For those wishing to get their early flower fix this spring, one Pullman business that will be flower-filled is Stratton Cutting Garden.

Jane Stratton, who owns the garden, said daffodils and tulips usually start blooming first. She predicts these flowers will begin to fill her garden at the end of April, while other species will appear June to September. This means any student who is leaving for the summer may have to wait until they return in August to see the garden in full bloom.

Stratton said she has been raising flowers since 1986. She started out by working with what she called “dry flowers,” which she described as flowers that are hung upside down to dry after being cut and can therefore last forever. She said she would arrange them in bouquets.

For anyone interested in gardening, Stratton recommends reading about what will grow well in the area. She said it’s helpful to start with a small garden and then add to it.

Stratton said her favorite kind of flower varies from season to season. For the springtime, she said she enjoys planting peonies, but when fall comes around she makes room in her garden for sunflowers.

“We can grow a wide variety of flowers here on the Palouse,” Stratton said. She grows 150 varieties.

Her favorite part about running the business, she said, is seeing people come out and enjoy picking the flowers. For $8, pickers can fill a children’s sand bucket of flowers, which Stratton said is enough to make a couple of bouquets.

Customers usually pick flowers for themselves, but she said they can do it for the disabled or people who otherwise can’t pick them.

When the ground freezes and the flowers die, Stratton Cutting Garden shifts to selling pumpkins. Stratton said the pumpkins are usually planted in May and sold in October.

College students, and young people in general, may scoff at gardening as a hobby reserved for the older crowd. But according to an article on Greatist, “Garden to Improve Mental Health,” planting a garden can be good for lowering cortisol and therefore stress levels.

Planting vegetables likely increases the grower’s exposure to the food, which makes them more likely to eat vegetables. According to the article, those who grow food organically are reducing their exposure to pesticides. It also said homegrown food can potentially yield a higher nutrient content.

According to the article, gardening can also reduce the severity of depression.

Stratton Cutting Garden is located at 1653 Old Moscow Rd, Pullman and can be reached at (509) 332-2306.