Nothing says spring and summer like fresh-cut flowers in your home, especially when they come straight from your garden! Whether you love them beside your kitchen sink or in your bedroom, cut flowers add cheerfulness and serenity indoors. There are many options that make excellent cut flowers. Below, we're sharing 22 of our absolute favorites!
Perennials:
Lenten Rose (this blooms in late winter to mid-spring for a great option in cooler months)
Hosta (Hosta leaves make great additions to a vase of cut flowers; their foliage is beautiful!)
Annuals:
When arranging fresh-cut flowers from the garden, these tips will help your arrangements last much longer:
It's best to cut your flowers first thing in the morning, while they are hydrated and before the hot sun hits them. Take a vase or a bucket of fresh, lukewarm water outside with you when you cut from your garden. Snip the desired flowers close to the base of the stem. Snip at an angle using clean, sharp scissors. The angled cut increases the surface area which allows more water to be absorbed by the flowers. Place your freshly cut flower into the vase of water. Continue until you have the desired flowers and bring your vase indoors.
Once inside, gather the clean (make sure it is thoroughly clean for the longest-lasting bouquets) vase you will be using (if you didn't take it outside). You may find that you need to trim more of your flowers' stems to use with this vase. Cut again at an angle to the desired length. Plop each flower stem into your clean vase and if any leaves or foliage are below the water line, remove them right away. Leaving leaves below the water line greatly impacts the longevity of your bouquet, as the leaves quickly turn mushy and impact the cleanliness of the water in the vase.
Keep a little breathing room between the flower stems in your bouquet. If you find you have lots of flowers, just make several smaller bouquets instead of cramming too many flowers into a single vase. The increased airflow between the flower stems will help them last longer.
Avoid direct, bright sunlight for your fresh-cut bouquets. Also, replace the water in your vase every couple of days. Use lukewarm water. At this time, also re-cut the stems of your flowers at an angle. This will help them soak up more water and stay fresh longer.
These tips not only work well for flowers straight from your garden, but also for flowers you buy at the grocery store, etc. Ask us questions on social media or at the garden center; we're happy to assist!