How to Grow a Cutting Garden

Having gorgeous landscaping is essential for curb appeal. But planting a cutting garden can help enhance your indoor decor too, by providing a constant source of gorgeous flowers for floral arrangements.

If you've always wanted a cut flower garden, try these tips to get one that keep you in bouquets all year long.

Cut Flower Garden Basics

"Design your landscape like your arrangement. Pick a few larger staples, like dahlias or hydrangeas, with fillers around them and greenery throughout," says Tamara Hogan, plant expert at Fast Growing Trees. "Probably over half of your planting should be something that is your focal flowers."

Start slowly

Build your cutting garden over a few years' time. "The biggest mistake I see is growing too much too quickly," Hogan says. "Before you rip out your whole backyard and do a massive planting, pick a few to focus on and do your research. It’s better to plan and underplant than get overwhelmed."

"Grow what interests you to start with and then you can dive into more of what you need to fill out your garden afterwards."

Pick some showcase flowers

Rather than have a bit of a bunch of different kinds of flowers, focus on a few show-stopping blooms that will be the highlight of your bouquets. "Cosmos, dahlias, and lisianthus are some great staples to have in a cutting garden," Hogan says. "Coneflower and black-eyed Susan are also great options."

Don't forget about the fillers

"Filler flowers can be used to help fill out your arrangements, bring color in less statement ways, and are a great way to provide texture," Hogan says. That can be anything from tiny flowers to grasses, branches, and greenery.

Look for other interesting parts of plants

"Plants like poppies and scabiosa are wonderful cut flowers, but also have great seed pods that can be dried and used for design as well," Hogan says.

Consider bloom times

Every flower has its season. Some are short-lived (like the few weeks of tulip or peony season), and other plants, like coneflowers, will keep blooming for months. If you want to keep your vases full all year long, look closely at bloom times, and try to choose a variety of different plants. That way, as one flower fades, a new one starts to bloom.

Opt for a mix of annuals and perennials

Perennials that'll bloom year after year make a great investment for a cut flower garden, but annuals will offer an opportunity to plant new types of flowers (or different colors or varietals) each year to add a little variety to your floral arrangements.

The Best Flowers for a Cutting Garden

You probably already have specific flowers that you love, whether they're peonies or roses. But you may want to branch out and include a variety of flowers in your garden, to allow you to get a little creative with your arrangements. You can use both perennials and annuals to round out your cut flower garden—and allow you to mix it up season by season.

Tulips

This gorgeous springtime bulb makes for long-lasting spring bouquets. Decide whether you want a monochromatic look or opt for a rainbow of colors to brighten up your home and garden.

Peonies

These show-stopping perennials are a standout in bouquets, but enjoy them while you can: They only bloom in May and June.

Sweet Pea

Sweet pea doesn't actually produce peas—but it does offer pretty flowers for your floral arrangements. This is an annual plant that produces pretty flowers in the summer and fall.

Ranunculus

The sweet, ruffled ranunculus blooms come in a rainbow of colors. You'll see these blooms in early spring.

Daffodils

Nothing will add a cheerful touch of spring to a garden (or a flower arrangement) like sunny daffodils. These spring garden favorites rebloom year after year.

Allium

This ornamental flower is related to onions, garlic, and shallots—but produces these dramatic spheres of tiny blooms. Depending on which variety you pick, it may bloom in spring, summer, or fall.

Freesia

These heavily (and heavenly) scented flowers come in shades of red, pink, purple, white, and yellow, and are annual plants in most of the U.S.

Roses

If you think cutting gardens, you probably imagine these beauties, which can come in pretty much any color of the rainbow and depending on the variety, can offer flowers from late spring well into fall.

Black-Eyed Susan

These punchy perennials bloom all summer long, and add a touch of sunshine to your cutting garden and your bouquets. They're also great for attracting pollinators to your garden.

Lilies

Look for Asiatic (not day) lilies for your arrangements. Think Easter lilies and Stargazers. You'll get these back year after year (often expanding in your garden), and bloom through midsummer.

Gerbera Daisies

Gerbera daisies come in super-bold colors and can bloom from spring to fall, so they're a gorgeous addition to a cut flower garden. They're perennials in hotter gardening zones, but will need to be potted and brought indoors in the northern parts of the U.S.

Cosmos

These annual plants produce blooms in a variety of colors, from pinks and reds to yellow and orange—and even a chocolate-like brown. They produce multiple blooms from summer into fall. Cutting flowers can actually encourage new growth and new flowers.

Delphinium

Delphinium (also known as larkspur) will bloom in early summer, and then rebloom in the late summer or fall. (Cutting flowers from the plants will encourage more blooms.

Poppies

Another bright flower for a cut flower garden, poppies usually bloom in the spring or summer. Most poppies are annuals, except California poppies, which can be perennials in warmer parts of the U.S.

Lisianthus

This pretty perennial features long-lasting, rose-like blooms that'll grace your bouquets and floral arrangements from mid-summer well into fall.

Sunflowers

Usually grown as annuals, sunflowers are a gorgeous addition to cut flower arrangements from summer into autumn.

Hydrangea

A floral arrangement star, hydrangea blooms from summer well into fall, with the blooms often changing color during that time—and the flowers are long-lasting in arrangements too. (Bonus: You can dry them for pretty winter floral bouquets.)

Zinnia

These bold-colored flowers bloom from summer until the first frost of the fall.

Coneflower

Also known as echinacea, this easy-to-grow perennial is a pollinator-favorite and blooms through the summer and into the fall.

Dahlia

These vibrant annual flowers make a showy addition to your floral arrangements. They can come in a wide range of colors, from cream to nearly black, red, pink, purple, and yellow. Dahlias are another mid-summer-to-fall bloomer.

Anemone

Anemone are a pretty perennial that can bloom from spring through fall. The flowers come in a literal rainbow of colors—red, pink, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and cream.

Calla Lilies

Calla lilies bloom in early summer. White is the original color, but you can find purple, yellow, and orange hybrids. They're a perennial in the very hottest parts of the country, but an annual everywhere else. (You can dig up the rhizomes before the frost to overwinter in a cool, dark, and dry area.)

Chrysanthemum

This fall-favorite perennial has long-lasting blooms that come in a variety of autumnal hues, from purple to red, gold, and orange.

Pincushion Flowers

Also known as scabiosa, these bright flowers are a perennial in many parts of the country, and they'll bloom from spring to fall.

Greenery and Filler Flowers to Add to Your Cutting Garden

While a bouquet of all big and vibrant blooms will be pretty, adding greenery or filler flowers will add some interest to your bouquets. Here are a few options to add to your cut flower garden.

Herbs

Herbs make a gorgeous (and fragrant) addition to your bouquets. Try hardy herbs like rosemary, mint, and oregano.

Statice

A common floral arrangement filler, statice grows easily when planted in sunny locations throughout the summer and fall.

Baby's Breath

This traditional filler flower features dozens of tiny little blooms, available in summer and fall.

Billy Balls

Also known as billy buttons or craspedia, billy balls grow as an annual in most of the hardiness zones in the U.S. It blooms throughout the spring and summer.

Strawflower

A colorful annual, strawflowers come in shades of orange, pink, purple, white, and yellow, and blooms from summer into fall.

Bells of Ireland

These dramatic green blooms appear in late spring and early summer.

Ornamental grasses

Ornamental grasses often come in gorgeous colors or feature feathery tops that'll enhance your floral arrangements.

Celosia

Velvety celosia blooms all summer and fall, with bright feathery flowers that'll be a perfect enhancement to your bouquet.