The Best Plants for a Cutting Garden
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One of the thrills of flower gardening is bringing colorful and fragrant blooms indoors for arrangements in a vase. In most climates, there is a selection of blooms valuable for cutting almost any time of the growing season. The best cutting flowers are those that will remain colorful for several days in a vase. There are many garden plants good for cutting but here is a selection of the best.
Annuals/Tender Bulbs
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Bachelor Buttons are easy to grow and thrive in full sun conditions. They are easy to direct seed in the ground. The height of these plants range from 12 to 36 inches and blue, white, pink and white blooms are most common.
Cosmos are also good for direct seeding and come in a wide variety of daisy-like bloom. Cosmos grow from 3 to 4 feet and come in white, pink, orange, yellow, and scarlet colors.
Dahlias are tender bulbs that need to be dug each year and replanted after winter in northern climates. Bloom sizes vary greatly, from 2 to 12 inches. Height ranges greatly, from 1 to 8 feet. Colors also range widely, including pink, white, yellow, lavender, red, orange and color.
Zinnias are easy to direct seed and come in a wide variety of heights and colors. A member of the aster family, they grow well in full sun with moderate moisture. Height ranges from 12 to 36 inches. Colors include pink, white, orange, red and combinations.
Perennials
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Bearded (or German) iris bloom in late spring and early summer and are known for their distinctive fuzzy "falls"---the lower petal that opens outward. The stems are exceptionally sturdy making them good candidates for the vase. German iris range from 8 to 38 inches. Colors include pink, white, blue, purple, red and yellow and numerous other combinations.
Coneflowers are often purple but recent breeding has produced yellow, salmon, orange and white. They grow best in full sun and often multiply by seed. Coneflowers have a variety of heights, from 12 to 40 inches. Normally the shorter varieties are better for cutting as they have stiffer stems.
Daisies are a long-time favorite for cutting arrangements and their white petals and sunny yellow center are great additions to the garden. Daisies grow from 12 to 48 inches tall.
Lilies are especially fragrant cutting blooms and offer a show in early to mid-summer. Asiatic and Oriental lilies offer a variety of bloom colors and sizes. The height of lilies varies from 2 to 6 feet. Colors include pink, white, yellow, orange, red and many combinations.
Flowering Woody Plants
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Bittersweet is a woodland vine that is known for its bright orange berries that ripen and burst open in the fall, making attractive accents for fall arrangements.
Lilac is a popular shrub that offers delightful spring fragrance with its panicles of bloom in spring. Colors include white, pink, purple and shades in between.
Panicle hydrangeas are known for their magnificent creamy white display of 6 to 18 inch blooms that frequently turn a dusty rose as they mature. These are also ideal for dried flower arrangements.
Roses are one of the best-known blooms for cut flowers. Some roses are well-suited for vases because of their long stems, while others look great floated in a bowl of water. The colors are diverse.
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