How to Start Your Own Cut Flower Garden
Photo of my garden taken by Leia Vita Marasovich
One of the questions I get the most is “how do I start my own cut flower garden”? I can’t say that I’m anywhere near an expert, but below I’ve included the main things that I’ve found helpful in starting out. Please let me know what other questions you have so that I can do a “Part 2” of this post!
Easy Annual Cut Flowers to Start with:
The flowers I’ve included below you can direct sow (i.e. put them directly in the soil that they’ll mature in instead of seed trays). If you are just starting out, I would suggest direct sowing, as it is the easiest.
Flowers that Bloom in the spring:
Ranunculus (corms)
Favorite varieties: Persian Buttercup, Butterfly Ariadne, Butterfly Theseus, Butterfly Europe
Anemones (bulbs)
Favorite varieties: De Caen Black Eye, Italian Anemone Mistral Rarity
Sweet peas
Sweet Pea Erewhon, Sweet Pea Mollie Rilstone, Sweet Pea Memorial Flight
California poppies
Flowers that Bloom in the summer:
Sunflowers
Favorite varieties: ProCut White Lite & ProCut Gold
Cosmos
Favorite variety: Double Click
Zinnias
Favorite variety: Benary’s Giant
I plant nasturtium and calendula in most of my beds in addition to my main flowers because they are good “trap” crops, meaning the bugs (like aphids and thrips) are more drawn to those plants and generally leave my other plants alone. I do this so that I don’t have to spray insecticides.
Be sure to look at the information on the back of each seed packet for the right depth to plant them at, right season to plant them, and how long it will take for them to mature. Right now is summer in San Diego and I have all of these plants in the ground or they’ve already bloomed at this point, but in most places you should still be able to plant sunflowers, cosmos, and zinnias (June/July).
Favorite Perennial Flowers:
Roses
Dahlias
Peonies
Delphinium
Yarrow
Bearded Irises
Echinacea
Pincushion Flowers (Scabiosa)
Hellebore
Hydrangeas
Photo by Leia Vita Marasovich
I plan on doing more posts soon about specific growing techniques for focal flowers that I love like dahlias, peonies, ranunculus, anemones, and roses, so stay tuned for that!
Where to Get Flower Seeds:
For dahlia tubers, I source from various farms and seed shops across the US including The Flower Hat, Swan Island Dahlias, Bear Creek Farm, and Sunny Meadows Flower Farm.
Flower Harvesting Tips for the Longest Vase Life:
Look up specific harvesting recommendations for each flower you grow and try to cut them at that time. For example, if you cut cosmos when they are fully open, you’ll only get a day or two out of them, but if you cut them when the buds are colored but haven’t opened up yet, they will last a few days longer. Floret’s Library is a great resource for this.
Cut flowers early in the morning.
Take off all greenery that falls below the water line.
Put flowers directly in water (and flower food if you have it). I bring vases/buckets out into the garden with me so I can put each stem directly in the water after I strip them of their leaves.
Use clean clippers and cut at an angle.
Keep in a cool space away from fruit.
Photo by Stacy Bostrom
General Flower Garden Tips:
Try to have a good mix of annual and perennial flowers so that you always have revolving perennials to pull from throughout the year.
Don’t forget about the greenery! Greenery take up about half of my bouquets. Right now I use all perennial greenery (mostly what I happen to have growing already).
Experiment with flowers and greenery before gifting so you know the vase life of each one.
Add your unique flare to your garden. I have ceramic mushrooms, statues, and mindful signs in my garden, among other things. They make me (and the fairies) feel right at home 😉
Where to Learn More About Growing Cut Flowers:
Find local cut flower growers in your area and ask if they offer consulting. Psalter Farm Flowers in San Diego did a few consultations with me and they are immensely helpful!
Flower and Garden Supply Recommendations:
Pink buckets (you can get black ones at the Dollar Tree for around $1 each)
Neptune’s Harvest Fish Fertilizer for small flower seedlings
Fertilizer for bigger plants to help get more blooms (I use different fertilizers for dahlias and roses that I’ll share in an upcoming post)
Plant support stakes (I use these to keep the cosmos from drooping)
Bamboo support stakes (I use these for dahlias and most other tall flowers!)
If you have already gotten direct sowing down, here are my supply recommendations for seed starting:
Ideas for How to Use Your Flowers Outside of Bouquets:
Press flowers
Modern Pressed Flower offers online workshops on how to do this
Dry flowers
Use them for flower confetti, wreaths, Christmas ornaments, bath salts, and more
Make flower mandalas
See my tutorial on how to make flower mandalas here.
Make flower essences
Use edible flowers
Add them to your meals or add flowers like pansies to charcuterie boards.
Make natural dyed goods
Check out Sound as Color and Lu France Interiors for inspiration!
I hope that helps! Please email me at kelli@floweremedy.co with other questions you’d like me to address in the next post!
