My Top 5 Easy-to-Grow Cut Flowers
The days are getting longer, the sun holds it's heat a bit more and I think we all want to be outside every chance we get! For many, these are the days we start to dream in earnest of a summer garden filled with veggies and maybe some flowers. If you are hoping to fill a corner (or more!) with some colorful blooms, this blog post is for you! I'm excited to share my top 5 easy to grow cut flowers.
Zinnias are such happy flowers! We grow thousands on our flower farm every year, and for good reason! They come in tons of colors, are eager to grow and the more you cut them, the more they bloom. Zinnias like warm soil and very warm days, so plant them after our last frost (mid-May around Pomfret/ Woodstock, Vermont) and you'll be enjoying an abundance of blooms in July.
Sunflowers are a wonderful cut flower. One important tip is to choose a variety that is ‘pollen-less’ when you are growing sunnies for cut flowers. Otherwise, you'll end up battling a sea of yellow pollen all over your table when you bring your beautiful sunflowers inside, and nobody wants that!
Oh, be still my heart! Dahlias are an addiction - and you should absolutely try growing a few yourself just to see what I mean! They come in a huge array of shapes and colors, textures and personalities. You can plant dahlia seeds - but they usually don't result in great cut flowers. For the best cut flowers, purchase dahlia tubers and plant them out mid-May. When it's warm enough to spend a few hours outside in a t-shirt, it's time to plant your dahlias!
Cosmos are a romantic, whimsical and rewarding cut flower. They are easy to grow and produce a bumper crop of stunning flowers. Just like zinnias, the more you cut them, the more they bloom. By the end of July/beginning of August I am often walking through a tall knotted jungle of cosmos! Cosmos also like warm weather, so seed them around the same time you seed zinnias - after our last frost date and when the soil and air temperature is very warm.
Rudbeckias are simple but so sweet. They are a favorite of mine and I love nothing more than a vase filled with a huge bundle of bright yellow rudbeckia. Rudbeckia will also happily perennialize, so if you like them - leave the plants in the garden they will bring you flowery sunshine year after year!
I would love to know what your garden plans are for the upcoming summer! Do you put in a veggie garden? Create a cut flower paradise? Carefully plan out annual flowers around your house? Or do you opt out of growing a garden and scoop up yummy farmers market veggies all summer long? If you have a moment, let me know!
Thanks so much for following along!
