Build an attractive garden full of cutting perennials (those that come back every year) and annual flowers (those blooming for only one season), such as cosmos, sweet peas, and zinnias that bloom repeatedly.
Plan your garden on paper by marking beds with flowers you wish to plant and taking note of bloom times and heights.
Sunflowers
Growing cut flowers yourself can be both rewarding and fascinating. Watching tiny seeds transform into tall plants producing bouquets full of blooms is truly remarkable!
Sunflowers should be planted directly after the last frost, or seedlings started indoors can be transplanted once the weather warms up. Either way, full or partial sun exposure must be provided, along with good drainage and organic-rich soil for best results.
Your garden should feature plants of various colors, shapes and sizes to add interest. Consider fragrance and whether or not the plants dry well for use in arrangements. Organize plants according to their cultural needs so as to avoid overwatering them or underwatering them too much; pinching is another great way of encouraging branching and longer stems on certain species in this list.
Sweet Peas
Starting seeds and watching them transform into majestic plants filled with fragrant blossoms is a truly amazing process, but when combined with selecting and timing appropriate blooms to maximize a cutting garden’s output it can become even more so.
Start by drawing out your garden with a pen and paper. This helps prevent gaps from forming in your collection, ensuring there is always something available for indoor arrangements. Plus, this allows you to experiment with various colors, heights, textures and perennials that are great for cutting. Attempt to include both perennials and annuals that work for this as well as flowers with longer blooming times if possible.
Plan beds that are close together to make cutting easier, and be sure that a support system is in place to prevent tall plants from flopping over as they mature. Group plants with similar growing conditions and flowering times together and add plenty of rich organic matter into the soil for optimal performance.
Zinnias
Zinnias are easy to grow and boast vibrant blooms all summer long. Additionally, they’re great plants for beginners since no special care or attention are necessary in order for them to flourish.
Pinching zinnias can be an effective way to encourage long stems for cutting. Once plants reach 8 to 12 in (20-30 cm), use sharp pruners to cut off 3 to 4 in (8 to 10 cm) from their top, just above an set of leaves, signalling to them to send up multiple side branches and produce more blooms with longer stem length.
As with most cut flowers, zinnias can become susceptible to bacteria in water; to maximize longevity it’s essential that their vase be switched regularly and flower food added. Another useful technique for getting more from your zinnias is wiggling their flower head before harvesting; if it droops or bends then it is not ready – wait until its stem remains upright before picking your flowers!
Celosia
Celosias boast big, long-blooming blooms that look beautiful in arrangements and dry out well. Easy to grow from seed or propagated from established plants, choose from their wide array of colors and heights such as bright red ‘Tornado Red’ flowers on long stems or dark burgundy foliage of ‘Dracula’ for your cutting garden – choose perennial and annual varieties to have blooms all spring through fall with regular applications of general flower fertilizer at planting time and water regularly to increase flower size and their overall size!
Root cuttings from established plants by searching for nodes near leaves or twigs on the stem just below leaves and twigs. Nodes are where new roots will form, so it’s essential that only healthy stems free from damage or disease are cut from. Pinch back the growing tip after it reaches 10 to 12 inches length using either your fingers or pruners if necessary to promote branching and longer stems.