Floral Field of Dreams

Tour an enchanting cut-flower garden in Denmark.

- VIVIAN CHRISTENSEN

Imagine being surrounded by bright, colorful flowers every day in your life and work. Jane Wittrock is doing just that. She has created enchanting and evocative gardens where visitors come nearly all year round to pick their own bouquets of flowers for an unforgettable experience.

Jane lives in the beautiful countryside of Sjælland, Denmark, surrounded by green fields, on a plot of land measuring 21,000 square feet, with most of the plot used for the flower garden. Jane also tends to a wide variety of perennials and rosebeds, but her primary focus is her cut-flower garden.

The joy of growing her own flowers and vegetables has always been an integral part of Jane's life, but the dream of having an expansive garden only started to come to fruition more recently. In 2016, Jane's husband renovated an old outbuilding to create the orangery that measures about 380 square feet. This is where Jane has her flower workshop and does her seed planting for pre-sprouting, makes fresh bouquets, creates floral décor and fashions wreaths. The orangery has been furnished with marvelous flea market finds and it is in use all year round. It's big enough for the entire family and a wood stove was installed to make it warm in winter.

Grow Your Own Cutting Garden

Jane shares her favorite planting and care advice.

• The most important reminder for a great cutting garden is to keep picking the flowers! Once the plant forms seeds it will stop blooming, so the more you pick, the more you get for beautiful bouquets.

• Sow your plants close together to encourage taller stems, which are best for bouquets.

• Paths between the beds made with gravel, mulch or stones make for easier weeding and picking.