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    Home » Gardening

    Perennial Cut Flowers: A List of Must Haves for the Garden

    May 21, 2023 by Patti Estep 6 Comments

    Group of perennial flowers that can be used to create bouquets and arrangements including peonies, yarrow, anemone, iris, lavender and Lady's mantle.
    Collage of perennial cut flower plants including, yarrow, bee balm, penstemon, black eyed susan, purple coneflower and peonies.

    Learn about some of the best perennials for cut flowers that you can easily grow in your garden to enjoy year after year. These easy-to-grow plants will bring you months of lovely flowers to create beautiful flower arrangements for your home or to give to someone special.

    Perennials for cut flower arrangements including anemone, yarrow, rudbeckia, shasta daisy, bee balm, Ladys mantle, and peony.

    Many perennials make beautiful floral arrangements in the home. I love cutting some and placing them in vases around the house, especially when we have a party. So today I'm sharing some of my favorites.

    Bouquet of perennials for cut flower arrangements.

    All of these plants are perennials which means they will come back year after year, and all are easy to grow. However, since I live in USDA Zone 6 I need to grow hardy perennials that can withstand colder climates. This entire group is hardy to Zone 4, some as low as Zone 3. Most prefer a spot with full sun though some can grow well in part shade.

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    Vase full of peony flowers. Peonies are easy to grow perennials that work great in arrangements.

    Best Perennials for Cut Flower Gardens

    Peonies

    If someone held a gun to my head and made me choose my favorite flower, it would probably be the peony. They are so beautiful and easy to grow. There are many to choose from, and many are very fragrant. You can read more about peonies in my post, Praiseworthy Peony. My only complaint is that they don't bloom all season long.

    purple-coneflower-echinacea

    Coneflower

    Also known as Echinacea, this common form is the purple coneflower. It seems like the growers come out with 3 or 4 new varieties every year of this pretty perennial. Bright daisy-like flowers in shades of yellow, warm reds, pretty pinks, and even white, with many different shapes and sizes, make this perennial a collector's dream. And, I recently learned that some forms of Echinacea are now considered threatened or endangered. A great reason to grow this lovely long blooming plant.

    Rudbeckia growing in the garden

    Black-Eyed Susan

    Similar to Echinacea, Black-Eyed Susan flowers are from the genus Rudbeckia. However, both plants come from the same flower family, Asteraceae. Black-Eyed Susan perennials are mostly golden flowers with black or brown centers. However, there are many hybrids that offer shades of orange and bronze.

    Shasta Daisies in the garden.
    Shasta Daisy

    Shasta Daisy

    A third pretty daisy-like perennial plant is Shasta Daisy. Bright and cheerful this lovely flower will bloom from early summer into the fall giving you lots of time to use them in flower arrangements.

    Rose Campion is a great perennial that readily seeds in the garden make a good cut flower.

    Rose Campion

    Another long bloomer is Lychnis coronaria, commonly known as Rose Campion. I particularly love this one because of its pretty gray foliage that works well as a filler in flower arrangements. This easy perennial cut flower readily self-seeds giving you more in the garden. Don't worry, they are easy to pull up if a volunteer shows up in an unwanted space.

    Bergamot aka bee balm perennial with scented leaves.

    Bee Balm

    The scientific name for this flower is Monarda. The image above is a variety called 'Blue Stocking.' The common name is bee balm because the bees love it. This plant comes in a variety of colors and sizes and grows quickly by sending out runners just under the ground. Another name for this pretty perennial is bergamot because the leaves smell like the bergamot citrus fruit.  The American Indians used this fragrant plant to make tea. It actually smells a lot like Earl Grey tea.

    Anemone September Charm

    Anemone September Charm

    As the variety name states, this pretty perennial blooms later in the season in September, though often in August, and lasts through most of the fall. It's a Japanese Anemone plant and I love the cottage feel it gives to the garden. Beware, this one is a rapid grower and will easily fill in a space once it's established.

    Salvia Nemorosa May Night

    Perennial Salvia

    Perennial Sages or Salvia make great cut flowers and they are fragrant. The one shown above is the variety 'May Night' and was named the Perennial of the Year in 1997. It's a beautiful dark purple but you can find other varieties in colors of white and pink.

    Bearded Iris is a great perennial flower in the spring.

    Iris

    Next on the list of perennial flowers is the bearded Iris. It mainly blooms in the spring in May and June, but there are a few varieties that will bloom twice. You may see them listed as "remontant" which means to rebloom twice in a season. Did you know that the root from the Iris, also called Orris Root, has been used as a fixture for potpourri?

    Globe bellflower is an excellent cut flower perennial.

    Globe Bellflower

    There are many different types of bellflowers but this one, Campanula glomerata, or clustered Bellflower, is my favorite. It's a really deep pretty shade of purple and has flowers blooming up and down the stem. Adored by hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees but deer and rabbits tend to avoid it.

    Bi-colored orange and yellow daylily

    Daylilies

    Daylilies are so beautiful and come in a myriad of colors that work wonderfully in bouquets and other cut flower arrangements.  They are easy to grow however they are a favorite food of the deer population so keep that in mind.

    Cut flower perennial Pretty Woman Yarrow

    Yarrow

    This variety called 'Pretty Woman' is just one of the many color options available for yarrow flowers. It's a great cut flower perennial that also dries well. Its scientific name is Achillea millefolium, named after Achilles, who used plant extracts to treat soldiers’ wounds in the Battle of Troy.

    Common white yarrow for cut flower arrangements.

    Here it is in a more common white color. Though we all love color, a little white can really help create a nice balance in your floral designs. This common white variety is extremely hardy and seems to grow anywhere in my garden.

    Lady's mantle in flower.

    Lady's Mantle

    For a great vase filler try these pretty clumps of chartreuse flowers from Lady's Mantle or Alchemilla mollis. This is a nice low growing perennial that you can plant in the front of the garden border as it only reaches 6-12 inches in height. It's called Lady's Mantle because the scalloped leaves resemble the Virgin Mary's Mantle or cloak.

    Hidcote lavender

    Lavender

    Though it's not a great filler or a large showy flower, lavender is long lasting and a great addition to flower arrangements. It also dries well, and of course, the fragrance is fabulous. This pretty perennial herb comes in different shades of purple and some are also white. It's also drought tolerant making this a very low maintenance plant.

    Tall planter with perennial penstemon in flower.

    Penstemon

    Here's another good white option called Penstemon. This pretty perennial comes in a variety of colors and has a pretty delicate beauty which is great for filling your vase and adding a little airiness.

    Penstemon Husker Red - colorful dark red stems.

    Here is the same plant with beautiful dark foliage, called Penstemon 'Huskers Red.' It looks great in arrangements, and in the garden all season long. The tall sturdy stems are filled with pretty flower spikes adding a nice height to any arrangement. Another self-seeder, I often find a few new volunteers in the garden come spring but they are easily dug up and moved.

    Perennial Bachelor's Button with pretty dark purple spiky flowers.

    Bachelor's Button

    Last but not least, is a perennial Bachelor's Button. Some say this is a nuisance plant because it does reseed freely, but I love the blue color. This particular variety is Centaurea 'Montana Blue.' It comes in a few different colors such as white, pink, and purple. They even have developed a couple of deep-colored ones like Centaurea 'Jordy,' and 'Black Sprite.'

    Other Perennial Cut Flowers to Try

    • Liatris - aka Blazing Star
    • Garden Phlox
    • Coral Bells
    • Veronica
    • Blanket Flower
    • Asters
    • Sea Holly

    There you have it. A nice list of easy-to-grow cut flower garden perennials. So many to enjoy and create beautiful flower arrangements all season long.

    Patti signature
    Some of the best perennial flowers for a cut flower garden including bee balm, coneflower, yarrow, peonies, and anemone.
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    About Patti Estep

    Patti is the creator of Hearth and Vine, a home and garden blog filled with projects to inspire your creative side. She loves crafting, gardening, decorating and entertaining at her home in Pennsylvania. When she is not working on a project at home or searching for treasures at nurseries and thrift stores with her girlfriends, you’ll probably find her with family and friends, at a restaurant, or home party enjoying new and different food adventures.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Nancy

      March 28, 2021 at 12:59 pm

      Hi Patti,

      Thanks for this great information. I grow lychnis and have tried to use them in my flower arrangements but find they do not last very long. Is there a trick to cutting them that prolongs their vase-life?

      Nancy

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        March 28, 2021 at 1:57 pm

        Nancy, try putting the flowers into a bucket of water as soon as you cut them. Also, you can try adding a little lemon-lime soda like Sprite to the water (not diet). 

        Reply
    2. Kirby

      February 06, 2017 at 12:15 pm

      I have difficulty with peonies, as I don't have a protected area for them that is also sunny. I have 8 hydrangea varietals as well as a few irises, coneflower, and spring bloomers like daffodils and Lenten Rose. This is after nine years of digging out a yard full of English Ivy! The project will take another five years, at least! I am going to look into those anenomes.

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        February 06, 2017 at 1:39 pm

        Hi Kirby,

        What a feat digging up all that English Ivy. I think you'll love the Anemone. It's a fall bloomer and gets about 18" tall. It also spreads and will fill in nicely in your new beds.
        Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!
        Patti

        Reply
    3. Carole @ Garden Up Green

      February 05, 2017 at 8:41 am

      Beautiful bouquet and a great list of cut flower perennials. Peonies are wonderful and I love to air dry them too. I've never seen that type of anemone going to have to see if I can grow it down south because it's beautiful and adds such grace to an arrangement. I need to start doing more with flowers I always miss them this time of year.

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        February 05, 2017 at 8:52 am

        Hi Carole,

        I love to dry peonies too. They are the bomb!
        You say you need to grow more flowers while I need to grow more edibles. I need to think outside the box and start planting some in the flower beds.
        Have a great week,
        Patti

        Reply

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