The Homesteader’s Guide to Cut Flowers: Growing Beautiful Versatile Blooms for Pantry, Pleasure & Profit

Agriculturalist Blessing debuts with a charming handbook for growing, selling, and crafting with flowers. Alongside photos of her Pennsylvania homestead, Blessing instructs readers on how to plan their own flower garden—whether in pots, backyards, or fields—encouraging them to select flowers adapted to their climate, organize plantings by height so tall plants don’t overshadow small ones, and, if planning to sell them, plant more than needed to account for crop failures. She explains how to gauge the health of soil, including instructions for a DIY soil composition test, and offers tips for creating an eco-friendly, regenerative garden, like incorporating native plants and using compost as a natural fertilizer. Elsewhere, she demonstrates how to sell cut flowers by setting up a roadside stand or welcoming customers to walk through fields and pick their own, and outlines the medicinal and culinary benefits of certain flowers. For instance, marigolds have healing properties beneficial for bruises, while rosemary can boost immunity and improve hair growth. Handmade floral crafts are also demonstrated, including pressed flower candles, eucalyptus shower steamers, and dried flower garlands. Blessing’s passion for growing flowers is contagious (“Every seed holds the promise of hope and every bud unlocks the secrets of nature’s grace”). This wide-ranging how-to will appeal to novices and seasoned gardeners alike. (Apr.)