Cutting garden - what flowers are you planting this year?

[pineapplesarentforpizza]

Last year was the first season I planted specifically for cutting (just as well really, as I ended up delivering lots of bunches to my mum, MIL and local friends who I couldn’t see much of in lockdown!)

I’ve realised that I really love growing cut flowers - having previously thought a garden full of low maintenance perennials and evergreen shrubs was more my style - so I planted a ton more in the autumn. So far I’ve planted:

Daffodil Salome
Various tulips which I don’t know the names of
Snapdragon Chantilly series
Ranunculus Elegance series
Gypsophelia
Various coneflowers
Already had three roses and a herbaceous peony planted

What have others planted for cutting? I’m looking for inspiration as I’m itching to plant more!!

I haven’t due to space, but I would grow sweet peas for sure. The smell is amazing and they actually need to be cut to keep flowering.

Cosmos, especially the larger pink version. It flowers later than the smaller ones.
Statice, which also can be dried.
Clary, related to sage, but has lovely pink, white or purple bracts. Cornflowers.
Lavender.
Dahlias

Peonies (Bowl of Beauty and Sarah Bernhardt), phlox, dahlias.

I have some anemones which have popped up every year for a few years and I'm planning to add more this year. I've planted my first peony in a pot and can see it peaking out of the soil already. I'm growing cosmos from seed for the first time which I'm hoping will work. Next month I'll be planting freesia and dahlias.

Love the idea of gypsophila. I think it looks lovely in a vase but hadn't thought of growing it before.

Ooh yes didiusfalco I grew sweet peas last year but to save on windowsill space I’m waiting for seedlings from my local nursery this year.

beebumble2 I’d never thought of statice but just googled and it looks lovely! That’s definitely going on my list, thank you

LakieLady I’m teetering on the brink of ordering my first dahlias...I keep taking them out of my basket as it would be quite an expensive mistake if they go wrong. Are they quite easy to grow? I’m lusting after Cafe au Lait, Labrynth and Mango Madness...

MilduraS I never used to like gyp but it looks incredible in a big bunch on it’s own in a large squat earthenware pot!

Definitely dahlias for output for cut flowers.

I also loved cutting flowers for indoors last year, so we are putting three raised beds in for a cutting garden this year.

One will be all dahlias - one will mainly be lots of different sunflowers - the other will be all sorts including cosmos, nicotiana, some green trick & green wicky dianthus, echinacea, antirrhinums, alstroemeria ... ermm I should probably stop there! Oh, huge great chrysanths for autumn.

I grew dahlias for the first time last year with zero experience and fell in love. So many beautiful varieties and they're absolute workhorses for cut flowers. So worth the investment. Growing a bunch of dahlias this year plus sunflowers, Rubenza cosmos, Rocket snapdragons, ranunculus, freesias, calendula, zinnias and China aster. So looking forward to the spring!

Dahlias: cafe au lait, Daisy duke & Rembrandt.
Snapdragons and sweet peas for the summer as well. Daffodils are coming up, albeit slowly but something dug up and ate all of my tulip bulbs. There will be marigolds as well but they’re to go almost the tomatoes instead of being used for cut flowers.

*alongside

Definitely dahlias, I love them, apparently if you are somewhere mild-ish you can leave them in the ground over winter. With a bit of mulch.

They grow quite large in the ground.

Annual Asters (China Asters) - make lovely long lasting cut flowers.

Cosmos are beautiful and prolific and easy.

Salvia Amistad was great for cutting last year too - not the longest vase life, but so plentiful it didn't matter, and the bees loved it. Mixed in with the white Cosmos Purity, they were glorious.

Go steady with the Cosmos, it can totally take over!

Oh, astrantia was good in my borders last year, and some eryngium and eucalyptus lovely to mix in too. (My eucalyptus is a dwarf variety, the normal ones grow huge.)

Reading octoberfarm's post, I've sown zinnias and some calendula too. Didn't have huge success with zinnias last year, but will give them a bit more space this year because I love them.

I've got Cosmos, Rudbeckia, verbena bonariensis, statice and sweet peas so far on the list or in the greenhouse.

Normally do sunflowers as well.

Well I planted my cosmos seeds yesterday morning and just spotted 4 sprouting up already. Not bad for a £2 packet of seeds! Think I'll be growing them every year now.

@pineapplesarentforpizza

Ooh yes didiusfalco I grew sweet peas last year but to save on windowsill space I’m waiting for seedlings from my local nursery this year.

beebumble2 I’d never thought of statice but just googled and it looks lovely! That’s definitely going on my list, thank you

LakieLady I’m teetering on the brink of ordering my first dahlias...I keep taking them out of my basket as it would be quite an expensive mistake if they go wrong. Are they quite easy to grow? I’m lusting after Cafe au Lait, Labrynth and Mango Madness...

MilduraS I never used to like gyp but it looks incredible in a big bunch on it’s own in a large squat earthenware pot!

Isn't Cafe au Lait just the most beautiful!

I have grown dahlias for a few years but last year I had so much more time that I planted more than ever. They are just fabulous for cutting

@MilduraS

Well I planted my cosmos seeds yesterday morning and just spotted 4 sprouting up already. Not bad for a £2 packet of seeds! Think I'll be growing them every year now.

It always astounds me how quickly cosmos sprout!

Planted my Cosmos yesterday, not sprouting yet ☹️

I'm a complete novice....
So how do I do this? Where do I start??
And at what stage do I cut them?! Don't just leave them to decorate the garden? Would love to be able to have a beautiful garden but don't know where to start at all

the sarah raven website has some really good information on this.

I just cut flowers from my garden, I don't have a dedicated cutting patch. I love putting big vases of flowers together and replenishing them every couple of days.

but I thimk the idea is to grow them in a spot where you won't mind some gaps when you cut them.

But I am thinking on putting one on my allotment. So I'd sow a succession of flowers and cut them knowing they aren't spoiling the look of the garden.

Cornflowers are another lovely one.

Yes, Cosmos in on Saturday and first sprout today Spring is coming!

So many good ideas here. I wish I had a huge bit of land for growing cut flowers! I need to convince DH to let me build a raised bed in our ‘sunbathing area’ (given that we have two little ones and rarely have time to actually lay in the sun this shouldn’t be a problem...)

I bought a cheap pack of dahlia seeds this year from wilko. I’ve potted them on already (I live in the SW) and I’m really excited to see what comes of them. Mixed pompon.

pineapple, I sowed so many flower seeds last year during lockdown and had nowhere to plant them out, as every space was full.
I bought two cheap very long planting troughs and filled them with the flower seedlings, which don’t have deep roots. The effect was a drift of flowers, that lasted all summer. I placed them round our sunny sitting area.
This year I’m using them again and have sown the flowers directly into them.

I only have decking so have to exclusively use pots. I bemoaned it last year but this spring I’m seeing the benefit - its lovely to move the best looking pots around and have the best view from wherever you’re spending most time that day!

I have a pack of 'mixed wild flower' that I’m planning to sow in a couple of trough planters later this month a la Bumblebee2