Be sure to feed your plants with Miracle-Gro® Water Soluble All Purpose Plant Food every one to two weeks. You'll replenish nutrients in the soil while you water—no extra work needed.

Bundle Your Beautiful Blooms

When you're ready to arrange your fresh-cut bouquet, let your heart and eyes be your guide! Choose showy, focal-point flowers and dense greenery for the bulk of your bouquet, then create a balanced shape by adding airy greens and smaller, lighter clusters of blooms. Present your flowers in a mason jar trimmed with a bow or in a charming vintage vase. (Keep your eyes peeled for clever containers at thrift shops and yard sales.)

And don't forget to give the gardener (that's you!) a bouquet, too! Add beauty, color, and fragrance anywhere in your home—no special occasion needed.