Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden Review

Review of Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden 

As of this writing, there are 261 customer comments and 0 answered questions for the Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden.  I’ve read the customer feedback, and then condensed the results into this review.  I hope that this helps you when shopping for a gardening book.

Best Fea​tures

• check Step-by-step instructions on growing flowers
• check Bright, colorful, instructional pictures
• check Recently published
• check Written by an experienced florist farmer
• check Many tips for growing blooms

Item Specifics

The Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden is written by Erin Benzakein.  She is a florist farmer, and founder of the Floret Flower Farm.  She has won the Martha Stewart American Made award for Floral and Event Design, as well as the Better Homes & Gardens blogger award.  Erin’s work has been featured in numerous books, websites, and magazines.  In this flower book, she shares how to grow, harvest, and arrange gorgeous blooms year-round.  There are many bright, colorful pictures in this cut flower garden book, as well as tips for growing flowers and step-by-step instructions for beautiful flowers.  Erin lives in Mount Vernon, Washington, where she farms, designs, and lives with her husband and two children.  There are 308 pages in this book.  You can buy this book on Kindle, or as a hardcover.  To find out more about Erin Benzakein and her book, visit her website at www.floretflowers.com.  You can also buy floret seeds off of her on her website.

Not for Flower Identification

If you are wanting a book that gives information on a large variety of various flowers, this is not it.  Here is a comment from a customer about this, “One of my new favorite flower gardening books. Some of the topics are for the beginning gardener. If you’re looking for a book that covers a wide variety of flowers this is not it. It is limited to plants that the author enjoys growing and I love that she provides her favorite recommendations for specific plants. However, I would have enjoyed more content on other flowers commonly used across all growing zones. If you enjoy floral arranging there is a section available for suggestions and recommendations on technique and plant pairings. I was a bit disappointed that this book does not cover is how to harvest your own seeds for the next growing season.”

Gives a Lot of Information on All Aspects of Flower Gardening

If you are looking for a book that covers a lot of information on various aspects of flower gardening, this is it.  From growing flowers, to harvesting to design, this book has it all.  Here is a comment from a customer about this topic, “I’ve been scouring Erin Benzakein’s website and blog since I started farming flowers about 3 years ago, and I could not have accomplished what I have without her and her incredible team. This book compiles a lot of what she has already written about, but also includes tips on post-harvest care for flowers, varieties of woody shrubs and trees that work well for floral design and wholesale, and a seasonal calendar of tasks for the garden. It is incredibly useful, and it’s obvious that Erin has poured her soul into it. If you are just starting out in flower farming and floral design, this is the book to buy. As a current flower farmer, I wish I’d had this book a long time ago! My only complaint is that while the book is perfect for beginners, and has more knowledge packed into it than others of its kind, it’s not a blueprint for success in flower farming.”

Many Details Are Included

If you are new to flower gardening and want the details like when to plant, how far apart to plant, when to cut the flowers, etc. this book will outline those details for you.  A customer comments, “This book is glorious. I am a home gardener, not a professional grower. I am pleased with the amount of information she gives-when to plant, how far apart, how to cut, when to cut, tips on how to get cut flowers to last longer. Gorgeous photography of labeled individual plants-very helpful. Yes, there are families of plants she didn’t cover that I wish were there (salvia, allium, and glads for instance). But she covers many varieties and I appreciate that she did not get overly technical (there are lots of other books for that). This book is beautiful, full of fine information, and inspiring. It is exactly what I was looking for.”

Photographs

The photographs included in the book had mixed reviews.  There were some complimentary comments on the photos, but there were also a lot of complaints about the quality of the images.  Here is one of the many negative comments about the photographs, “The writing is concise, clear and to the point. It’s a great book to keep on hand for this info. However, I must admit I am quite disappointed in the quality of the photographs throughout the book. Erin and Floret have created quite a following on social media with their beautiful, clear, clean and bright photos – and the book does nothing to come close to those photos. Perhaps it is the paper type or quality that does not lend itself well to photography, but the photos are dull, muted and not near the inspiration of her blog, FB page or instagram. I can honestly say that the Cut Garden Planning Kit that I downloaded and printed from the Floret website after pre-ordering the book has brighter, livelier color on regular copy paper, printed on a 15 year old HP printer than the photos in the book. Disappointed in the lack of inspiration from the book, satisfied with the basic knowledge provided from her experience.”

Price

The Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden is priced to sell.  This is one of the lower priced garden books that doesn’t skimp on quality nor information.  So if if price is a barrier this isn’t one of the books that should get cut from your wishlist. It is a great buy!

Beautiful Coffee Table Book

If you like beautiful books as much as me, this is a great book to have.  A customer describes it this way, “This beautiful book is FILLED to the brim with valuable flower farming/gardening knowledge as well as AMAZING photos.  I received my copy (along with 2 others to give as gifts) and immediately sat down and read it cover to cover. I may just order another copy to have one for my coffee table (it’s that beautiful) and one for my reference library. If you have any interest at all in gardening for a home filled with cut flowers or are interested in starting up a cut flower farm, Erin is your gal.  Her and her team are gracious and willing to share their tricks of the trade along with mistakes they made along the way in their flower farming journey.  Priceless information for those starting out or trying to expand. Enjoy every word and image.  Worth every penny.  Thank you Erin and Team Floret!”

Pros

• plus A lot of information on various aspects of flower gardening
• plus Price
• plus Nice coffee table book

Cons

• close Photographs aren’t of the highest quality when in print form as compared to what she shares on Facebook. 
• close Not for flower identification
• close Many blank pages

Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden Conclusion

Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden is a low priced book that includes information on all aspects of flower gardening.  It isn’t an in-depth study of specific flowers but it does include a lot of detailed information about all aspects of flower gardening. Many customers also commented about what a beautiful coffee table book that this makes.  However there were mixed reviews about the photographs.

Common Questions

Here are some top questions that I found for people considering buying Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden.

• chevron-circle-right Has Erin Benzakein written any other books?  Yes, Erin has written a couple other books, and has one coming out in September, 2018.  In 2014, she wrote Fresh from the Field Wedding Flowers, which is a guide for using local flowers for weddings.  Her next book was the Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden, which is the book I’ve reviewed today. She published this book on March 7, 2017.  She also has this book written in German.  In 2017, Erin made a calendar, called the Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden 2018 Daily Planner.  And finally, on September 18, 2018, the Floret Farm’s Cut Flower Garden Garden Journal is expected to be published.  
• chevron-circle-right Is there lots of photography in this book?  Yes, there are many colorful photos in this book.
• chevron-circle-right Who is the photographer?  The photographer in this book is Michele M. Waite.  You can find some of her pictures that she took in Martha Stewart Weddings, Organic Life, The New York Times, Seattle Bride, The Knot, Bride’s Magazine, and more.  You can find out more about Michele by visiting her blog.

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