Top 5 Perennials For Your Cut Flower Patch

It’s March here in Lancaster County, PA and that means I’m in the thick of seed starting, hardening off seedlings, cleaning up perennial beds and trimming back fruit trees that were supposed to be trimmed in February. Whoops!

One of my late winter goals is to redesign a large bed we have on top of a rock wall and pack in some more long living perennials. In the last blog posts we learned more about my succession planting process for cold hardy annuals but we didn’t talk about perennials. Did you know that they play a huge role in flower farming?

Perennials are long lived plants that typically need a few years to get established and then they are pretty self sufficient. This is a big boon! Once they get planted you only need to water and weed them and then they will pump out the stems year after year. So much less work than annuals! They are life savers when you are in between annual crops and provide a much needed filler or foliage.

Another reason why I LOVE perennials is that they attract pollinators and beneficial insects to my garden. That means lower pest and disease pressure! Nothing makes a flower farmer happier than to hear your plants humming with life. It means you are on your way to creating a healthy ecosystem which is the ultimate goal.

So which perennials should you start with? Here’s my top list!

Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius) - This shrub is a fabulous foliage filler. It comes in all sizes from dwarf to standard, and several colors. I love them all but especially Summer Wine Black. It has dark dramatic foliage which goes well with my fall dahlias.

Smokebush (Cotinus coggygria) - Another great shrub in the landscape or as a hedge, Smokebush is also wonderful for larger arrangements. It has sturdy stems and beautiful round leaves. My favorite variety, Winecraft Gold has bright green foliage. Photo Cred: Proven Winners

Hydrangea Paniculata - This flowering shrub comes in all different sizes and colors. I particularly love it because you are now able to buy these in tiny form so the micro farmer like myself can pack more in and they don’t get huge. Some even like containers! This year I am adding Tiny Quick Fire and Little Quick Fire to my garden and am super excited about them! Hydrangea is one of my favorites because of its lacy, romantic blooms.Photo Cred: Proven Winners

Baptisia - This is one that is not on many top lists and I’m not sure why. It has lovely spikes but I love using it for its foliage which keeps super long in a vase. It also comes in a range of colors and is a lovely addition to your landscape or cutting garden. Photo Cred: Proven Winners

Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum muticum) - I’m adding this perennial to my mix this year. I’ve been trying to get my hands on it for a few years now but each year I run out of room. This year I’m putting it in a new galvanized trough to keep it from spreading. If you have lots of space and expect to cut on it hard it’s supposed to stay contained, however being a micro flower farmer I do not want to battle it so I’m trialing it in a container first. Photo Cred: Rutgers NJAES

I know I said TOP 5 list but the following gets an honorable mention!

Yarrow (achillea) - The pollinators love this flower in my garden. It can be a short lived perennial (a couple of years, sometime more or less) in some climates which is why it didn’t make it above but it’s a work horse in my native cut flower patch. It comes in a variety of colors but peach and white are my favorite. It makes a great filler and adds some color in bouquets.

All of these make great additions to your cutting patch. Word of warning: they are more expensive but that’s because they are long lived so try adding some each year as a mix with your annuals. If you missed the post on some of my favorite hardy annuals check it out here.

I hope to teach some workshops on what to plant in your space, large or small so make sure you sign up for the newsletter (scroll to the bottom) to know when that is happening!

Stay tuned to see the progress as I chronicle my redesign of my perennial rock wall garden!