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Cutting Flowers in the Garden

© Mary Henry

Nearly all of us like cut flowers in our homes and offices. The enjoyment goes all the way back to when we brought our mothers fat fists full of blooming roadside and backyard plants and she obligingly told us "thank you. They're soooo beautiful". Sometimes they sat in a fruit jar of water until they were absolutely mush and smelly to boot, because she hated to throw them out.

When you have flowers growing in your yard or in containers on your patio, you have the makings of an arrangement almost anytime you like. Good cut flowers are found among all our plants: the annuals, perennials, house plants, bulbs, shrubs, trees - you name it. Some gardeners even include a grouping of flowers grown just for cutting, but if you don't have room like me, you use what you have.

Don't limit yourself to just the ones traditionally used for cutting like daisies, baby's breath, gladiolas and the like. Many bedding plants make wonderful cut flowers. The petunia, which needs to be pinched frequently for best performance anyway, lasts for days in water, and a stem with many buds will open nearly every one. Actually petunias may root in the water if it is kept changed frequently. Even a short pinch with just a single bloom and a short stem can be put with others like it in a sherbet dish or elegant tea cup using a small needlepoint holder. They make charming tray flowers for someone in bed or personal decorations for each plate at a dinner party where some magnificent dish takes center stage on the table. They can be put together in just a few minutes and will make your petunia planting better for their having been cut. Impatiens, coleus and marigolds should also be used this way. Plant the odorless marigolds on the market next year if the scent of the normal ones bothers you. The signet marigolds have tiny flowers and ferny foliage with a clean citrus scent (and are edible too). Don't forget plants with scented foliage. Many of them also cut well.

While almost every flower can be cut and enjoyed, there are a few that just aren't suitable. Some blossoms last only one day, like the daylily. Some flowers are not open in daylight like evening primrose and 4 o'clocks, and some close on cloudy days (and would do so in your house too) like the moss rose and gazanias. A few just collapse soon after cutting no matter what you do. Experiment with what you have.