Plants for purpose: Top plants for cut flowers

One of the cheeriest cut flowers, they’ll brighten up the room and fill you with joy when you see them. Multi-headed varieties of sunflower are best, such as ‘Harlequin’ that will give you plenty of blooms to cut. Cut the flowers before they open fully, and remove foliage from the bottom of the stem only to help fill out the arrangement in the vase.

Popular for their pretty pastel colours and perfumed flowers, sweet peas are great for floral arrangements. The tip with sweet peas is to cut them regularly to encourage more blooms. The climbing plants look great in the garden, and the flowers will look fantastic in your home.

Grow gladioli for a tall and dramatic addition to your arrangement. To make the most of the plants, cut the flowers as the lowest 2 flowers begin to open. When doing so, try to leave as many leaves as you can on the plant which will help it to get sufficient nutrition to reflower next year.

As one of the earlier flowers to bloom, they’re perfect for spring arrangements. Choose from pink, red, orange, white and yellow, or add some drama with dark purple petals. Make your cut tulips last longer by cutting the stems when they’re submerged in water which will stop air from getting into the stems.

The beautifully large blooms will make a big impact in the garden and as cut flowers. For double peonies, cut the when the buds feel soft between your finger and thumb. On the other hand, single peonies can be cut while the buds are still a bit firm but swollen.

With floral arrangements, it’s not just about the standout flowers. Add some soft, elegance to the mix with these flowers that make an excellent filler. When sowing, stagger the timings so you can have plenty of blooms for cutting continuously and wait until most of the flowers have opened before cutting.

For dramatic, exotic flowers, look no further. Oriental lilies are popular as cut flowers in arrangements for their flowers and fragrance. For example, ‘Star Gazer’ which has deep pink flowers with white margins that have a wonderful scent.

In the garden, this large evergreen tree will add texture and interest with its peeling bark and blue rounded leaves. They grow best in a slightly acidic soil, and will appreciate shelter when young too. As cut flowers, they are great fillers and look fantastic in a contemporary floral arrangement where they will add cool, blue hues.

Next is an evergreen perennial that flowers from late spring on upright stems. The flowers are scented, bringing perfume and colour to your cut flower arrangements. Cut the blooms regularly to encourage further flowering.

What would a list of cut flowers be without including roses? When choosing roses to cut for flowers, bear in mind that you’ll want to choose a variety that grow on nice long stems. ‘Desdemona’ is a lovely English shrub rose that has white blooms and a strong fragrance with hints of lemon, cucumber and almond blossom.