The Cutting Garden

Bouquet of cut flowersWhether you dedicate a special area in your garden or incorporate them into your landscape, it is always nice to have flowers for cutting.

Below, we provide a list of annuals and perennials that are great for the cutting garden. They are attractive and do well in a vase, and are varieties we often carry in season.

In addition to recommending flowers that will do well in your Trinity garden, we also provide the following tips that can help keep your cutting garden in bloom.

Garden Elements Natural & Organic Starter FoodWater: Provide consistent watering throughout the growing season. A two- to three-inch layer of mulch can help keep moisture in and weeds out.

Fertilize: Work a starter fertilizer into the soil when you plant. Follow up with a rose and flower food to encourage healthy growth and bud development. Once your plants are mature, feeding them with a liquid bloom food can help repeat bloomers keep blooming all season long.Garden Elements Organic Rose & Flower Food

Weed: Weeds can steal moisture and nutrients from your flowers. Mulch helps keep weeds at bay, but make sure to pull any that might spring up.

Succession Planting: Staggering your planting — either seeds or starts — can lead to a longer bloom period. When the seasons start to change, pull up annuals and replant. For example, as we move from Bud & Bloom Plant Foodspring to summer, replace pansies and primroses with zinnias and marigolds. When choosing perennials, consider when they bloom to ensure you always have something to cut.

Cutting Flowers: The cool morning hours are the best time to cut your flowers. Make sure that the plants have been well watered — if they are at all wilty, water them and come back the next morning to cut. Always use a sharp knife or shears, and make sure to bring a bucket or vase of water with you so you can place the cut stems immediately into water.

Repeat Bloomers: To prevent your flowers from putting their energy into forming seeds, make sure to regularly cut the flowers of repeat bloomer and deadhead spent blossoms.

LadybugPests: Watch for pests and treat as necessary with organic and natural pest controls.

Stake: Tall, heavy flowers will form straighter stems if they are staked or caged.

And now the flowers listed by common name with the botanical name, where appropriate, in parentheses.

Annuals Perennials
African Daisy Allium
Anemone Alstroemeria
Bachelor’s Button (Centaurea) Aster
Bells of Ireland Astilbe
Calendula Baby’s Breath (Gypsophila)
Campanula Bee Balm (Monarda)
China Aster (Callistephus chinesis) Bellflower (Campanula )
Cleome Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia)
Cockscomb (Celosia) Blanket Flower (Gaillardia)
Cosmos Carnation (Dianthus)
Dahlia Columbine (Aquilegia)
Dianthus Coneflower (Echinacea)
Dill Coral Bells (Heuchera)
Gerber Daisy Coreopsis
Geranium Daffodil (Narcissus)
Globe Amaranth (Gomphrena) Dahlia
Baby’s Breath (Gypsophila) Delphinium
Strawflower (Helichrysum) Dianthus
Hollyhock Foxglove (Digitalis)
Larkspur Garden Mums (Chrysanthemum)
Lisianthus Gaura
Love Lies Bleeding (Amaranthus) Gayfeather (Liatris)
Marigold Gladiolus
Stock (Matthiola) Gloriosa Daisy (Rudbeckia)
Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia) Goldenrod (Solidago)
Flowering Tobacco (Nicotiana) Iris
Love In A Mist (Nigella) Japanese Anemone (Anemone hybrid)
Phlox Jupiter’s Beard (Centranthus)
Ranunculus Lavender
Salpiglossis Lenten Rose (Hellebore)
Salvia Lilies
Snapdragon Lobelia
Spider Flower (Cleome) Lupine
Statice Meadow Rue (Thalictrum)
Sunflower Nasturtium
Sweet Pea Peony (Paeonia)
Zinnia Pincushion Flower (Scabiosa)
Poppy (Papaver)
Red Hot Poker (Kniphofia)
Sage (Salvia)
Sedum Autumn Joy
Shasta Daisy (Chrysanthemum)
Speedwell (Veronica)
Summer Phlox
Tulip
Verbena bonariensis
Yarrow (Achillea)