How to Start a Cut Flower Garden for Beginners- Top 5 Flowers
So you want to start a cut flower garden this year? Please, let me help you. I want to talk and write about nothing else than flowers and growing flowers. In this article you will find my suggestions on the best flowers to grow, from seeds, for beginners. You will love your cut flower garden this year!
What are the Easiest Cut Flowers to Grow
I have made this list VERY simple, with VERY easy flowers to grow from seeds. These flowers will give you blooms all spring and summer long, so you can get flowers for as long as possible. Growing flowers from seeds is also the most cost effective. For $10-$15 you can have flowers all summer long, what a deal! All of these flowers also come in many varieties and colors. So let’s get to the list
1. Sweet Peas
Sweet peas smell heavenly, are very prolific, and have all types of soft or bold colors. Sweet peas will be the first flowers that will bloom and like the cooler spring. You might also be able to replant in the summer in a shady spot for fall blooms also. I did this by accident one year and I was delighted to have sweet peas well into the fall. The only con to these flowers is that they do not have a very long vase life, lasting only a few days, but I think the smell and early harvest are worth the trade off. The rest of the flowers I will suggest have great vase life.
2. Cosmos
Cosmos are the perfect fairy, whimsical flower. These will bloom after the sweet peas, and keep blooming all summer and fall. Cosmos come in so many different colors, and different shaped petals. Some petal shapes look like seashells, single petals, many petals, two toned, SO many different varieties.
Zinnias
Like cosmos, zinnias come in countless varieties, sizes and shapes. They have a great vase life and have nice long stems. They also attract butterflies and hummingbirds as an added bonus! Zinnias are not fussy and love heat and will grow well in poor soil. For more detailed instructions on how to grow Zinnias read my article on All About Growing Zinnias. (HERE)
Dahlias
Dahlias can be grown from tubers, or seeds. I am suggesting to grow them from seeds because it is MUCH more cost efficient. Growing them from seeds you will not know the exact variety you will get, but they are still absolutely beautiful. If you would like to know exactly what variety of dahlia you will get and don’t mind the extra cost, go for it! I have loved the tubers I have grown also.
Sunflowers
To be honest, I did not like sunflowers before I started growing them. In fact the only reason I grew them was because I had other flowers that didn’t grow and I didn’t want a blank spot in my garden. I have grown to love specific types of sunflowers, so if you are like me and don’t think you like them, give a new variety a chance and see if it changes your mind.
Where to Get Cut Flower Seeds
All of these seeds are easy to find in any big box store- Walmart, Home Depot, the dollar store, etc. BUT if you would like to be wooed by more uncommon varieties that you might not have ever seen before I like to get my seeds online from Johnny’s Selected Seeds, Baker Creek, Botanical Interest, and TrueLeaf Market.
How Many Seeds to Plant For a Cut Flower Garden?
It will depend on how big you want your cut flower garden to be, but for a small garden a packet of each will be enough. You might consider two packets of sunflowers because on single stem sunflowers you only get one flower per seed.
When Should I Start My Cut Flower Garden?
The instructions on the seed packet will give you all the information you will need to know about how to grow each seed. You will need to know your last frost date for your area which can be found with a quick google search. For example “When is the last frost date for Salt Lake City, UT”.
How Do I Know How to Grow Each Flower?
Your seed packet instructions will tell you when to plant, how deep to plant, what spacing to plant each seed, and any other special instructions. Follow the packet instructions and keep the soil moist until the seedling comes out of the ground. I also have specific instructions for growing zinnias in this article HERE
I can’t wait for you to enjoy and heal from your cut flower garden this year. Happy Gardening
More Cut Flower Garden Post
Simple Cut Flower Garden Layout Plans for Small Spaces
Grow Your Perfect Cutting Flower Garden This Year!
Easy Seed Starting for Beautiful Flowers: Tips and Tricks
As Always,
Grow Flowers to heal your soul
