In addition to vegetables, a potager or kitchen garden is not complete without flowers. While there are plenty of excellent choices in the spring garden centers, growing your own cut flower seeds is more economical, and offers a much larger variety of plants.
I love starting seeds! It is a great way to get your hands in the dirt while winter still has a hold on the flower garden. Many cut flower seeds need 4 – 12 weeks before your last frost date to get growing and have a good start on the planting season. Others are best directly sown in the garden. With so many options for flower seeds online, here are 5 easy to grow cut flower seeds for your garden.
The 5 best cut flower seeds to start a flower garden.
Zinnias
Zinnias are arguably the easiest and most carefree flowers for a cut flower garden. Start them indoors to get a jump on the growing season or directly sow the seeds outside in warm soil. Zinnias grow relatively quickly and last a long time in a vase. They are cut and come again flowers, so keep cutting stems to encourage more flowers. Breeders have developed a wide rang of popular colors and shapes, and stem length is much longer than even five years ago.
While there are many online and local sources for zinnia seeds, I’ve had great success with Johnny’s Selected Seeds and Swallowtail Gardens. I love the Benary’s Giant series, and am growing a few colors from the Zinderella series this year. Zinnia seeds can be found online and any garden center that sells seeds. Find a variety you like and give them a try!
Stock
Stock is a cut flower that I wasn’t aware of until I became a floral designer. And now, I’m obsessed with them! Native to Japan, Stock are a linear cut flower with ruffles, and offer a variety of beautiful pastel blues, lilacs, pinks, peaches and whites. They have a distinct clove scent; some varieties stronger than others. One of the best sources I have found for Japanese Stock varieties, is Baker Creek. If this flower interests you, I encourage you to give them a try!
One downside is that most stock are not cut and come again, so once the flower stem is cut, the plant is finished for the season. On the plus side, after the stock is finished, you have space to plant something new! With that in mind, I start more seeds than I think I need, and I succession plant, which helps extend the stock harvest.
Cosmos
Cosmos are another of my favorite cut flower seeds to grow. I have at least ten varieties in my seed collection! I love how the blossoms gracefully dance in the breeze. My Cosmos plants have grown nearly four feet tall, and later in the season, are loaded with blossoms. I have also grown Cosmos in pots, which I really liked. Cosmos are excellent flowers in arrangements, and I love to let them fly over an arrangement.
There are quite a few different shapes and sizes of Cosmos blossoms. I am partial to the pastel shades, and grow the tall varieties for cut flowers. However, I do love a good solid orange flower, and Bright Lights Cosmos really fits the bill there. Cosmos seeds are available anywhere you buy seeds, but you don’t always find a wide selection. As you can see from the seed packets above, I am partial to Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds Cosmos selection. Wherever you buy seeds, I suggest picking up a packet or two of a variety that interests you and grow a few plants. You won’t be disappointed!
Marigolds
As I wrote in my blog post, “A Potager; Vegetables, Cut Flowers and More.“, I have always planted French Dwarf Marigolds at the bottom of my tomato plants. I love the instant pop of color in the garden, and I think the instant blossoms help bring the pollinators in who are ready to get to work as soon as other blossoms furl open.
In 2022 I grew a few Giant Marigolds and was instantly smitten by the plants. The plants grew nearly three feet tall and were loaded with the largest marigold blossoms I had ever seen! So, while I waited for my new potager to be built in 2023, I grew pots and pots full of Giant Marigolds. I also tried Kilimanjaro White, which did not grow as tall as the Giant Orange, but were still prolific bloomers. The Spun Orange Marigolds were wide, flat, disc shaped marigold’s, very unusual. The stems weren’t quite long enough for cut flowers, but could work very well at the base of an arrangement.
I love the color orange, and really enjoyed using Giant Marigolds in monochromatic arrangements for the house. Marigolds last quite along time in the vase, and have a strong scent. Whether you try a few dwarf varieties or go big with the Giants, Marigolds do very well in pots or out in the garden.
Snapdragons
My final cut flower seeds recommendation is the classic snapdragon. The lovely snapdragon is a timeless flower in arrangements, and a beautiful addition to any garden.
The only snapdragons I have seen in my local garden centers are the short landscape varieties. If you would like to grown long stemmed snapdragon flowers for cut flowers, you will need to grow them from seed. As we have seen with previous plants, there are many colors and types of snapdragons available by seed. My favorites are the Potomac and Madame Butterfly varieties.
Snapdragons are cold tolerant, which makes them a great choice for early season plants. They also are cut and come again flowers, so the more you cut, the more stems the plant produces! Snapdragon seeds are extremely small, which can be tricky to handle. However, be patient with sowing the seeds, as they are extremely easy to grow once sown.
Zinnias, Stock, Cosmos, Marigolds, and Snapdragons.
I could keep going, but these are 5 easy to grow cut flower seeds for your garden. Growing flowers from seeds indoors is very satisfying and helps get the growing season started when winter just won’t let go of your garden. I encourage you, at the very least, to stop by a local store with gardening supplies and pick out a few packets of seeds. Let me know how it goes!
