My favorite flowers for a cutting garden.
Since I did my favorite shade plants in last week’s post… I’ll continue the garden theme and do my favorite sun-loving flowers for cutting.
My requirements are: low maintenance, long vase life, blooms all summer…
And? Repeat after me: BIG.
Big, bold, colorful, and easy… (my one exception to that would be Lisianthus.) I’m so over anything that needs more than mulch, water, and a stake.
These are dahlia (see my favorite dahlias here), Benary giant zinnia, sunflowers, and blackeyed susan.
When Paul and I got married, I moved to what is now our old house… Paul was nearly finished, and had already done the landscaping.
In retrospect? It was REALLY nice. Paul’s idea of gardening is all practical, all the time. He only chose plants that were perennial, hardy, and totally maintenance free.
I thought that was a terrible idea… I swanned in and waved my hands—and said: this will ALL have to come out.
That was my first garden, and I was ALL about the frills.
I planned something formal. And elegant. Like a mini-Versailles. But also vaguely English… full of roses and peonies. And possibly old stone walls and hedgerows.
I had no idea there was an easy way to garden… and a hard way to garden.
I had no concept of planning a garden that does at least part of the work FOR you.
In fact, I didn’t even know that peonies DON’T bloom all summer.
A few years later, when we moved to this house, I had learned a LOT about what I actually want in a flower garden vs. what I thought I wanted.
This time, as I planned the flowerbeds, I started a cottage garden… where if something falls over, or dies, you can just ignore it.
My goal with this garden was to grow NO-maintenance perennials, some wild flowers, and to fill it out with a few more-effort-intensive flowers (dahlia, giant zinnia) that would reward my efforts, rather than humiliate me.
My garden advice? Choose flowers that will withstand the natural occurrence of water falling from the sky, and not require you read them poetry by moonlight… unless you like that kind of thing, in which case—you’ve earned my utmost garden-respect.
My other garden advice? Order some Benary Giant Zinnia seeds. Go. Now.
You’re only a tiny bit late getting started, and you’ll thank me later.
Last year I did pinks and purples, but this year I’m adding orange… which I am INCREDIBLY excited about.
If you want something you can cut, and cut, and cut, and cut…
If you want more flowers than you know what to do with.
If you want it to still be going in August…
Then you need to grow this!
Here’s my post about getting the most out of your zinnia, so if you get some seeds, you’ll be able to follow along.
Below is the flower garden after I dug the new bed, and you can see one of my favorite perennial wild flowers—Cup plant.
It’s like a perennial sunflower. SUPER tall, nice greenery, and it gets HUGE, without requiring any staking (or anything else!) at all! One warning– it is a PROLIFIC re-seeder, so you will be pulling up lots of baby seedlings every spring.
see how I start my plants from seed!
April 17, 2016 @ 8:44 pm
Hey Victoria!
You only mentioned lisianthus in passing, but I was wondering if you grow yours from seed or buy them as plants. I saw a few bouquets with them online & I would love to grow them, but I’m reading they are difficult and best started in the winter! I’m afraid I’ve missed the boat.. Unless perhaps you know of venders in the Philly area that sell them as plants?
April 18, 2016 @ 9:13 am
Here’s my post about growing it…
http://victoriaelizabethbarnes.com/grow-this/
It’s one of my first posts, sort of before I understood how to write “helpful” content… I start mine in January. I’m not sure I’d recommend DIY-ing it unless you’re pretty committed?
May 1, 2016 @ 1:14 pm
How do you grow all of those pretties in the ground without getting gopher problems? I am looking at building tons of boxes.
May 1, 2016 @ 1:15 pm
I am new to growing flowers for cutting. I am in love with zinnias!
February 26, 2017 @ 2:03 pm
Victoria,
It’s exciting to find your blog! My youngest child went away to college, fall 2016. With a sudden empty nest my husband and I decided to move to a new state, thus new planting zone (zone 8.5 to 6). Your blog reminded me of the family memories we had with our Zinnia’s when the children were young. We took turns planting the Zinnia seeds and Dahlia tubers starting when they were toddlers. They would go check for growth daily. It was precious. I never feared them picking the flowers knowing more would grow as the children picked Zinnia’s for me daily.
I am excited to plant these flowers in our new location to honor of these fun memories. I will be planting the Zinnia’s in big containers until I learn the new climate I live in. I will be adding a drip system also. I know they will look spectacular! I look forward to trying the seeds you recommended for larger flower heads.
We are in the process of making a green house that will with stand the cold temperatures to enable me to began the seedlings soon. Thank you for the reminder of joyful memories!!
Happy gardening
July 28, 2017 @ 3:31 pm
I know I’m about 4 years late to this post but something I’ve been wondering as I’ve read several of your entries: how do you bring your beautiful flowers inside without cats eating them? Every cat I’ve ever had has been crazy for cut flowers and houseplants. My current two are no exception. I would love to have flowers indoors but not if they inevitably lead to sick kitties and broken vases. Any and all advice appreciated!
July 29, 2017 @ 10:17 am
One of my parent’s cats was like that– LOVED flowers (especially knocking them over and spilling the vase water everywhere!) Have you tried offering your kitties their own plants? They might be looking for some greens in their diet!
You can order cat grass (usually wheatgrass) seeds and start them in little pots… my Elvis loved fresh grass! She liked it when it was very fresh/just sprouting, so I usually had a few pots going at once… and she prefered that to our indoor plants.
I also see those plants sold at the pet store, but she never liked those… I suspect they are treated with something, plus sitting inside made them unappealing.
Hope that helps! xoxo
August 1, 2017 @ 3:33 pm
Thanks. I might give that a try. I’ll let you know if it’s successful!