Top 10 Must-Have Flowers for Your Spring Cutting Garden

If you have never had a cutting garden, then you are missing out my friends. There is little I derive more pleasure from in the outside world that cutting my own flowers to bring in or to share with others. It's possible to have something to cut most months of the year including greens and berries in the winter. But for the sake of what I enjoy the most we will stick to flowers in our discussion today. These are my top 10 must-have flowers for your spring cutting garden.

Princess Gracie and her tulips

1. Tulip-the quintessential spring flower. She burst forth when the ground slightly warms from winter showing her coat of smooth green foilage which hides the color of the surprise flower waiting below. I love tulips because they are available in all of the colors of the rainbow (except blue). You can find sunny yellow, crisp white, very dark purple which is almost black, green, lots of colors with stripes-there are so many colors to choose. There are also various forms of tulips- the standard look tulip we have all seen. But there are fringed tip tulips with serrated like tips. There are parrot tulips which show their beauty and uniqueness when they are completely wide open. There are tulips with pointed tips, double tulips which remind you of a peony, and even tulips that have more than one flower blooming on it's stem. And I haven't even mentioned yet that in many tulips there is a mezmerizing center that you can't even see unless it's completely open-I love when they are wide open because they look like a whole different flower. If you pick a tulip right as the tips are starting to show their color you can keep them in a vase or vessel for easily over a week until there petals start to fall(if you don't let the vase run out of water). For a double or peony tulip you shouldn't cut it until it has opened a little-this ensures it will open all the way. Anywho, tulips are a must-have in my book!

2. Narcissus- These lovely burst of sunshine need no introduction. The solid yellow "March Lily" or "Jounquil" as the flower ladies in my family called it was the first flower I was ever introduced to. I spent many a spring day picking them as they popped up around my grandparents, great-grandparents, and neighbor's property. This is where my flower obession began. The flowers I picked I shared with the respective owners of the property of wherever I was picking. Sometimes my very first flower friend, Melody, was with me as we picked and delivered. Narcissus (also called daffodils) are available is so many colors as well, solid yellow, yellow with orange center, white with white center, white with yellow center, white with pink or peach center. There are butterfly narcissus with a beautiful thick centers different than what you typically see. Some narcissis have a beautiful fragrance (it can be a little strong for those that don't like it though). Narcissus are also availble with muliple flowers atop one stem. There are so many beautiful ones that will liven the insides of any home.

3. Peony- These volumtuous blooms are surely show stoppers. I remember as a child thinking how heavy the bloom looked a top the bushes when the flower was fully open-heaven forbid a rain came and then the bloom would be laying on the ground. The peony can have a most wonderful fragrance-sweet and special. They are usually not hard to grow. However if you plant them too deep they will not bloom-typically you should plant them no more than 2 inches below the soil line. Peonies can also have trouble with botrytis in spring-botrytis is a fungal infection caused by too much rain or moisture. You will notice your peonies have it when the bloom is forming and instead of getting bigger and blooming, the bud will start to die off. You can spray to help prevent this but I don't spray any fungicides or other chemicals because I or someone else will eventually touch the plant. So I just take my chances-some years and some varieties are more susceptible than others. To help keep the botyritis from coming back, it's important that at the end of the season you discard any dead foilage from the peony. I put mine in the garbage and not in the compost pile-otherwise you will be spreading the disease to whatever you put the compost on.

   
   

   

   
   

4. Lilac- The lovely lilac bush is one I never tire from as it only blooms for a short period of time in spring. It carries with it the most lovely scent as well. Lots of varieties and colors from white to many shades of purple and even the creamy yellow named "Primrose". I have a few of them in my garden-last year we added 7 plants of different varieties. This year I have been blessed with blooms from the white, a purple, and my very first "Primrose bloom" which I planted in memory of my "granddaddy".

5. Ranunculus- Also known as "the rose of spring", ranunculus come in many colors and varieties. In our area ranunculus can be a little tricky to grow because they don't like to get cold (below freezing). If the ground freezes, the ranunculus corm (like a bulb) will rot so we grow them in a high tunnel where our soil will stay warmer and keep the corm from freezing. Some of them have the most faint sweet scent like the La Belle Coral Ranunculus-one of my favorites. These floral beauties have a tremendous vase life (up to 2 weeks or more) and are always a favorite in our spring bunches and arrangements and are one of the most requested flowers from the florist we serve.

6. Anemone- Also known as "windflower", anemones have the most beautiful delicate petals and a fuzzy center. They have such a delicate look that many people don't believe they are real flowers until they touch them. Anemones come in white, red, purple, burgundy, pink, white brushed with purple, pink, red and I'm sure I'm probably missing a few color combinations. These are another flower that don't like the cold but will tolerate a few degrees cooler than ranunculus. We grow these in our high tunnel (like an unheated greenhouse) as well. Many people are reminded of a poppy because of their striking beautiful centers.

7. Bearded Iris (any Iris really I love)- These large flower beauties really command the vase or the field. Many people see them as just a common place flower but I just adore them-the majority of what I have came from my grandmother and 2 great- grandmothers. Most people are surprised that I can get 7 days of vase life from them but I can. Here's how-cut them as soon as the very first bloom starts to come out of the shealth the bloom is contained in- you must be able to see a large amount of color, if not it will not bloom. Put that big beautiful stem in a vase and break off each spent bloom as they shrivel at the end of their bloom cycle. And....they have a glorious sweet scent that I love as well.

8. Sweet Pea- This spring vining beauty has a very short vase life but it's whimsical nature and heavenly scent make it a must have for my spring arrangements. This is another one of those I remember in my great-grandmother's garden. To best serve the sweet pea it needs to be trellised or given something where it can grow up-this helps the stem length to be longer and the plant to thrive. When the hot weather of summer is upon us in our area, the sweet pea will die back and be done for the season. But.....you can harvest some seeds if you have left some flowers to bloom on the vines and then you will have seeds to plant again next year.

9. Snowball bush (Viburnum)- This woody perrienial can get huge so that means a huge bush covered in huge white blooms similar to the look of a white hydrangea. The foilage reminds me of a wrinkled up maple leaf but I absolutely love the texture. These plants root easily if you place a low lying branch down on the soil and cover it with soil. Wait until that branch is rooted to the soil then you can cut the branch off below the root and you have another bush to plant somewhere else

10. Varigated Soloman's seal- This is an exquisite specimen of a plant. It has an elongated stem with varigated (green and white leaves) very whimsical in nature. And then out of nowhere come these small little white delicate flowers-similar to "Lily of the valley"-which is another one of my favs and that would make 11.

    
    

    All of these lovely pics came from various plantings around the flower farm and gardens. Spring is such a wonderful time to enjoy all of God's glorious splendor-whether you have it outside or you like to bring it inside. See you next time friends!