The sustainable gardening movement has encouraged many of us to dabble in the "forgotten" art of growing food in our own backyards. Since we're going to all that trouble, why not tuck some pretty flowers in there while we're at it? Just as we want for our food to not have traveled great distances to reach us, we are beginning to covet flowers that haven't been shipped halfway around the globe. Maintaining a cutting garden is a centuries-old pastime, but most of us aren't exactly flower farmers and can't spare the space to grow an abundance of blooms for arranging. So what does an average backyard gardener do? It's simple: You've got to think beyond just the flower.

Dahlias in Bouquets