Designed to Flourish: Paradise Farms
Five Easy Flowers for Beginner Cut Flower Gardeners
Written By: Eileen Curinga, Paradise Flower Farm (Hampstead, N.C.)
Starting a cut flower garden is one of the most rewarding ways to bring beauty into your home. The best part? You don’t need years of gardening experience to grow stunning bouquets! Some flowers are especially beginner-friendly—easy to grow, prolific, and long-lasting in a vase.
If you’re looking to start your first cut flower garden, here are five foolproof flowers that will keep your vases overflowing with color all season long!
Zinnias – The Colorful Workhorses
Zinnias are a must-have for any cut flower garden. They’re heat-loving, long-blooming, and come in nearly every color imaginable. Plus, the more you cut them, the more they bloom!
Tip: Two favorite zinnia varieties are Benary’s Giant Zinnias – These grow big, fluffy blooms on tall, sturdy stems. They come in a variety of bright, cheerful colors and last over a week in a vase.
Extra Insight: Queen Series Zinnias – A more elegant, vintage-style zinnia. The Queen Lime, Queen Red Lime, and Queen Lime Orange varieties feature unique, antique tones that make bouquets look extra stylish.
Celosia – The Funky Showstopper 
Want to add a little texture and drama to your bouquets? Celosia is the answer! These heat-loving flowers come in two main forms: Cockscomb & Plume
Tip: Pepper Harrow Farm introduced a really fun celosia called Chester Copperpot. It's bright and funky!
Sunflowers – The Happy Giants
Sunflowers are classic cut flowers that add a bold, cheerful touch to any bouquet. They’re fast-growing, low-maintenance, and make an instant statement.
Tip: Branching sunflowers produce multiple blooms per plant, giving you a steady supply of flowers. Single-Stem Sunflowers grow tall with one large bloom per stem. Plant single stems 4-6" apart for bouquet size flowers, further apart for larger blooms.
Cosmos – The Effortless Beauties
If you want a flower that blooms nonstop with almost no effort, cosmos are perfect! Their delicate, daisy-like flowers and airy stems give bouquets a soft, whimsical feel.
Tip: Don’t over-fertilize (too much nitrogen = more leaves, fewer flowers)
Marigolds – The Underrated Cut Flower
Marigolds aren’t just for garden borders—they also make excellent cut flowers! They add a cheerful pop of gold, orange, and red to bouquets and have a long vase life.
Tip: African Marigolds have tall, fluffy, large blooms on long stems, making them better for cutting while French Marigolds have shorter, bushier plants and aren't ideal for cutting.
Final Thoughts
Starting a cut flower garden doesn’t have to be complicated. With zinnias, celosia, sunflowers, cosmos, and marigolds, you’ll have an easy-to-grow, beautiful mix of flowers that bloom all season long.
Grab your seeds, get planting, and get ready for a season of stunning, homegrown bouquets!
*Eileen teaches seed starting workshops for growing your own cut flower garden and veggie and herb garden. Click the links for more info to her upcoming workshops:
