Cutting Flowers

One of the great joys of having your own flower garden is being able to enjoy fresh cut flowers throughout the gardening season. Not all flowers are suitable for cutting purposes; however. For cutting purposes, a flower should have long, strong stems and staying power that will provide a lovely arrangement at least for several days. Some flowers, which only provide a bloom for one day, are not suitable for fresh cut flower arrangements.

Annuals and perennials both make ideal cut flower arrangements as long as you select suitable varieties. If you are interested in including annuals and perennials in your flower garden for fresh cut flower arrangements, review the list below to choose your favorites; they all work beautifully for cut flowers.

Anemone –Blooms resemble white cups with yellow centers.
Bachelors' Button-Similar to daisies, periwinkle blue.
Blue Lace Flower-Similar to Queen Anne’s Lace; however, smaller.
Calendula-Similar to daisies but orange instead of yellow.
Cosmos-Features a variety of colors and shapes.
Forget-Me-Not- Deep blue color
Gomphrena-Blooms with a small flower resembling clover shaped globes. Large variety of color, long stems.
Helichrysum-Delicate flower similar to daisies, features brilliant autumn colors.
Heliotrope-Dark purple; has a fragrant vanilla scent.
Marigold- Resembles pom poms on long stems. Variety of gold and yellow colors.
Painted Tongue- Very velvety flower shaped like a trumpet; variety of colors.
Statice-Grows in sprays of small blossoms in a variety of pastel colors.
Sunflower-Available in short or large varieties.
Sweet Pea-This is a very traditional, old fashioned bloom with strong stems and a variety of colors.
Verbena-Purple flowers with a very nice scent.

Several perennials also make nice cutting flowers, even though the blooms of many perennial flower varieties do not last long. The varieties listed below; however, are known to make excellent choices for cutting gardens.

Columbine-These bell shaped flowers work best in zones 3 through 9.
Baby’s Breath-Produces light sprays of pink or white flowers; works best in zones 5 through 8.
Bee Balm-Produces blooms ranging from pastels to deep reds; works best in zones 4 through 9.
Black-eyed Susan-Very traditional plant; works well in many locales.
Delphinium-These cup shaped flower bloom in a variety of rich tones; works best in zones 4 and up.
Eucalyptus-Brilliant blue-green hue; works best in zones 9 through 11.
Foxglove-Produces bell shaped flowers; works best in zones 3 through 9.
Lupine-Produce flowers that resemble peas in a variety of colors, some of which are multi-colored; works best in zones 4 through 8.
Snapdragon-Produces a variety of colors; works best in zones 6 through 9.

 
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