You can use just about anything as a cut flower; however, the trick is to find flowers that will last a while in a vase (usually a week).

Some even search for flowers with long stems to help with flower arrangements, but I wouldn’t worry too much about that for a home gardener.

All of the flowers listed below are known to last a week in a vase, have tons of colors to choose from, come in different sizes, and are easy to grow and take care of.

And they can make any garden bed turn from a sea of green into a dynamic, colorful garden plot, which as a home gardener, makes the demanding growing season that much more joyous.

Let’s get into the annuals, perennials, some basic bushes to grow for greenery, and even some weeds to forage for that are easy to obtain seeds for and grow.

Let’s Dive In…

Growing a Cut Flower Garden at Home

Annuals

The trick with annuals is to grab some that will continuously bloom and have a long season.

Some will be seasonal, like tulips or mums, and those are great to grow too but it’s more worthwhile to plan on other flowers that give you a long period of time to cut from.

The ones listed below have long bloom seasons, have tons of colors to choose from, and seeds are easily obtainable.

Annuals for a cut flower garden:

• Sunflowers: Autumn Beauty, Velvet Queen, Lemon Queen, Evening Sun, Raszzmatazz (anything but mammoth or giant ones with give you multiple blooms)
• Cosmos: Double Click, Apricotta, any color really
• Zinnias: any color, large or small
• Snapdragons: any color
• Marigolds: Sugar and Spice, Lemon Gold, Sparky, Red Gem
• Bells of Ireland
• Poppies: Icelands (any color), Black Beauty, Pandora, Breadseeds (any color)
• Sweet Peas: any color
• Cockscomb: any color
• Dahlias: any color

Not an exhaustive list by no means but even just picking three of these would give you many vases during summer and autumn.

And some of these flowers come in a dozen or more colors, petal shapes, sizes, giving you a wide range for creativity.

Some of these seeds can be found in big box stores in the spring but looking at heirloom seed companies online can be a better help.

Perennials:

Perennials are a fantastic way to add stability to any garden bed.

Their roots can help bring up nutrients from deep down and they can help with garden soil erosion.

There are plenty of perennials to be used as cut flowers; however, with perennials you must look at the zone hardiness to make sure you are planting flowers that are appropriate to your climate so your time and money are not wasted.

Some perennials will be seasonal, but the best part of perennials is their lower maintenace compared to annuals.

So here is just a basic list to get one started:

• Feverfew
• Hosta: any color, their blooms do great in vases
• Black Eyed Susans
• Echinacea
• Roses
• Sedums
• Herbs: Sage, Oregano do fairly well in a vase
• Daisy
• Beardtongue: Twizzle Mix, Rocky Mountain
• Bee Balm
• Columbines
• Delphiniums
• Foxgloves

Again, to name just a few that are out there.

Be sure to check zone hardiness.

Basic Greenery:

Planting a few bushes in your yard can help give you greenery in all seasons.

Best part is most bushes listed will give you both flowers and greens to use.

• Peonies: you get flowers in the spring, but their leaves work great the rest of the summer
• Hydrangeas: like peonies, their branches look great in a vase
• Lilacs: again, same as peonies/hydrangeas with flowers and branches working well
• Thornless Berry Bushes or Grapevines: non fruit bearing steams stand great in a vase
• Azalea: flowers and branches do well in a vase
• Forsythias
• Ninebark
• Viburnums (hydrangea look a likes)
• Shrubs with variegated leaves

You don’t’ need a ton of shrubs or bushes to have a few sprigs of greenery for vases. 1-3 is usually enough for anyone in terms of having greenery for vases.

Since these are perennials, be sure to check zone hardiness.

Weeds to Forage for (or buy):

If you are not good at identifying weeds in the wild, buying ‘weed’ seeds are now available at most online, heirloom seed stores.

They are often found under medicinal plant seeds. Most do good in a cut flower vase!

Some are perennials and some are annual, but all are usually very prolific.

Try looking for:

• Goldenrod
• Queens Anne Lace
• Yarrow: any color variation
• Wolly’s Lamb Ear
• Marshmallows or Mallows: any color
• Valerian

Many weeds that are native to your area also do good in a vase, and when you are short for your other flowers, a few weeds pulled in can help fill a vase or two.

How to Cut a Fresh Flower Arrangement:

Instructions for a quart or pint-sized mason jar/vase:

• Pick 20-30 stems of all sizes, making sure to get a nice variety of blooms.
• Take off all lower leaves
• Fill jar with 1 teaspoon of sugar or flower food and 2/3 the way with water
• Start with the outer rim of the jar: large flowers do best resting on the outer rim of the jar, so cut the stems short enough to have the large blooms rest on the rim.
• Then add another layer in the middle with the stems being a little bit longer so the next blooms rest on top of those first ones.
• Lastly add the tallest stems in the middle. All blooms should be resting on top of each other to make the vase look full.
• Rearrange until all flowers can be seen and none are hiding behind one another. It’s okay if some overlap, just avoid showing too much stem.
• Add a few stems of greenery throughout to add height and dynamics, if you wish.
• Enjoy!

That’s It!

Growing a cut flower garden, or simply squeezing in a few of these in your vegetable patch or landscaping, is easy to do.

There’s no rule to be formal about growing any of these, so simply picking out some of your favorites to enjoy is going to make those hot summer days that much better.

Enjoy!

The Cottage Vegetable

Gardening & Preserving for a Practical Kitchen

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