One of the pleasures of growing flowers is having enough blooms to cut for bouquets. Here are several perennials and annuals that are beautiful in the landscape and the vase, along with growing tips.
Make your own flower show by placing one or more stems in assorted bottles. This June display features, from left to right, coral bells, lady’s mantle, rose, peony, peonies, catmint, foxglove, peony, allium and peony.
Perennials for Cutting
Lady’s mantle (Alchemilla mollis) flowers in late-May and June, and is a perfect lime green bloom to combine with peonies. Grow lady’s mantle in full sun to part-shade. Since this plant often self-seeds, it’s a good plant to use as a ground cover, or for areas such as the sides of steps in a shady garden. After the flowers fade, leave a few to self-seed should you want more plants, but deadhead the rest to improve the look of the plant for the rest of the summer.
Peonies (Paeonia lactiflora) are favorites for cutting in May and June. Perennials that flower early in the season are especially valuable since the annuals aren’t large enough to cut until later. Grow peonies in full sun. In damp spring weather, spray the young buds with an organic fungicide to discourage the fungus that causes the buds to turn black before they develop. Peonies can be grown in large pots (2 feet diameter or larger) in a sunny area and left out over the winter, should you be short on garden space.
Penstemon varieties, aka beardtongue, are wonderful for smaller flowers in shades of purples, pinks and white. Grow Penstemon in full sun. There are purple-foliaged varieties available such as the ‘Midnight Masquerade’ from Proven Winners that is pictured here. Grow Penstemon in full sun. Know that this plant is most attractive in spring and early summer…once it’s no longer an asset in the garden, cut the stems down to about 6″ tall. In perennial gardens, plant Penstemon behind later flowering varieties such as daylilies to hide the less attractive foliage from July into the fall.
You say you want blue flowers in June? You can’t go wrong with Eryngium ‘Big Blue.’ This drought tolerant plant has stunning flowers that are lovely in a bouquet with other June bloomers. Grow Eryngium in full sun, and be sure to wear gloves when cutting because the plant is prickly! This plant is often covered with bees, so plant enough to cut and share with the pollinators.
Annuals For Bouquets
Gladiolas have made a comeback in gardens in the last few years. The corms are usually planted in the spring, and if the winter is mild they can over-winter and return the following year. Plant Gladiola in full to part sun, and provide support if needed. Often these are planted along a fence which can be used to support the tall, heavy flowers. Instead of staking, cut the stems as the flowers open and bring them inside for a dramatic bouquet.
If you want endless bouquets from August through October, plant tall Zinnas and Dahlias. This fall bouquet has both, along with a hydrangea and goldenrod.
You can download a sheet that lists more flowers for cutting on our informational handout page.
Note that these cutting garden plants can be grown in containers. Since many of them are taller plants, use a pot or other container that is at least 20″ in diameter.
