A cut-flower garden or "cutting garden" allows you to bring the beauty of your garden into your home. Fresh flowers make a room feel alive and bring true joy and connectedness when given as a gift.
Here are some annuals that can be sown directly in the garden bed, bloom throughout the growing season, and make great cut flowers.
1.Bachelor's Buttons
Full Sun, 65–75 days to bloom, reseeds. Deep maroon, sky blue, pink, and white edible blooms atop 2'–3' stems (except Dwarf Blend). Ruffled 1" flowers add a soft texture to bouquets.
2. Calendula/Pot Marigold
Full Sun, 75–90 days to bloom, reseeds. Multitudes of orange and yellow 2"–3" flowers on 8″–24″ prolific plants with fragrant stems and leaves. Plants bloom for a long time, even after frost. Calendula flower petals are edible, are used in natural dyes, and have medicinal qualities.
3. Cosmos
Full Sun, 75–90 days to bloom, reseeds. Orange, fuchsia, pink, and white blooms sway above graceful, tall (3'–6') stems. Cosmos leaves are wispy and light, making beautiful bouquet filler.
4. Larkspur
Full Sun, 80–90 days to bloom, reseeds. Spires of flowers in peach, cream, blue, and shades of pink top 3'–5' stems. The spires are massed with blooms, bringing structure and height to arrangements or the garden bed. In mild climates, refrigerating seeds for a couple weeks before sowing aids germination.
5. Love-In-A-Mist
Full Sun, 60–85 days to bloom, reseeds. Green whorls surrounded by petals in shades of blue to white and an occasional pink form interesting and beautiful flowers that seem to float above a mist of airy, lacy foliage. If not clipped for bouquets, the unique, rosy-colored seedpods that form add another element of interest to bouquets and arrangements. Successively sow monthly for continual bloom.
6. Love-Lies-Bleeding
Full Sun, 65–75 days to bloom. Long ropes of pink to crimson flowers on sturdy, red stems, cascade down a vase for a dramatic effect providing a pleasant contrast to other flower shapes.
7. Marigolds
Full Sun, 60–90 days to bloom, may reseed. Sunny orange, yellow, burgundy, and bicolor flowers add warm colors and a spicy scent to bouquets. Taller varieties take a little longer to bloom than shorter types, but it's worth the wait for the big blossoms on long stems.
8. Orlaya
Full Sun to Part Shade, 65–75 days to bloom, reseeds. White, 3"–5" flowers float above lacy leaves on 24″ stems. Orlaya has a more intricate design than Queen Anne's Lace and is not one bit invasive. Successively sow 2 to 3 weeks apart to keep blooms coming. Even after blooms have faded, the green, fuzzy seed heads make an attractive addition to arrangements.
9. Sunflowers
Full Sun, 65–85 days to bloom, may reseed. Yellow, near white, orange, and rich maroon flowers on stems from 2'–10' tall. Plants may be either branching (with many flowers all season), or single-stemmed (one, larger flower). Successively sow single types 2 weeks apart to keep the blooms coming. See our Tips for Growing Tall Sunflowers.
10. Zinnias
Full sun, 75–90 days to bloom. Zinnias come in every color of the rainbow, except blue. Sturdy, multicolored, single and pom-pom flowers stand tall on 2"–3" stems. Cut the growing stem after it has three sets of leaves to encourage branching. The more you cut, the more they bloom!
Still can't decide? Grandmother's Cut Flower Garden Flower Mix is customized to bring cut flower color all growing season; see all of our cut flowers for more ideas!
Once you are ready to create your first beautiful bouquet, see our article for Making Cut Flowers Last Longer.