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A Pacific Northwest Cutting Garden
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Annuals are usually a good source for cut flowers. Most will keep on blooming if you keep them from going to seed. Since this is in the cutting garden, this means we can pick the flowers to our heart's content. Keeping the flowers picked and deadheading any spent flower off the plant will keep an annual from setting seed and signaling the plant that its life cycle is complete. Too many flowers at once can mean we fill up our homes with flowers and give generous presents to our neighbors or friends. The drawback to annuals is they will need to be planted every year, as they will die at the end of each year.
Biennials are another group of plants we can look to for cut flowers. In their second year of life, they shoot up some of the most spectacular displays of flowers. When finished, they will die after setting seeds. Some biennials you can trick into living another year by keeping their flowers cut and not letting them set seed. The drawback to biennials is it is a two-year wait from the first seeding. If they are not a hybrid, you can let them reseed themselves by allowing a few flower stalks to go to seed.
Perennials make a fine addition to a more permanent cutting garden. Many plants in this group make wonderful cut flowers. The drawback to most perennials is they flower for only a few weeks to a month, once a year. I believe they are necessary for the cutting garden though, and will add a beautiful variety of flowers for your indoor bouquets.
Shrubs and trees can also provide beautiful flowers or foliage for bouquets, especially in the darker days of winter. Some shrub branches can be forced for late winter blooms inside the home.
1 | 2 | 3 | Cut Flower Plant List
by Debbie Teashon
Photographed in Wendy Tweten's Kingston, Washington garden.
Gardening for the Homebrewer: Grow and Process Plants for Making Beer, Wine, Gruit, Cider, Perry, and More
By co-authors Debbie Teashon (Rainy Side Gardeners) and Wendy Tweton
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