How to Grow Your Own Fresh Flowers ALL YEAR
I’m told it’s not possible. You need a greenhouse, grow lights, special equipment, and more.
Well…. I am telling you it is possible. How do I know? Because I have done it.
I’m not sure why it’s said. Maybe it's because of people's interpretations of fresh flowers. Do fresh flowers mean only cut flowers from the garden? I don’t think so, but I will give it to you if that is your thought as well.
So, what am I talking about, and how do you do it?
I am so excited to talk about this. I don’t see many people talking about it, teaching about it, or implementing it.
First step:
Let’s change the way we think about fresh flowers.
When I say I have fresh flowers in my house all year… I do mean that. But we aren’t talking about zinnias and dahlias in February. Flowers grow in seasons; each flower has its special season where it thrives, grows, and blooms. You need to learn when they bloom and grow and how to utilize them for you!
Spring:
You can start this any time of the year, but we will start with spring for convenience's sake. Spring is from March through the middle to the end of June. Flowers have seasons and weather they like, so that’s how I am dividing up the growing points.
Early spring:
March in Michigan:
Is filled with daffodils, hyacinths, hellebores, snowdrops, grape hyacinths, forsythia, honeysuckle bush, and forcing branches. My amaryllis is still blooming, and I can collect several different flowers to place on the table, give to a friend, or place them next to my bed.
Mid spring:
May through June brings:
Tulips, flowering trees like apples and cherries, bleeding hearts, peonies, and roses. Bachelor buttons, sweet william, bupleurum, bee balm, bells of ireland, salvia, snapdragon, statice, stock, yarrow, dill, delphinium, feverfew, lupine, larkspur, ammi, allium, baptisia, columbine, coral bells, iris, lily of the valley, ninebark, poppy, astible, and weigela. So many plants with so many options.
One thing to remember about spring is that many of these plants are perennials or fall/early spring-sown hardy annuals.
All of these flowers can be cut and arranged fresh, but many can also be dried to use again this fall.
To dry flowers: Pick at the peak of freshness and strip all the leaves off the stem. Bunch into stems of 5 or 10. Hang upside down in a warm, dry, and dark location.
List of flowers to dry:
Peonies, roses, bupleurum seed heads, statice, yarrow, dill, delphinium, feverfew, larkspur, allium, and astilbe.
Where to find or grow these plants:
Most of the perennials listed can be found at your local garden center. Bulbs can be purchased online or at the store, but the selection will be extremely limited. Grab my favorite seed sources guide HERE if you are the seed-starting type.
Stay tuned for my spring and fall planted cut flower garden kits and take your flower garden to the next level.
Summer:
Summer brings abundance. This is when most of the fresh-cut flowers you think of are blooming:
July until frost:
Zinnia, celosia, sunflowers, cosmos, amaranth, strawflower, lisianthus, basil, gomphrena, dahlias, hydrangea, and more!
This will be your season of plenty. You can have more flowers than you know what to do with. This is the perfect time to practice your arranging skills, give flowers as gifts, have people over to pick flowers, ect…. As much as I wish this could be all year, it can’t, so enjoy it while it’s here.
Summer is also a great time to dry flowers for fall:
Celosia, amaranth, gomphrena, strawflower, zinnia, hydrangea, and whatever else you want to try!
Where to find these flowers:
Check out my curated cut flower garden kit: 72 garden-ready plants, exactly what you need for a beautiful cut flower garden.
The rest, except the hydrangea, must be started from seed, either directly sown or as a transplant.
Fall:
Fall also brings abundance. In Michigan, the fall is usually from September to mid-October. We get our first frost around October 15 each year.
Early Fall:
September through frost:
Is full of dahlias, sunflowers, kale, mums, grasses, wheat, amaranth, pumpkins, and gourds.
Watch how the colors change throughout the season: Spring starts with pastels and light colors, summer is bright and punchy, fall is filled with oranges, golds, and yellows, and winter is red or white with dark evergreen.
Late fall:
In Michigan, it is October through Thanksgiving.
This is when you will take your dried flowers, pumpkins, gourds, and mums and create seasonal decor. Dried flower bouquets are beautiful with the golden hues of fall and last for years if you keep them out of the sun. You could try to make a fall-dried flower wreath—it’s always fun, and they are so beautiful.
Winter:
As we start hibernating, our garden is finished, and we are probably ready for a break.
Early winter:
Late November and December:
I always think of sparkly lights, snow and cold, and my favorite: evergreens! This is the season of wreaths, garlands, trees, and centerpieces. If you have a couple of evergreens and a few bushes, you can create unique and beautiful wreaths, garlands, porch pots, and more. Every year, I have to buy a few items to finish off my holiday decor, like winterberries and other fun additions. It is such a rewarding experience to create with your own hands.
The smell of greens alone is all the therapy you will need.
Late Winter:
January - mid-March
This is the hardest time of year to have flowers. The greens are put away, the house almost feels sterile, and it’s cold and dark. But.. this is when my favorite flower is blooming: the great and amazing amaryllis.
I know most people think of amaryllis as a Christmas flower and trust me, I have it blooming at Christmas time as well. Nothing is like a fresh, beautiful, and unique amaryllis blooming January through February. To accomplish this: all you need a few bulbs. I stagger my bulb successions to get a continuous bloom time. If you buy bulbs at the big box store in November and December, they will probably bloom around Christmas. I buy early bloomers and late bloomers, but I also save my bulbs each year, and then I can control the timing better when my amaryllis blooms. I’ll have to write another post on that topic, but it’s not hard and so so worth it.
Paperwhites are another great bulb to force inside, but warning: they can be stinky.
My next goal is to force hyacinths. That will be this year’s project.
That brings us back to March again. I hope you see how this circle of blooming works. Each year, when my favorite flowers come back into bloom, it’s like a reunion all over again!
It’s so fun and rewarding to have fresh flowers all year. Some people love to change their decor for the seasons. I don’t, but I love having fresh seasonal flowers in my house. It’s an easy refresh and is always welcoming to friends and family alike.
Have I convinced you to give it a try yet????