Everything You Need To Know To Successfully Grow Your Own Cut Flower Garden In Your Own Backyard
If you’ve ever dreamed about having your own cut flower garden, this blog post is for you! Even if you’re a beginner and never grown flowers before, this blog post will give you the best advice to help you learn how to grow gorgeous flowers in your own garden!
Cut flower gardens have really grown in popularity and people everywhere are discovering the joys of having their own homegrown fresh flowers. A bouquet of flowers can transform a space, bring a smile to someone’s day, and spread joy for those who grow and also receive them.
“The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies, but never grows to the enduring happiness that the love of gardening gives.”
– Gertrude Jekyll
Table of contents
- Everything You Need To Know To Successfully Grow Your Own Cut Flower Garden In Your Own Backyard
- The Best Cut Flowers For A Beginner Cut Flower Garden
- Where to Buy Seeds & Starts For Your Cut Flower Garden
- Deciding How To Plant Your Cut Flower Garden
- Importance of Knowing Your Region’s Hardiness and Growing Zone
- Tips For Caring Your Cutting Garden
- Recommendations For Keeping Unwanted Pests Out of Your Cut Flower Garden
- How To Cut And Arrange Your Cut Flowers For Beautiful Home Grown Bouquets
- Ready To Grow Your Own Cut Flower Garden
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What Is A Cut Flower Garden?
A cut flower garden is simply a garden that is designed specifically for growing different types of flowers that can be cut and harvested for enjoying in fresh flower arrangements. Since COVID, gardening has risen in popularity and more and more people are spending time in their backyard gardening. At the same time, the local flower growers movement has been encouraging people to grow and buy local flowers vs imported ones. You may be surprised to find that you too can grow your favorite flowers in your own backyard and enjoy them in fresh flower bouquets all summer long!
In this blog post I’m going to help you get started with your own cut flower garden. These tips and advice will hopefully help you to grow lots of healthy flowers that you can enjoy in your own backyard for a long time!
Why You Should Have A Cut Flower Garden
If you don’t mind getting your hands dirty and have space in your yard (big or even just a small space) then you too can create your own cut flower garden. Even if you are a beginner, you too can grow a cut flower garden. Cut flower gardens can be as small as a few containers on your patio, a raised bed, or as big as a field of flowers in your backyard. All you really need is a sunny spot with well-drained soil to grow a cutting garden! Growing flowers can be addicting though and you may find yourself buying more and more seeds and starts as the years go on. Once I grew my first own bouquet of flowers, I was hooked! There’s really nothing better than homegrown flowers in the summer time!
Whether you’re intrigued with the idea of having your own cut flowers or just getting started with gardening, read on to learn how to get started with growing your own cut flower garden. My goal is to help you be equipped with the basics to start your own flower garden.
The Best Cut Flowers For A Beginner Cut Flower Garden
Once you decide that you are ready to take the leap and start your own cutting garden it is a good idea to start small and grow slowly. Here is a list of some of my favorite annual easy-to-grow flowers. These flowers are popular choices and require little effort to grow and will reward you with gorgeous blooms all summer long. All of these cut flowers can started from seed or be direct sown into your garden. If you prefer, you can also buy most of these as starts from your local garden center.
My Favorite Beginner Flowers To Grow For A Home Cutting Garden:
- Cosmos
- Zinnias
- Marigolds
- Bachelor Buttons
- Sunflowers (Single stem and/or branching)
- Amaranth
Each of these types of flowers are excellent cut flowers for learning to grow as well as for creating your own bouquets. You can read more about each of these easy to grow annual flowers by clicking here to read my blog post about these cut flowers. Once you get comfortable growing your own flowers, you will find that there are hundreds of varieties of flowers you can grow. Some of my favorite cut flowers also include dahlias and sweet peas. Both of these flowers produce an abundance of blooms, but are more difficult to grow than the flowers listed above.
Where to Buy Seeds & Starts For Your Cut Flower Garden
You have probably seen flower seeds for sale everywhere from your local grocery store or home improvement store to your local nursery. While it can be tempting to buy the first seed packets you see, starting with quality seeds and plants starts is essential for the health of your plant. Quality seeds and starts are grown by reputable growers, are free of pesticides and diseases, and have proven success for cut flower gardens.
Click here for my favorite Flower Seed Suppliers.
Flower Bulbs, Perennials, and Roses:
–The Flowering Farmhouse (Dahlia Tubers and Dahlia Seeds)
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Ice Tea Dahlia Tuber$10.00 - Honeymoon Dahlia$11.00
- Cafè au lait Dahlia$14.00
Deciding How To Plant Your Cut Flower Garden
Once you have your seed packets, you then need to decide where to plant your flowers. Probably the most important part of growing beautiful blooms lies in your soil health. Before identifying a place to plant your flowers, you need to know your soil. Do you have rock soil? Do you have poor drainage? Most cut flowers require well draining soil and full to partial sun. Many home gardeners find that a raised garden bed is the best place for a backyard cutting garden.
Most flower seed packets will tell you the type of growing conditions they need. When planting seeds, you want an area that has good drainage and healthy soil. Some people perform a soil test before planting to see what amendments they need to add to the ground. You can buy a cheap soil test kit. Or in some areas you have a local garden resource center that will test your soil conditions for you. Most first year growers will skip this step and realize later how important soil health is.
Besides determining your soil conditions, you need to make sure your flowers receive the right amount of sunlight each day. Some flowers require full sun whereas others need shade. The back of your seed packet should outline these growing requirements.
Importance of Knowing Your Region’s Hardiness and Growing Zone
On the first warm sunny day of winter it can be tempting to put a few seeds in the ground. However, it’s important to know your area’s hardiness zone for growing. Hardiness zones are determined by your area’s 30-year average last frost and are used as guidance for when it’s safe to plant. In the U.S. you can check your Hardiness Zone by using the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Finder.
Knowing When To Plant
Some annuals like Bells of Ireland and Larkspur are considered “hardy annuals” or “cool flowers.” These hardly annuals can often be direct seeded before your average last frost date. Most seed packets will have directions for when you should plant. They will often say direct seed after all dangers of frost have passed OR direct seed 4 to 6 weeks prior to your last average frost date. If you are fortunate enough to have a heated greenhouse or grow lights, you can start your seeds as early as 8-10 weeks prior to your last frost date. Starting your seeds indoors allows you to get a jump start on the growing season and have blooms earlier and longer. Who doesn’t want more weeks of fresh cut flowers?
Most heat loving flowers like zinnias, cosmos, and sunflowers all need to be planted in late spring after your last average frost. If you want early blooming flowers that bloom in early spring, I suggest planting spring bulbs such as tulips, daffodils, and peonies in the fall as they need a cold period to bloom.
Tips For Caring Your Cutting Garden
To have a successful and abundant cutting garden, you will need to tend to your plants on a regular basis. There are many environmental factors that will impact your plants’ ability to grow. Plants need regular water and it’s important to make sure you don’t over or under water. Ideally your flower garden should be watered in the morning hours so that they have time for the roots to soak up the water before the heat of the day.
You can actually check your soil moisture with a Soil Moisture tool that you insert into the ground to test the moisture levels. Most plants also benefit from irrigation systems versus overhead watering. Having an irrigation system is time consuming to set-up, but will save you hours in the long run from having to hand water. It’s important to note that some cut flower varieties like Zinnias are very susceptible to powdery mildew. If your zinnias get powdery mildew, it’s often the result of evening and/or overhead watering.
Cut Flower Gardens Need Food To Help Them Grow
Your plants also need food while they are growing. There are many types of fertilizers available for plants. I prefer to feed my plants a compost tea (a mixture of earthworm casings) that I spray on once per week during the growing season. I spray the plants in the early morning so that the compost tea does not burn the leaves in the heat of the day. You can also mix in earth worm castings into your soil to add extra nutrients for your plants. Remember though that you should always refer back to your soil test to know what nutrients your soil needs.
Recommendations For Keeping Unwanted Pests Out of Your Cut Flower Garden
You may be surprised at how many pests show up to feast on your cut flower garden. Keeping pests out of your cut flower garden will be one of the biggest tasks you will face. For me, I personally avoid any harsh chemicals and follow an organic approach to keeping my garden pest free. My favorite organic spray for controlling pests and also disease is Neem Oil. When using Neem Oil though, it’s important that you do not spray on any bees that are active in your garden. This is because Neem Oil is extremely toxic to the bees. Neem Oil is great at controlling aphids, spider mites, whiteflies, blackspot, and powdery mildew.
As of recently, I actually have not used any pesticides (other than SluggoPlus) in my garden. Since last year, I have purely relied on beneficial insects for pest control. I’ve also created more bird habitats to attract more birds to the garden. Birds are a useful friend as they will help keep your pest population in check.
Ladybugs For Natural Pest Control
Releasing ladybugs is also a great organic way to keep pests out of your cut flower garden. They love to eat aphids and each ladybug will devour thousands of aphids. Each year we release thousands of ladybugs into our garden (click here to watch us release 18,000 ladybugs). Ladybugs also lay their eggs in your garden. Several weeks after releasing the ladybugs, you’ll find a new emergence of hungry ladybugs waiting to eat the bugs in your garden. Click here to read my blog post about keeping your garden pest free using ladybugs.
Identifying Bugs & Pests In The Garden
If you are curious about the different bugs lurking in your garden, I recommend the book “Good Bug, Bad Bug.” This helpful book identifies the common pests and beneficial insects in your garden. It also provides great recommendations for organically controlling the pests listed in the book.
How To Cut And Arrange Your Cut Flowers For Beautiful Home Grown Bouquets
Once your garden starts producing blooms, it’s time to start cutting and arranging your flowers for beautiful bouquets. At first it may seem hard to cut your beautiful blooming plants, but remember this is a cutting garden and the more you cut, the more blooms you will have. I always joke that the first cut is the deepest. If you want long stems, you need to cut deep on your plants. This is especially true for zinnias and cosmos. The more you cut, the more they keep producing. Also, it’s important to dead head and remove any dead flowers. By doing this, you signal to the plant that it needs to keep producing more stems.
Best Time of Day To Cut Flowers
Make sure you cut your flowers either in the early morning or late evening to prevent wilting. Be sure to have a clean, sharp pair of garden shears to cut your stems. Take a clean bucket of water into the garden with you as well. This will allow you to immediately put your fresh cut stems in water. When you are ready to make your first cut, be sure to cut deep to encourage longer stems. Once you cut a stem, strip the leaves so that only the stem is touching water. You want clean stems in the water to prevent any algae from growing in the water.
Fill your bucket with as many cut flowers as you want. Then bring them inside to a cool, dark place to rehydrate before arranging. *Do not store your cut flowers in a fridge that also has fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables release toxins that will cause your flowers to wilt.
Arranging Your Cut Flowers
After your flowers have had several hours to rehydrate, you can begin arranging them. Have fun arranging your flowers! Try different size and shape vases for different looks. Sometimes a single flower can make a great statement by itself. Even a bunch of cosmos can look great in a stand-alone bouquet. Experiment with different color combinations to see what you like best. Flower arranging is an art!
To prolong the life of your cut flowers, you should change out the water every few days. Some people also prefer to add floral preservatives such as FloraLife or Chrysal Flower Food for a long vase life. You can also make your own homemade flower preservative with this recipe from House Beautiful.
Join our cut flower gardening group on facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/cutflowergardening/
This FB Group is intended for anyone interested in growing cut flowers. Whether you are a beginner or a novice flower gardener, this group is for you! Come share your cut flower gardening tips and tricks OR find answers to your cut flower gardening questions. Everyone is welcome.
Join us at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/cutflowergardening
Ready To Grow Your Own Cut Flower Garden
Now you are ready to start your own cut flower garden! The very best way to truly learn how to grow your own fresh flowers is to simply plant them and get your hands dirty. If you want to learn from my mistakes, be sure to also check out my blog post, 17 Lessons I Learned As A 1st Year Flower Farmer.
There’s something so rewarding about watching your own flower garden grow from seed. And as a bonus, you will also enjoy beautiful flowers in your house all summer long! I wish you great success as you start growing new flowers in your your garden this next spring!
Happy Gardening!
You Might Also Enjoy:
–17 Lessons Learned From A First Year Flower Farmer
–How To Keep Pests Out Of Your Garden Using Ladybugs
Shop My Favorite Garden Tools, Accessories, and Garden Books:
Thank you for sharing your wonderful expertise on growing a cutting flower garden! ‘Lots of great information!
Thank you! It’s so nice to be able to cut flowers in your own backyard and create beautiful bouquets to enjoy indoors!
Needful content. Keep creating content like this! Tons of love for you
thank you!
This is so detailed and informative! I’ve always loved this idea but I’ve never been able to cut them – I always feel too bad! But this post has inspired me to try again. How lovely it would be to bring all that beauty inside too. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Yes, you definitely have to change your mindset to cut flowers. I save a space in my garden that I don’t cut so that I still have color in the yard. It’s so rewarding and fun to fill your home with bouquets of flowers that you’ve grown!
I’m so impressed by how thorough you are Jen! This is so impressive and I am inspired!
Thank you so much Kim! I’m glad this post inspired you!
Great post Jen! It’s very informative and inspiring! xoxoxo
Thank you so much Stacy! I’m glad you found it helpful!
Thank you for validating my thoughts about vegetable gardens vs. flower gardens! I always felt a little guilty about preferring to grow flowers over foods… but you’ve spoken my soul’s language. Hopefully the rain will stop this weekend to get started. Thank you for all your inspiration and good tips!