20 Flowers for a Cutting Garden
Plant these flowers in your garden to yield endless vases filled with beautiful blooms.
By:
Felicia Feaster
Sunflower
Sunflowers are a great flower to display alone or in small groups in a vase. Think 'Elegance' when you're looking for a compact sunflower with bold color. These plants reach 20-30 inches high, but offer lots of flower power with their gold petals and deep brown "eyes." The heavily-branching plants produce lots of flowers on long stems that are good for cutting.
Gladioli
Gladioli grow from corms and form dramatic, tall blooms ideal for displaying in arrangements indoors.
Ageratum
‘Everest Blue’ is a tall ageratum that grows 20 to 26 inches tall. Developed for the cut flower market, it makes a terrific addition to planting beds, cottage gardens and large containers. Japanese beetles tend to avoid the hairy, quilted leaves of ageratum, but may rarely munch on the blooms.
Sweet Pea
The sweet pea is a vigorous tendril climber available in hundreds of varieties. It flowers in shades of red, pink, mauve, blue and white and is often scented.
Daffodil
Daffodils are grown from true bulbs. After planting, a layer of chicken wire will keep critters from digging them up.
Tulip
Tulips burst with a variety of gorgeous colors making them ideal for a vibrant indoor arrangement.
Allium
Dramatic alliums with their fat globe forms resting on slender stalks are ideal for cut flower arrangements.
Zinnia
Zinnias come in a wide variety of colors with large, profuse blooms and are truly an easy to grow annual flower.
Delphinium
Delphinium is a traditional, old variety producing tall spikes of purple-tinged, blue flowers with black eyes.
Echinacea
Echinacea, known as an herbal remedy to fight the common cold, provides brilliant color to any garden. Purple coneflower boasts striking blooms with reflexed purple petals that surround a spiky orange-gold cone. This drought-tolerant perennial is hardy in Zone 4 to 8 and native to the Central Midwest. Blossoms beckon butterflies and bees.
Peony
Lush, feminine peonies (Paeonia suffruticosa) provide serious bulk and glamor for any flower arrangement.
Salvia
Salvia 'Blue Marvel' is a perennial that is noted for its pretty purple flowers. Flowers are attractive to bees and butterflies.
Black Eyed Susan
Black-eyed Susans are perfect for naturalistic prairie style planting schemes and provide beautiful, vivid color in bouquets.
Ranunculus
Plant ranunculus bulbs in the fall for a spectacular spring show. 'Pink' produces layers of delicate petals that are a hit at weddings.
Liatris
Count on Blazing Star to introduce vertical interest to your garden with its purple flower spikes. Butterflies and other pollinators mob blooms. Hardy in Zones 4 to 9, this blazing star variety tops out at 3 feet.
Rose
This delicate pink 'Natasha Richardson' rose is named for the film actress.
Coreopsis
Tickseed is a native plant, which means it’s a snap to grow once it’s established. 'Presto' improves upon the true native with 2-inch-wide blooms that are semi- or fully double and make terrific additions to bouquets. Butterflies will definitely visit this perennial, which is hardy in Zones 4 to 9.
Yarrow
A clump-forming perennial, the yarrow has flat, golden-yellow flowerheads that appear from summer to fall.
From:
Lynn Coulter
Aster
Asters always provide brilliant color, but for a show year after year, grow perennial species.
From:
Lynn Coulter
Dahlia
The 'Karma Sangria' dahlia is just one type of dahlia of a vast variety that make ideal cutting flowers. Each type of dahlia is classified in groups within the single or double flowering classification, based on shape.
