Plants for a Spring Cutting Garden

Cut woody stems of this spring harbinger at any point from midwinter to early spring for forcing indoors. Flowering quince varieties open blooms in shades of red, coral, orange, pink or white. Cut branches to any length. Be sure to place your cut about a quarter-inch above a bud. Buds will open in two to five weeks, depending on how warm inside temps are. Average vase life: 4 to 7 days.

Daffodils bring living sunshine to vases. Clip single-flowered daffodils when buds are still closed but showing some petal color. Snip doubles when flowers are starting to open. Daffodil sap clogs the stems of other cut flowers. If you want to make a mixed bouquet, let daffodils sit in water for 6 hours before adding them to another bouquet. If you re-cut stems at any point, you’ll need to soak the daffodils separately for 6 hours. Average vase life: 3 to 7 days.

Savor the perfume of sweet peas by filling a bud vase with a small nosegay of stems. Clip sweet peas when about half of the blossoms on a single flowering stem are open. In a small vase, check the water level frequently and replace it often. Keep sweet peas away from ripening fruit, which hastens their death. Average vase life: 3 to 7 days.

Bring this queen of the garden indoors for fragrant bouquets guaranteed to make you smile. Cut flowers when buds are just starting to show color and feel like a large marshmallow when you gently squeeze it. Gather blooms in early morning or evening. Recut stems indoors before adding to a vase filled with floral preservative. Average vase life: 7 to 14 days.