Cut Flowers Garden Plan

.   .  .  grace your table with flowers from your garden!

Native Plant Flower Arrangement

Who says only annuals can make up a cut flower garden? By now gardeners know that native perennials are sustainable pollinator attractors and are necessary to support wildlife. In addition to providing these ecological benefits, many of them make beautiful cut flowers. With their relaxed habit and unique blooms, native plants add a touch of wildness to a floral design. The following native perennials look great inside the home as well as in the garden, where they provide support to the local ecosystem.

If you’re just getting started or want to augment your existing perennial plantings for cutting, here are 25 native flowering plants and grasses that you may not know and make exceptional cut flower arrangements.

To create fast, no-fuss arrangements on the fly, follow a few simple design principles.

  Tall elements go in the middle and back, short elements belong in front and sides
  Use shades/variations of the same color and colors opposite each other on the color wheel
  Use foliage or thicker blooms at the base of the arrangement as filler to hold things in place

You don't need to be a botanist or even have green thumbs. But, it does help to know a little bit about the actual structure of flowers and their stems. When a flower stem is cut, a tiny bubble of air forms on the base of the stem and covers the small screens that allow water through. If this bubble is not removed, the flower won’t be able to absorb the water in the vase and will dry out and die, so you have to act quickly to stop this drying-out process. Here are 6 more helpful hints.

  Trim the stems
  Remove unnecessary leaves
  Do not remove thorns
  Avoid heat
  Cut flowers early in the evening
  Use a clean vase

Use Citrus Fruits

If you use colored vases, a good squeeze of lemon, orange, or lime juice will work just fine. However, they can stain glass, so they are no good if your vases are clear.

Use Lemonade or Sprite

For clear vases, use lemonade or Sprite instead. This is a good way to use up the last drops of your soda as the flowers won’t care if the soda is flat. Don’t use the diet variety though.

Use Vinegar and Sugar Mixture

Another useful homemade flower food is to mix two tablespoons of sugar with 2 tablespoons of white vinegar in two pints of lukewarm water.

Bloom Common Name Scientific Name Color Height Light
EARLY Large-Flowered Bellwort Uvularia grandiflora Yellow 1-2' Partial sun icon Shade icon
Pussy Willow Salix discolor White, Yellow 10-20' Full sun icon
MID Blue-Eyed Grass Sisyrinchium angustifolium Blue, Lavender 6-12" Full sun icon Partial sun icon
Columbine Aquilegia canadensis Red, Yellow 2-3' Full sun icon Partial sun icon
Common Bluestar Amsonia tabernaemontana Blue 2-3' Full sun icon Partial sun icon
Early Meadow Rue Thalictrum dioicum White, Cream 1-3' Partial sun icon Shade icon
Golden Alexanders Zizia aurea Yellow 1-2' Partial sun icon Shade icon
Virginia Waterleaf Hydrophuyllum virginianum White, Pink 1-2' Partial sun icon
MID-LATE Bur Sedge Carex grayi Green 2-3' Full sun icon Partial sun icon
Canada Anemone Anemone canadensis White 1-2' Full sun icon Partial sun icon
Lanceleaf Coreopsis Coreopsis lanceolata Yellow 1-2' Full sun icon
New Jersey Tea Ceanothus americanus White 2-3' Full sun icon Partial sun icon
Pale Purple Coneflower Echinacea pallida Lavender, Pink 3-5' Full sun icon
Poverty Oatgrass Danthonia spicata White, Green 12" Full sun icon Partial sun icon Shade icon
Purple Meadow Rue Thalictrum dasycarpum Cream 8' Full sun icon Partial sun icon
Scarlet Beebalm Monarda didyma Red 3-5' Full sun icon Partial sun icon
Bergemot Monarda fistulosa Lavender 2-5' Full sun icon Partial sun icon
Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta Yellow 1-3' Full sun icon Partial sun icon
Carolina Larkspur Delphinium virescens White 6-12" Full sun icon
Lavender Hyssop Agastache foeniculum Lavender 2-4" Full sun icon Partial sun icon
Oxeye Sunflower Helianthus helianthoides Yellow 3-6" Full sun icon
LATE Dense Blazing Star Liatris spicata Lavender, Pink 2-5' Full sun icon
Rough Blazing Star Liatris aspera Purple, Lavender 2-3' Full sun icon
Stiff Aster Ionactis linariifolius Purple 12" Full sun icon Partial sun icon
Tall Joe Pye Weed Eupatorium fistulosum Lavender, Pink 5-8' Full sun icon
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