The dark days of winter are when gardeners do their best dreaming. They get itchy fingers, eager to be digging in the dirt, planting, watering, tending. Out come the gardening books, the journals full of notes, the seed catalogues brimming with promise, and with them come the remembered feel of warm sunshine and the smell of spring.
Seed grown annual flowers account for the vast majority of blooms we produce at the farm. Through January and February you can find us poring over seed catalogues with drafting paper in hand, making and remaking our field plan to try to find space for everything we want to fit in for the season ahead. Over the years we have grown a dizzying number of spectacular cut flower varieties (along with more than a few duds) and we trial new varieties every year but there are a core few that we make space for in the field year after year because they check all the important boxes: they’re stop-you-in-your-tracks gorgeous, are reliable and easy to grow and add something special to every bouquet. If you are looking for a little inspiration for your own cutting garden or just want to escape into a world of flowers for a little while, join us for a sneak peak into our top favorite annual flowers.
Zinnias (far left)
Zinnias are an old-fashioned favorite for good reason, they are cheerful, easy to grow, come in a rainbow of colours and pump out the blooms week after week all summer and early fall. The Benary’s Giants, Okalhoma and Queen series are staples in our summer bouquets. Don’t be afraid to cut deep into the plant when harvesting, this will encourage more flowers with long stems perfect for bouquets and arrangements. For the longest vase life, recut stems and change the water daily.
Snapdragons (middle left)
I have loved snapdragons since I was a child; the sunset colours and unique flower shape were fascinating to me. I grew them in abundance my first year flower farming and I remember walking the rows of softly waving spikes and feeling an overwhelming joy. These days we grow mostly Chantilly and Madame Butterfly snapdragons for their juicy colours and exotic open-faced shape. Snapdragons are long-lasting in the vase and will produce a second flush of stems if cut back hard to the main stem during harvest.
Lavatera (middle right)
If you are looking for an exotic and unusual beauty to add to your cutting garden this is it. Reminiscent of hibiscus and hollyhocks, flowers unfurl from artfully curled buds in shades of pink, white and fuchsia. Cut stems are long lasting as new flowers open up down the stem and plants produce for many weeks in early summer.
Cosmos (far right)
Another old fashioned favorite that has been making a come-back thanks to breeding efforts to produce new and unusual shapes and colours. While cosmos aren’t particularly long lasting in the vase, their nodding heads add a special touch of whimsey to bouquets and plants are extremely productive. Some of our favorites are Snow Puff with it’s fluffy double white flowers and Xanthos, a more compact variety with small soft yellow blooms.
(For images of numbers 5-10 see gallery below)
Sweetpeas (top left corner)
Nothing says nostalgia like sweetpeas. Their scent and satiny sheen alone make them worth growing but ongoing breeding programs have resulted in long blooming, long-stemmed plants with saturated colours. A few of our favorite varieties are Anniversary, Joyce Stanton and Happy Birthday. We pinch our seedlings for better branching and plant out in late March here in zone 8 as sweetpeas can withstand some frost. Plant into rich soil in a spot that will receive plenty of water for best results.
Rudbeckia (middle, top row )
Easy to grow, productive and unpretentious, black eyed susans are an easy choice for the cutting garden. Though long lasting in the vase, rudbeckia makes water go murky fast so make sure to recut stems and refresh water regularly. Some favorite varieties are Prairie Sun with its green eye and Sahara for its dusky colours.
Lemon mint (top row, right corner)
Also known as bee balm, Monarda citriodora is an unusual flower that adds interest and texture to bouquets. Whorls of silvery blue-green leaves and small purple flowers on tall spikes add a spicy citrus scent to bouquets and the edible leaves and flowers can be added to salads and desserts.
Foxglove (bottom row, left corner)
Tall spikes of gracefully nodding flowers add a touch of woodland elegance to bouquets. More refined looking than the wild variety found at forest edges, our favorites (the Camelot and Dalmation Series) have fuller spikes and bloom the first year from seed. If seed pods are left to mature most varieties of foxglove will happily self seed for a continual display from year to year.
Strawflower (middle, bottom row)
Bringing an old-world charm to bouquets, the unique texture and sheen of strawflowers makes them a welcome accent in bouquets and arrangements. Strawflowers hold their colour and shape extremely well when drying and are perfect for permanent botanicals like dried flower wreaths. While the flowers are stunning, the plants can be a little unsightly and are best planted away from focal areas of the garden.
Sunflower (bottom row, right corner)
A perfect addition to a children’s garden with their towering stems and happy faces, the large size of sunflower seeds makes them fun to plant for little hands and their quick growth rate creates a sturdy jungle in no time. Breeding programs have resulted in pollenless sunflowers with new sophisticated colours and refined petal shape. Some of our favorites are Procut White Lite, Gold Lite and Horizon. Planting close (4-6”) will result in smaller heads that are easier to use in arrangements and bouquets.
I hope this has inspired you to bring more flowers into your life this year, whether that means carving out a small sunny patch of the yard or finding a local flower farm in your area, these blooms are worth the effort!
If you would like to get your hands on some our our blooms this season you can check out our Bouquet Subscriptions here, we would love to share some beauty with you this season!
