Explore 11 Annual Flowers For A Cut Garden: A Beginners Guide
- Author: Saiqa Najeeb
- Last Updated On: June 27, 2023
Want to bring joy to your indoor space? A bouquet full of freshly harvested cut flowers can do that. And it’s so easy to get started. You only need one thing to start your own cut flower garden– Love for flowers.
You don’t have to own a huge fancy garden space for growing flowers. A small garden bed with rightly planted annuals, perennials, shrubs, and bulbs is enough to keep your vases full all season long.
In this guide, you’ll explore 14 flowers for a cut garden that you can choose as a beginner. Let’s transform your indoor space into a blooming oasis.
Why Annual Flowers?
Annuals are one of the best flowers for a cut garden as they dedicate all of their energy to blooming in one season. On the other hand, the perennials take a lot for establishing their roots and foliage to survive year after year.
It doesn’t make perennials a bad choice for your garden but annuals act as a great start, providing a continuous supply of vibrant blooms for your bouquets. You can also experiment with different flowers every next year with annuals.
Many annual cut flowers can be directly seeded in the garden without the need to start seeds indoors or in the greenhouse. Also, they’re easily available at garden centers as they make excellent bedding plants.
Special Considerations for annual flowers cut garden
Before getting started with the annual flowers for a cut garden, take care of the following:
- Dedicate a special area in your garden for cutting flowers, beside the garage or along the fence.
- Check the tag carefully while purchasing annuals from the garden center, as many flowers are available as dwarf cultivars. Make sure to pick taller ones for bountiful cuttings.
- Annuals need constant cutting and deadheading (cutting flowers that have passed their peak) to encourage the blooming of new flowers.
Here’s a list of the most basic and cheerful annuals that you can plant this year to prepare your informal bouquets and even formal arrangements.
1
Helianthus anus (Sunflower)
Sunflowers are one of the bright and cheerful choice for your cut garden. There are generally two categories of sunflowers i.e. Branching varieties and single-stemmed varieties. You can get quick blooms with single-stemmed varieties and smaller but abundant flowers with branching varieties. Also, choose pollenless varieties, as sunflowers produce copious amounts of pollen.
You can go with ‘Aura’ series, with a pollenless branching variety for the longer production season. You can choose from other options such as red, bronze or bicolor varieties.
2
Ageratum (Blue Horizon)
Ageratum is also known as Floss Flower, producing fluffy lavender to purplish-blue flower clusters. This is a tall-growing variety, reaching up to 30 inches in height. You can cut the flowers from a desirable height fit for your vase. The blooms appear from late spring to frost on sturdy stems.
3
Gomphrena spp. (Globe Amaranth)
Globe Amaranth are usually used in bouquets as fillers. As they produce a number of flowers, you can buy only a few plants. ‘Carmine’ is one of the most popular, with its glowing rosy pink colour. But you can also check out several other colours such as pale-pink ‘Bicolor Rose’ and red-coloured ‘Strawberry Fields’. They can be used in both forms either fresh or dried.
4
Consolida ambigua (Larkspur)
Larkspur is a magnificent cut flower, featuring tall stems of spurred flowers. It is usually direct-seeded in fall in most areas. The other option is to freeze the seed and then direct the seed in spring. If you’re going with a 12-foot row, you can buy 15 to 20 plants. You can use them in fresh and dried forms.
5
Antirrhinum (Snapdragon)
Snapdragons are another lovely addition to your annual cut flower garden. It features spikes adorned with colourful, tubular flowers giving the illusion of a dragon’s snout. It comes in different short and tall varieties. Make sure to pick taller varieties such as ‘Liberty’ or ‘Rocket’. 5 to 6 plants will do for your cut garden flower. The blooming time for Snapdragon is early summer to fall.
6
Zinnia
Zinnia is a warm-season flowering annual with many varieties and cultivars. A range of sizes are available from 8 inches to 4 feet tall. One of the popular varieties is ‘Binary’ s Giant’ growing from 30 to 36 inches tall. Six plants will be fine for a 5-foot by 12-foot bed. Zinnia is a low-maintenance and easy to grow. It can be planted in the front or the back border or evn in containers.
7
Salvia farinacea
Salvia farinacea also known as ‘Blue Sage or ‘Mealy Cup Sage’ has a long blooming season. It features attractive spikes of beautiful violet-blue flowers. Their blooming period is from spring and intermittently until frost. The cut flowers can be used both fresh and dried. You can buy 3 to 4 plants and cut them frequently to encourage branching.
8
Salvia hormonium (tricolor sage)
The tricolor sage is also a lovely choice for a cut flower garden. The plant branches profusely, sending up spikes looking like blue or pink leaves. In actuality, they are bracts surrounding the white flowers. As they branch heavily, you’ll need a few plants for your bed.
9
Rudbeckia fulgida
This is also known as Blacke-eyed Susan, belonging to the Daisy family. It features magnificent daisy-like flowers with a brownish-purple center. The plant can quickly grow up to 2 to 3 feet tall. ‘Early Bird Gold’ and Viettee’s Little Suzy are among the most popular varieties for a cut garden
10
Cosmos
Cosmos is a low maintenance annual flower that will bloom from summer to frost. The flowers are daisy-like and saucer shaped, and come in many colours. Versailles or Double Click varieties are among the popular varieties. These can be directly seeded in a 4-foot row. To prolong blooming, don’t forget to deadhead the spent flowers. At the same time, spare some flower heads for self-seeding.
11
Celosia orgentea (Cockscomb celosia)
Cockscumb is also an easy to grow flower, making it an excellent choice for a cut garden. It can reach up to the height of 2 feet. Chief and Kurume are lovely varieties with long stems. Both of these can be used fresh or dried in the floral arrangements.
Wrap-up!
So, Yeah! Now you have a list of annual flowers that you can plant in your mini-cut flower garden. You can further experiment with different flowers and varieties.
Planting your own flowers for a cut garden can give you a continuous supply of cut flowers for your bouquets and floral arrangements. Go get your hands dirty and start your cut flower garden today. Happy blooming!
