8 Beginner Cut Flowers to Grow in Your Garden
For years I grew only vegetables and not many flowers in the backyard garden. Flowers are a very important element to include in your garden and I want to inspire you to grow more. Not only do they encourage pollinators to come visit your oasis, but many also make beautiful cut flower bouquets to enjoy in your home! Here are 8 flowers that I highly recommend you grow in your garden for both you and the pollinators to enjoy.
1. Zinnias
Not only are zinnias a beautiful addition to your garden and bouquets, but pollinators absolutely love them. You can plant them in the corners among your vegetable garden to encourage bees and butterflies to come for a visit & pollinate. They are also a flower where the more you cut, the more they produce! My personal favourites include: Oklahoma Salmon, Zinderella Lilac and Queeny Lime Orange!
2. Cosmos
Another flower that pollinators love to flock to are cosmos. Combining zinnias and cosmos in my vegetable beds will encourage lots of pollinators to come visit. They also come in a variety of colours, and shapes – some of my favourites are Snow Puff, Cupcake Blush, and Double Click Rose Bon Bon. Cosmos are another flower that produce more blooms the more you cut them.
3. Dahlias
Dahlias are another great beginner friendly flower to add to your garden; though the process is a bit more tedious. While you can grow dahlias from seed I would suggest purchasing tubers to see how you like growing the flower. Depending on your grow zone, you may need to remove them from your garden in the winter and store the tubers. Similarly to cosmos and zinnias, the more you cut dahlias for cut flowers, the more they’ll produce. My personal favourites are Sweet Nathalie, Night Silence and Bolt.
4. Sweet Peas
Sweet Peas are another great addition, and easy to grow from seed. These flowers can grow quite tall, and you will need to provide some sort of trellis for them to grow up. They also look absolutely gorgeous in bouquets. Note, the flowers and pods are toxic and should not be consumed. The varieties I love growing are High Scent and Butterfly Blend.
5. Stock
Stock is easy to grow, but they take a while, and prefer cooler temperatures, so this is an ideal spring and fall flower to add to your garden. Additionally, they’re a single cut flower, so once you cut it for a bouquet, nothing will grow in its place. It’s also quite fragrant, so if you’re sensitive to strong floral smells, it may be best to avoid this one. My favourites are Katz Apricot and Katz Cherry Blossom.
6. Strawflower
Strawflowers are very simple to grow. The most important thing to know about growing them is that the seeds need light to germinate, so you sow them on top of the soil. Starting indoors is easier to ensure birds don't eat them outside, but I've done both ways! They look lovely in a bouquet and dried by themselves in a vase all year long for an everlasting garden feel in the home. My favourite varieties include Bright Rose, King Size Orange and Copper Red.
7. Statice
Statice is a great option If you’re looking to grow a nice filler flower for bouquets. Similarly to stock, statice takes a while to grow, and you won’t be reaping the benefits of adding it to a bouquet until mid-to-late summer, but it can really bulk up a bouquet quickly! I personally like to grow Lemon Yellow Bonduelli.
8. Snapdragons
Snapdragons are another easy to grow flower, and provide a ton of blooms throughout the season. They can get quite tall, and will likely require staking or netting, but the more you cut, the more they produce! There are so many varieties, and pollinators absolutely love them. This one I love growing in the corners of a vegetable garden. Some of my favourite varieties include Potomac Orange, Potomac Ivory and Potomac Apple Blossom.
Though it didn’t make the “official” list, I have to give a special shout out to another one of my favourite sunflowers, the ProCut White Lite sunflower. It is absolutely beautiful, and a great neutral option if you love the look of sunflowers, but don’t want the bright, intense yellow colour that they are traditionally.
Before you go, I’m SO excited to share that I have a curated list of 40 seeds with West Coast Seeds now! Check it out here (it includes vegetables, herbs & flowers!).
* Note: Some links featured in the above post are commissionable/affiliate links.