Caption
A beautiful summer bouquet of sunflowers, zinnia, and other colorful cutting flowers.
A dedicated space for fresh bouquets all season long.
Start with beauty, end with armfuls of bouquets! This Easy Cutting Garden Plan is designed for gardeners who want a simple, productive flower bed dedicated to growing blooms for the home. Whether you’re creating a stand-alone cutting patch or tucking these flowers into existing borders, the layout makes it easy to grow a steady supply of stems for vases, gifts, and cheerful kitchen-table arrangements.
The magic of this cutting garden lies in mixing annuals, perennials, and a little foliage. The plan includes colorful annuals grown from seed, long-lasting perennials, and one versatile shrub to provide greenery for arranging. Below, you’ll find the full layout, plant list, and the tips you need to grow picture-perfect bouquets from spring through frost.
Quick Facts
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Garden Type: | Flower Cutting Garden |
| Difficuty Level | Beginner |
| Hardiness Zones: | 4–8 |
| Sun Exposure: | Full Sun |
| Seasonality: | Spring through Fall |
| Soil Type: | Rich, well-draining raised bed mix |
| Watering Needs: | Regular, consistent moisture |
| Special Features: | Annuals + perennials, built-in foliage, bouquet-friendly varieties |
| Garden Size: | Flexible — shown as a dedicated bed, but works in rows or borders |
| Fun Fact | Almost all flowers in this plan can be grown easily from seed! |
The Garden Plot Plan
This cutting garden is drawn as its own dedicated flower bed—fun to visualize in the Garden Planner—but you can grow these same flowers in rows, along borders, or tucked into mixed beds. The goal is simply to have reliable blooms (and foliage!) you can harvest again and again.
A single shrub—photinia (Red Robin)—anchors the plan. Its evergreen leaves provide beautiful filler for arrangements year-round. Variegated pittosporum is another excellent choice, but truly any shrub with attractive foliage will work.
This plan blends:
- Perennials such as roses and yarrow, which return every year
- Tender perennials like dahlias, which overwinter in the ground in Zones 5b–10 (or can be lifted and stored in colder regions)
- Bulbs such as ornamental alliums, which give early structure and can be replanted for another season
- Annuals such as zinnias, sunflowers, scabiosa, cosmos, and dill — all easy from seed and incredibly productive
Dill may surprise beginners, but its airy foliage and yellow umbels bring movement and depth to summer bouquets. Depending on your variety choices, your cutting garden can be pastel, bold and bright, or a cheerful mix of both.
New to cutting flowers? Try multi-stemmed dwarf sunflowers in pale shades—‘Valentine’ is a lovely beginner-friendly choice with soft, lemon-colored petals.
The Plant List
See guides to all plants listed below: Almanac Flower Growing Guides.
| Plant Name | Type | Spacing | Quantity | Sow Indoors | Sow/Plant Outdoors | Bloom Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zinnia | Annual | 9–12” | 10–12 | — | Mid May | July–Frost |
| Sunflower (Multi-stem) | Annual | 12–24” | 12–14 | — | Mid May | July–September |
| Cosmos | Annual | 12” | 6–8 | — | Mid May | July–Frost |
| Scabiosa (Pincushion Flower) | Annual | 9–12” | 10 | — | Mid May | June–Frost |
| Mexican Sunflower | Annual | 18–24” | 6–8 | — | Mid May | July–September |
| Rose (Shrub or Floribunda) | Perennial | 2 to 5 feet | 2 | Nursery plant | Spring | June–Frost |
| Yarrow | Perennial | 12–24” | 5 | — | Spring | June–September |
| Dahlia | Tender Perennial | 18–24” | 6–8 | — | After frost | July–Frost |
| Allium (Ornamental) | Bulb | 6–8” | 12–14 | — | Fall plant | Late Spring |
| Photinia (Red Robin) | Shrub | 2 to 3 feet | 2 | Nursery plant | Spring | Foliage year-round |
How to Create Your Cutting Garden
Soil Prep:
Mix in compost or aged manure to build a deep, rich bed—flowers grown for cutting appreciate fertile, loose soil for long stems and full blooms.
Timing:
Most annuals in this plan are direct-sown once frost danger passes. Perennials and shrubs are planted in spring. Dahlias go in after the soil warms, and alliums are planted in fall for next year’s blooms.
Foliage Matters:
Great bouquets need greenery! A single shrub like photinia or pittosporum provides filler all season, from spring arrangements to holiday greenery.
Annuals vs. Perennials:
- Perennials (roses, yarrow) return each year.
- Dahlias overwinter outdoors in Zones 5b–10 if mulched deeply. In colder zones, lift tubers in fall.
- Alliums rebloom best when flowers are picked promptly (it helps them store energy for next season).
- Annuals give the biggest bang for your buck—plant generously for abundant summer color.
Maintenance:
Deadhead or harvest often—the more you cut, the more they bloom.
Add 1–2” of compost around perennials at season’s end to keep them vigorous.
Harvesting:
Cut flowers in the early morning, use clean snips, and place stems immediately into water. Keep a bucket handy in the garden for easy harvesting.
Gardener Spotlight: Susie’s Experience
“I always dreamed of having a cutting garden, but I never knew where to start. The Garden Planner made it so simple to see how many plants I needed and how to lay them out.
I created a little dedicated flower area (mostly because it was fun to draw in the Planner!)—but the truth is, these flowers grow beautifully in rows or right inside a regular flower bed.
My favorites were the zinnias, dahlias, and scabiosa. And oddly enough, the dill! Its feathery leaves added such pretty texture to my bouquets. The photinia shrub was the real secret—having easy greenery to snip made every bouquet look professional.
By late summer, I was cutting flowers every few days and giving bouquets to neighbors. I must have a green thumb after all! If I can grow a cutting garden, anyone can.”
FAQs for the Cutting Garden Plan
Q: Do I need a dedicated cutting garden area?
A: Not at all! This plan is shown as a standalone bed for clarity, but the flowers grow just as well in rows or mixed borders.
Q: Can everything be started outdoors?
A: Yes—most annuals are easy to direct-sow. Perennials, shrubs, and dahlias are planted as nursery plants or tubers.
Q: How do I keep flowers blooming all season?
A: Cut often. Harvesting encourages more growth—especially with zinnias, cosmos, and scabiosa.
Q: How should I overwinter dahlias?
A: In Zones 5b–10, mulch deeply after frost. In colder zones, lift tubers and store them in a cool, dry place.
Q: Do I need foliage plants?
A: Yes! Even one shrub
More References
Best Flowers for a Cutting Garden
How to Make a Beautiful Bouquet
Wit & Wisdom
“I must have flowers, always and always.” — Claude Monet
A cutting garden rewards you for every snip—more blooms, more color, more joy. Whether pastel, bold, or wildly mixed, it’s a garden designed to be shared.
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