Cutting gardens are a wonderful way to enjoy a bit of your hard work inside the home. Flowers cut from one’s own garden make a thoughtful hostess gift or neighborly gesture. With so many foolproof flowers to grow, a cutting garden will bring much joy to all who enjoy the products.
A few years ago, I decided to do something about my fresh flower budget (apparently unlimited). Being a gardener, I decided it was a good idea to start a cutting garden. Surely, this would save money and be well worthwhile. I’m not sure about the savings part, but it was certainly worth the time and effort to get this project rolling.
Three years into it, I’ve learned a bit about which flowers take a lot of effort and which practically grow themselves. Some complicated flowers, like dahlias and ranunculus, are well worth the effort. But for the bulk of my garden, I prefer to plant things that are reliable and require no more than moderate effort. Here are some great things to grow in your cutting garden that are reliable and easy to grow.
Sweet peas are a wonderful cool-season annual that produces the sweetest smelling blooms. In warm climates, you can grow these over the winter; in cool climates, you can plant them well before your last frost date. The vines are frost-tolerant especially when established. Scarify and soak the seeds before planting. Direct sow them for best results and pinch them when they have three sets of leaves.
Sweet peas can handle dips into the 20s (~-7°C) but typically won’t flower in weather that cold. They produce long, slender stems with up to five blossoms, sometimes even more! ‘My Navy’ is a gorgeous, deep blue-violet variety with sturdy stems and ruffled petals. A word of caution: sweet peas are legumes, but they are not edible.
Cosmos ‘Apricotta’
Cosmos are fast growers and great pollinator attractors. Their small, colorful blooms and fernlike foliage look great as a filler in an arrangement. Cut stems as soon as the top flower opens. The blooms are not long-lasting, but the buds will continue to open after cutting.
These grow best when planted in the spring. Directly sow the seeds as soon as the soil reaches 60°F (16°C). I think you will be pleased to see how little care they require and how much each plant produces. Make sure to pinch these when they have a few sets of leaves to encourage branching. ‘Apricotta’ is an award-winning plant with stunning color.
Celosia ‘Chief Red Flame’
Celosia adds a wonderful velvety texture to your floral arrangements. ‘Chief Red Flame’ is one of the cockscomb varieties with wonderfully wavy, deep red flower heads. They self-seed nicely, so you’re certain to get some volunteers in the coming years.
Start your celosia indoors about two months before your last frost date. They bloom from summer to frost and attract lots of pollinators. The key to growing this variety is to let the flowers mature. As they age, they will continue to get larger and more intricate. Pinch them between 6” and 12” tall for more branching.
Bachelor’s Button ‘Blue Boy’
Bachelor’s buttons are so charming and have a nostalgic vibe. Once popular in the Victorian Era, these little blooms are so easy they practically grow themselves. In fact, they self-sow well and will often return the following year. They’re so good at self-seeding that they are classed as invasive in some areas. Do some research about their status in your area before planting.
This is another flower that you can direct sow. In warm climates, start them in the fall for winter blooms. They can tolerate some frost. In cool climates, sow them one to two weeks before the last anticipated frost date. ‘Blue Boy’ is a classic cornflower blue variety that looks amazing in a mass planting.
Black-Eyed Susan ‘Cherry Brandy’
Black-eyed Susans are a favorite of mine. If you like your wildflower-like arrangements, you must grow these easy plants. Drought and heat-tolerant, each plant produces dozens of flowers, and they are pollinator magnets.
Surface sow your seeds in the fall, and they will sprout in spring. You can also start them indoors ahead of time for guaranteed first-year blooms. ‘Cherry Brandy’ is not your average black-eyed Susan. Rather than the traditional yellow, these are scarlet and deep pink shades.
Phlox ‘Cherry Caramel’
Phlox are so pretty and have a nice fragrance as well. Direct sow them in the fall in mild climates and a few weeks before the last frost in cool ones. Pinch your seedlings when they reach about six inches tall.
Not all phlox are good for cutting. Creeping varieties are nice ground cover but lack the long stems we want. For a cutting garden, choose a tall variety like ‘Cherry Caramel.’ This one has soft cream-colored flowers with a touch of cherry in the center. It’s an award winner, and pollinators love it!
Snapdragon ‘Night and Day’
I’ve had great luck with snapdragons some years and not-so-great others. During good years, these are the biggest producers in my yard. Whether you start from seeds or starts is up to personal choice. It’s difficult to find starts in some showier varieties, but starts are often stronger.
‘Night and Day’ is a stunning variety with pure white jaws on deep red flowers. It’s a medium-height snapdragon with fluffy flower heads that make an excellent addition to your floral arrangements.
In warm climates, these will withstand the winter and bloom very early in spring. You should start seeds in early fall and transplant early. In cool climates, start them indoors ten weeks before your last frost date and transplant them as soon as the soil is workable. Make sure to pinch them at around six inches tall.
Strawflower ‘King Size Silvery Rose’
Strawflowers are wonderful in the cutting bed. Their unique blooms with papery bracts have the nickname everlasting flowers for a good reason. These dry wonderfully and hold their color for a long time. These Australian natives are perennial in warm climates and annual north of Zone 8.
They aren’t cold tolerant, so start your seeds indoors several weeks before the last frost date. Transplant after the threat of freezing temperatures has passed. You can pinch these to make them branch or let them grow tall for long stems. They might surprise you with how tall they get! ‘King Size Silvery Rose’ is a soft, cool pink shade.
Zinnia ‘Queeny Lime Orange’
Zinnias are, hands down, the easiest and longest-blooming flowers in my cutting garden. They go from seed to bloom in only two months and continue to bloom all summer and until the first frost. I find it’s helpful to pinch them a few times when they are young. It takes longer to get blooms, but you’ll have more flowers on shrubbier, sturdier plants.
‘Queeny Lime Orange’ is a popular, award-winning hybrid. The combination of colors can range from vivid to more muted. I have found that the first blooms are the most spectacular and fully double-petaled. Successive blooms may be semi-double or even single-petaled. All the more reason to pinch.
Directly sow your zinnias as soon as the threat of freezing weather passes. Thin them out to about one plant every 12 inches. I do this gently because you can easily transplant the seedlings you pull.
Love-in-a-Mist ‘Delft Blue’
Love-in-a-mist is wonderful for adding texture to floral arrangements. These interesting flowers have fine, lacy leaves that frame the blooms beautifully. Shades of white and blue make these a cool, airy element in the cutting garden.
‘Delft Blue,’ named for the pottery native to the Netherlands, is a gorgeous combination of blue and white. They like cool weather, so plant them a few weeks before your last frost date in the spring. They need light to germinate, so surface sow or barely cover.
Scabiosa ‘Starflower’
Scabiosa is lovely. Also called pincushion flower, it has tall, slender stems perfect for cutting. Starflower scabiosa is a unique and interesting flower that many gardeners grow for its seed pods rather than its blooms.
After the flowers fall, starflowers have globe-shaped, papery seed heads that make the most interesting dried elements. The seeds need warmed soil; 65-70°F (18-21°C) is ideal. Start your seeds indoors about two months before your last frost date. You won’t regret this stunner.
Hyacinth Bean ‘Ruby Moon’
If you love sweet peas and want to grow something similar that will endure the summer heat, hyacinth bean is perfect. These long, strong purple vines are prolific producers of slender flower spikes with flowers that strongly resemble sweet peas.
‘Ruby Moon’ has rich, red-violet blooms. They have a light, sweet scent and make a great vertical arrangement element. They like something to climb on, and seeds germinate easily. In fact, in some areas, this is an invader. Check with your local extension office before planting.
If you allow them to drop seeds in fall, you’ll get them popping up all around the vicinity. I find it easy to pull the ones that I don’t want and then have nice, strong volunteers in the years to come.
Craspedia ‘Drumsticks’
Bring a touch of whimsy to your beds and arrangements with drumstick flowers. These are popular in floristry for adding a bright and quirky pop of color in an unexpected shape. Small yellow flowers decorate the petite, perfectly round globes.
As fun as they look, they are equally tough and resistant to drought and poor soil. Perennial in Zones 8-11, these are warm-weather lovers. Start them indoors before your last frost date and wait until there is no risk of freezing weather to put them in the ground.
Bells of Ireland
Bells of Ireland have a similar aesthetic to starflower scabiosa in my eyes. Their green bells cover tall stems and have tiny white clappers. They are wonderful fresh or dried, though they turn light brown when dried.
These interesting flowers need cold to germinate. Plant them a few weeks before the last frost to increase your germination rate. It’s best to sow them directly.
Sea Holly ‘Steel Blue’
Sea holly is low-maintenance and works well in coastal gardens or sandy soil. The spiky cones add personality to floral designs in a way that few others can achieve. ‘Steel Blue’ is a glowing variety with blue-violet cones and foliage.
These are perennial in Zones 5-9. They need light to germinate, so lightly press them into the soil when you directly sow them. Plant them in the fall or late winter when they will still get some cold temperatures to improve the germination rate.
Tulip ‘Akebono’
If you have the space to devote to spring-blooming bulbs, you won’t regret planting tulips. These are some of the most popular blooms in the world, and they make quite a mark in the floristry industry. There are many flower forms besides the classic, cup-shaped, single-petaled type.
I love the double-petal varieties, as these hybrids can often resemble peonies and roses. ‘Akebono’ is a Japanese hybrid with a double-petal form. The yellow petals have dashes of bright red. Plant your bulbs in the fall. The cold weather helps them sprout in early spring. They are perennial and will spread, but do so slowly.
Daffodil ‘Pink Parasol’
Sprinkle daffodils with your tulips for a perfect spring-cutting bed. Daffodils look delicate, but they are sturdy plants and reliable bloomers. ‘Pink Parasol’ isn’t your average yellow variety. The petals are pure white, and the cup is the perfect shade of coral pink.
Daffodils like plenty of light and need cold to germinate. Plant them alongside your tulips in the fall; you’ll love how early they pop up in spring. Make sure your bulbs have well-drained soil, or you risk seeing them rot over the winter.
Ammi ‘Dara’
This was a favorite for me this year, as it produces a lot and has a unique appearance in floral arrangements. Often called false Queen Anne’s lace, it’s a less aggressive spreader. ‘Dara’ blooms in shades of pink, brown, and apricot. Its lacy appearance is beautiful on and off the plant.
Directly sow these seeds in the garden a week or two before your last expected frost date. They have a long taproot, so transplanting is not the best option. You won’t need to pinch them; they will branch independently, and a single plant will produce dozens of umbels over a long period.
Calendula ‘Oopsy Daisy’
Here in Zone 9, I love to grow calendula in the cooler months. These frost-resistant beauties can sheer up a chilly day like no other. Calendula has many culinary and cosmetic uses, so it’s not just decorative. The blooms make great garnishes, and they’re wonderful for decorating baked goods.
In warm climates, direct sow calendula in late summer or early spring. In cooler climates, plant them in late winter to early spring. Calendula is frost tolerant. Pinch your calendula when it has a few sets of leaves to make it branch and produce more. ‘Oopsy Daisy’ is a wonderful cultivar for your cutting garden.
