Flower Power – Cut Garden Must-Haves

Happy Monday, friends! Today I am talking FLOWERS and could not be more happy to do so! I’ve been getting so excited sketching out new plans for my cut flower garden and wanted to share a couple favorites and tips with you! This will be my third year with a cutting garden and even if you have the tiniest bit of space in your yard, I recommend starting one! The neat thing, it doesn’t even require a ton of experience or hours of care if you select the right flowers! Want to fill your home with fresh flower bouquets this summer?

I’ve been doing a TON of research over the past couple years and have found some tried and true flowers and techniques that work for me! Sharing some additional posts about my cut garden for your reference below:

HOW TO PLAN AND PLANT A CUTTING FLOWER GARDEN: PART I – PLANNING AND PREP

HOW TO PLAN AND PLANT A CUTTING FLOWER GARDEN: PART II – FLOWER SELECTION AND MAPPING

The very first step is to make sure you know your planting zone. This will be especially helpful for you if you choose to go the easy route and direct sow into your garden. You will have to wait until mid July for most things to flourish if you live anywhere near me (Zone 6a) – this is because direct sowing cannot begin until the last frost, typically mid-May.

Start purchasing your seed packets now and map out where exactly you want to plant your flowers. Look for a spot that gets full sun, because generally ALL cut flowers (all of the one’s I list below) love full sun!

I have a garden journal, a whole bunch of gardening books (two of which I bought at a garage sale – the Ohio Annuals and Perennials books) and graph paper to help me map out my gardens and learn a little more about my favorite plant varieties.

To save you the research, I will share some of my favorite cut flowers that are SUPER low maintenance and true CUT & COME again bloomers!

Dahlias

These flowers are a MUST in any cut flower garden. Bright, vibrant and coming in an assortment of shapes and sizes (dinnerplate, pom, ball, cactus) this variety can make any arrangement POP!

You’ll be shocked how you can have so many continuous blooms to cut over and over! Direct sow tubers into your garden after the last frost date. Dahlias LOVE the warmth, so take extra precaution and make sure it will be warm enough for their liking!

Zinnias

These flowers are my second favorite! I cannot get over how great of a producer this flower is! I get sooo many cuts from this plant and highly recommend it! So many awesome colors and varieties. My favorites are “Cut & Come Again”, “State Fair Mix”, “Green Envy” and “Liliput”

Direct sow these in your garden once danger of frost has passed – these too love the warmth. Make sure you keep up with deadheading to keep promoting new growth on your plant all summer long! Before cutting, do the wiggle test. Shake the stem and if the flower and stem remain stiff, it is ready to cut. If you notice the flower bending back and forth when you shake, it is not ready!

Hydrangeas

A perennial and one of my all time favorite flowers! Plant one of these shrubs in your yard and be rewarded gorgeous blooms all summer long! My absolute favorite variety is the “Limelight”. We have two HUGE shrubs that just pump out the most incredible blooms ever!

Snapdragons

I LOVE snaps! Though considered an annual (need to be re-sown every year) in my zone, my snaps do come back every year. For bigger better varieties, a little prep work would be involved. You would want to start these indoors to get them going! Other than that, very easy to grow and super durable annual.

Cosmos

Another excellent cut and come again variety that gives bouquets a beautiful whimsical feel! These flowers are fun and so light and airy! These can be direct sown after danger of frost or started inside 4 weeks before the last frost.

Gladiolus

I LOVE glads (the tall purple and pink flowers pictured here) and so did my bouquet buyers this summer! Those were the first things to go! I will definitely be expanding my bulb collection here! Super duper easy to grow. Pop them in the ground after last frost and watch them quickly grow! The other neat thing, these bulbs can be dug up after the first couple frosts in the Fall, cleaned off and put in a card box over winter.

Sunflowers

I’m so excited to add these to my cutting garden this year! There are some awesome cut varieties out there and this will truly help enhance my autumn bouquets! Direct sowing these in full sun somewhere where they can brighten up the yard and not obstruct the sun from any other plant because they get big! Stagger plantings every 2 weeks so you have continuous blooming.

Don’t forget greenery!

A huge mistake people make when having a cut flower garden is forgetting to add greenery to their space. Greenery is essential to bouquet making, so don’t forget to add that to the mix! I’ve used Baby’s Breath, Coleus and Spirea – but this year I’m expanding adding Basil, Bells of Ireland and Cress to my collection!

I hope this inspires you to throw a handful of seeds out in your garden this year in order to bring some happiness into your household every week from these beautiful flowers! Tuck them in some dirt, water every now and then and watch them GROW!