Things to Consider When Planning a Cut Flower Garden

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I have been growing vegetables for so many years that I pretty much know what I want to grow each year, maybe with a few small tweaks each season. Cut flowers, on the other hand, are a new adventure for me and last year I jumped in by running to the nursery and just grabbing some flowers off the rack to plant for the season. Zero thought in planning my cut flower garden about what I would want to do with them, how bouquets from my garden would look and what colors I wanted to have in my home each week as I brought them inside.

Don’t get me wrong, they were BEAUTIFUL flowers and I was grateful to have them. This year, however, I spent way more time planning which seeds to purchase based on what I gravitate towards when picking out the most stunning bouquets from my local Farmer’s Market. We are still a few months out from being able to put them in the yard, but I wanted to share my thought process in case it would help anyone else that is looking to start a cut flower garden for the first time this year!

Here are a few of the top things that I thought about when planning my upcoming flower garden to improve upon my first year. Things I wish I had considered to begin with!

1)Make sure to plant flowers that grow well in your region.

Do I want all of the beautiful flowers that I see growing in Costa Rica and Florida? Of course I do! Will they grow well in my Zone 5/6 garden in North Idaho? Definitely not. This was one thing that I got right in my first year, but it’s a top thing to consider when you are starting out with a cut flower bed. It sounds like a no brainer, but with Instagram and the internet telling you to plant every kind of flower under the sun, it’s worth mentioning as a starting point!

2)Think about the colors that you gravitate towards when it comes to bouquets.

The whole point of a cut flower garden is to be able to bring those beautiful blooms inside to enjoy all summer long. Even if you are using them to sell, you will still enjoy creating bouquets with flowers that YOU enjoy the most. My zinnias and snapdragons grew incredibly well last year, but about a month in to bringing the flowers inside I was bored with the 4 colors of blooms that I was limited to from my garden.

This year I looked at the pictures that I had saved on Pinterest and Instagram, as well as the pictures in my phone of bouquets from Farmer’s Markets throughout the summer and decided I needed more neutrals and variety to really get the cut flower garden of my dreams. Well, the dreams in the space I have this season. In my actual dreams I have fields of every color under the sun 🙂

These are a few of the flowers I’m adding to soften up my cut flower beds from the 4 color monotonous bed I had last season.

3)Your cut flowers don’t all have to be in one cut flower bed.

This is probably obvious to anyone that has a huge cut flower garden or has been growing them for years, but hear me out. I had only grown veggies before and had not had cut flowers in the past. The only “flowers” that were a part of my garden were the Marigolds I added to tomato beds to repel pests. So when I specifically added a “cut flower bed,” that was the only place I planted cut flowers.

Not this year! My plans for this season will have cut flowers all throughout my garden. I will fill up the cut flower bed with beautiful blooms, albeit more diverse than last year, but I also have spots in most of my vegetable beds for different varieties of cut flowers. Cosmos, tall Marigolds, Strawflower… the whole garden is getting beautified this year!

4)Take the time to enjoy the flowers EVERY DAY.

The second that winter hit, I realized how much I missed walking by my flowers in the summer. It may be an old adage, but it’s always worth it to take the time to stop and smell the roses, or whatever flowers your heart desires to plant this season!

I know that not everyone prefers to start their seeds at home, but if you do, here are a few things that I LOVE when starting plants from seeds:

• Shelf w/ adjustable Grow Lights
• Burpee Seed Starting Trays
• 10 x 20 Trays
• Black Gold Seed Starting Mix
• Mister Bottle for brand new seeds
• Labels for your starts (don’t forget these!)
• Johnny’s Flower Seeds
• Burpee Flower Seeds
• Snake River Seeds

These are just a few of my go to items for starting seeds. I hope that if you are planning a cut flower garden this year that my advice will help you start on the right foot!

Also, if you are curious what I am planning in my cut flower garden this year, here is a post that shows the new flowers I’m adding this year!

If there is anything that you would add to this list, mention it in the comments below!