Picture this. You’re walking out of your front door into the garden, scissors in your hand. You’re surrounded by beautiful blooming flowers, all colors and shapes. The bees are softly buzzing as you reach out to cut a few stems to put in a vase for your house. Sounds like a dream, right? You can make it a reality with these easy-to-grow cut flowers.
Zinnia
A cutting garden favorite, they can be planted directly from seed into the ground. Start in spring, once the last chance of frost has past. Grow in full sun. Height is around 3′, so plant in the back of a mixed border bed.
Zinnias come in a wide variety of colors and sizes. Pictured here is Benary Giants in purple. Some of my favorites include: Queen Red Lime, Zinderella, Benary Giants and Oklahoma. Choosing a seed packet that includes a mix of colors is a good choice if your garden space is limited.
Cosmos
One of the prettiest flowers you can add to your garden, I plant them every year without fail. Wire thin stems support large daisy-like blooms in shades of white, pink and purple. When a breeze passes by, they gently dance in the wind. Grow in full sun. Height is tall at 3-4′.
There have been a lot of new varieties of cosmos introduced in recent years. Slightly different shapes or ruffly petal patterns. My favorites include: Double Click, Versailles and Psyches. I’m trying a new variety this year called Apricot Lemonade that’s suppose to be apricot/yellow in color. I’ll let you know how they do!
Sweet Peas
I haven’t met a person yet who doesn’t love this flower. Known for their spicy fragrance, they come in a wide range of colors. Grow them on a wire fence or strings for support. And when they are done blooming, cut their vines to add whimsy to your bouquets. Grow in full sun to part shade. Height is 6′.
I like to grow sweet peas on a wire fence that runs down one side of my flower garden. The fence is not that pretty, added to keep the rabbits out. By covering it in vines, it looks and smells amazing all summer long.
There are a wide range of sweet peas to choose from, from heirloom varieties to new strains. My favorites include: Mollie Rilstone, Old Spice, April in Paris, Spencer Old Times and Wiltshire Ripple.
Snapdragon
Snapdragons have been a favorite of mine since childhood, when I would go around and “snap” the flowers open by squeezing them. A versatile flower, they have a linear shape and long vase life which makes them ideal as a cut flower. They need to be started from seed many weeks before planting out in your garden, but the effort is well worth it. Grow in sun to part shade. Height is 3′.
Snapdragons come in a wide range of colors. One of my favorites is deep burgundy, which has a soft fragrance. The other colors do not. Some of my favorite varieties include: Chantilly (shown in picture), Rocket and Madame Butterfly. Choosing a seed packet that includes a mix of colors is a good choice if your garden space is limited.
Love-In-A-Mist
Also known as Nigella, I fell in love with these the first time I saw them. The flowers are surrounded by frilly green bracets, giving the illusion of being in a mist. Flowers turn into the craziest looking seed pods. Balloon shaped and often striped, they make great additions to your bouquets. Or you can dry them to craft with later. Grow in full sun. Height is 2′.
Once you plant these in your garden, they will come back year after year. They freely seed themselves. I have them all over my gardens, moved by the wind. They typically come in a mixed color packet that includes shades of white and blue, sometimes pink if you’re lucky. Other varieties to try are Delft Blue and African Bride.
