Nothing speaks to me as much as a field full of picking flowers. Flowers sown for the sheer purpose of plucking – then enjoyed indoors some more. In fact, to save money for our wedding, we ended up growing lots of flowers to be picked the morning of as table centerpieces. And save money we did. Stress? Not to much. My hair started graying then methinks. No one should be picking flowers the morning of their wedding. Bad idea. I digress. Some flowers were born and bred to be picked and then cherished in a favorite watering vessel. But no one wants to fight with flowers in order to have a cute bunch to enjoy. So give me thick stems to easily draw up water and big, bold flowers in radiant colors. Prolific and long-blooming flowers win the day each and every time. Here’s what I’m hoping you have in your garden now!
1. Sunflower
A couple of months ago we invested in family passports to make our entry into Canada as smooth as possible. Since we only live about 40 minutes from the Canadian border, it was high time to show our 7 and 5-year-old this beautiful neighboring country. So Niagara-On-The-Lake it was. And. Wow. Canada. You do flowers right. Mind-blowing. The sunflowers were for sale at every roadside stand and fields of them could be seen sparkling in the sun. There are no words for how gorgeous the gardens are in this little spot nestled into Lake Ontario. So if you can ever get there – go!
A sunflower can always go solo by stealing the show with those humongous blooms. No other flower is needed to make the room glow. Prolific, they seem to bloom literally forever and a day. It takes weeks for the flowers to shed a few petals and even then the damage is slow and oddly rewarding.They are so incredibly easy to grow but do make sure they get full-sun! (I mean, they are called sunflowers after all.)
2. Snapdragon
As a kid, I used to dissect snapdragon flowers. I pulled and pulled open and shut those dragon mouths with bliss and I still do! Silly me. But I love the abundant colors they come in, don’t you? And I appreciate how the tops can still be in bud while the bottom blooms its heart out making the flower last an extremely long time.
They come in both dwarf and tall flowering varieties with my favorite by far being the tall ones. Lovingly they get snipped for indoor splendor.
3. Joe Pye Weed
Joe Pye Weed is a stunning U.S. flower which I’m sure you are seeing in full bloom all over the roadsides right now. So if you want to snag some for free, that should be easy to do right now.
Wildflower. Yep. Perennial. Yep again. Herb. Again correct! And it’s a late blooming perennial so when everything else comes to a halt in late summer into early fall, you still got some Joe Pye weed. Buyer beware…..if you plant some of it in your garden it spreads like wildfire.
The bees and the birds love Joe Pye Weed too. What a stellar cut flower to have and to grow in the home garden (if you can control it). Like the snaps above, it comes in dwarf and tall varieties with the taller ones being great in those tall vases you have.
4. Zinnia
A zinnia is a hardy hardy hardy flower! And butterflies love them too.
The zinnia is the powerhouse of any summer/fall cutting garden. They literally bloom their hearts out and then bloom some more. They come in a stunning array of colors and seemingly last forever. Sturdy is just the right word for this workhouse flower that comes in a plethora of shapes and colors.
They are special to my heart because the zinnia was the star of the show for my homemade wedding arrangements. Each dinner table had at least a few to savor.
5. Shasta Daisy
Shasta daisies take over my garden by storm in summer and fall. In fact, they are so abundant that at times, we are looking to purge a few as they always want to dominant the perennial bed. They are control freaks! But this is good news for flower pickers like myself You always will have plenty in the garden and plenty to pluck. Perfect. It’s a guilt-free picking flower because you have so many of them, the garden bed will hardly become sparse from this indulgence. And it’s a huge attraction for butterflies which my kids love.
Big plus is that the white helps offset all the other colors in my homemade bouquets.
6. Cosmos
Sure, they are a sidekick in a vase, but a cosmos is a cheerful sidekick that blooms their little hearts out for weeks on end. They make every other flower stand out in the vase and even those of you who consider yourself black thumbed with get tons of prolific cosmos quickly.
Out of any flower, herb or vegetable I’ve tried from seed, cosmos have given me the most success over the years. Grown in a pot or sown directly in the ground, I’m always amazed at how quickly they germinate and grow, grow, grow. In what seems like no time at all, I have my pinkish/purplish and white blooms.
7. Queen Anne’s Lace
Yes, it’s tempting to simply write-off Queen Anne’s Lace thinking it nothing more than a roadside wildflower. Why you shouldn’t? Because they last simply forever in a vase. So when all else droops and drops you still have these snowflake lace flowers to enjoy.
We were walking the dogs and saw lots of Queen Anne’s Lace in an obliging field. It was pleasant. As typical of her, my 5-year-old picked me a little bouquet and I appropriately swooned with delight.
8. Gerber Daisy
These low-maintenance flowers are great for containers and can even be brought indoors as a houseplant. In warmer climates, they can bloom year-round! But even where I live, they’ll bloom beautifully until that first frost which makes them a wonderful fall picking flower. Plus they come in pale pastel colors to the bold yellow, red and orange showcased below. Just make sure you water well!
It’s the stiffness I love best about the gerbera daisy. Cheerful and happy, they seem almost like a silk flower. But they are not! Their stems are always so sturdy for the picking and fit ideally in any vase.
9. Dahlia
Don’t you thrive on spiky and spunky dahlia flowers that bloom from midsummer all the way to that first frost? When many of your other blooms have bit the dust, you can rely on the dahlia to bloom its heart out. And they’ll last about a week in any indoor vase, especially if you change the water.
The dahlia was made to upstage all the other flowers in your bouquet. And that’s okay! Prized for their beautiful range of colors, from the palest to the most bold of hues, you’ll love this star of any summertime arrangement. Grown as an annual from tubers, dahlia delivers that “wow” factor in both texture and vivid color.
10. Coneflower
Coneflowers are easy to grow and always provide abundant flowers. You are going to love these pinkish/purplish flowers with long thick stems to pluck and enjoy. They come back year after year with no effort and kind of resemble daisies. Full-sun please!
Although my coneflowers are quickly fading as shown in the below photo, they still retain their attractiveness even when drooping.
These are all great choices for bouquets. I really love the impact sunflowers make.
Love the list, proud to say I have them all in my garden.
I love everything about the blog.
I do not grow my own flowers just to pick, but I love to grow them in the garden or around the outside of the house. I think its a great idea though!
I have always just loved sunflowers. There is just something about them.
I adore Wildflowers…such a beautiful gift from God❣️🌻
Love all the flowers! I grow sunflowers because they are so bright! They make me happy!
I don’t grow them to pick but I should start doing this – so pretty!
This is great !! I lpve it.
I love having flowers to cut from my yard to bring inside. I can’t wait to get flowergardens plantd in our new house
I definitely need to plant some flowers in my yard to make it look prettier!
i came,i went,i farted
Cut flowers are the best! Hydrangeas are my favorite.
They are all so beautiful.
Love sunflower 🌻
Pictures of the Sunflowers bring back wonderful memories of visiting my grandparents when I was a child. My grandfather grew them then would remove the seeds at the end of the season & roast them. So delicious.
I love fresh picked flowers.
We’ve been picking our hydrangeas lately and putting them in vases around the house. I cannot wait for my sunflowers to pop up so I can pick those. We used to do dahlias but not this year.
I love all kinds of flowers, and these are some great picks!
Daisys are my favorite!
These are beautiful choices for bouquets.
I tend to leave my flowers in the garden for the bees and hummingbirds. All these photos are encouraging me to plant more and to bring some inside.
I have majority of these in my flower beds and love them too. I had never heard of Joe Pye Weed. I will definitely look for it next year. Thank you!
I plant and grow flowers for my hummingbirds! They are pretty and feed them too!
I have been considering to start growing wildflowers
Nice
I love wildflowers
These flowers are all beautiful. Maybe I can find a place for some in my garden.
I really love zinnias. I remember my grandmother had some growing beside her home.
Sunflowers are my daughter’s favorite. I have them in my kitchen.
wild flowers,i love roses!!!!
Love fresh flowers and those snapdragons are so pretty.
I love the watering can and the flowers, it makes it look farmhouse.Sunflowers, Snapdragon, Shasta Daisy are my favorites.
I love all these beautiful flowers they add such wonderful texture and color to the garden. Long lasting flowers are wonderful to fill the vases in my home too.
So much beauty! I never get tired of looking at flowers
Sunflowers are my absolute favorite
Have always loved the more “natural” flowers. Had fields of Queen Anne’s Lace when I was growing up. Great mixed in with more colorful flowers.
I am growing sunflowers, coneflowers and zinnia’s this year!
I love wild flowers!
I love whatever is in bloom! We have lilies and daisies and hydrangeas and iris and more . . .
I love your choices……..I have to leave mine outside as I have flower eating kitties in my house…….
I really love Sunflowers I have gotten into them within the last year and my step dad always plants them during the summer time I just love them. I have sunflower car accessories all over my inside car. They make me happy.
Love this set. Would love to win it!
awesome! love the set
This is such a helpful post, thank you so much for sharing! I love flowers and would love to have so many growing when I finally am able to own my own house and plant whatever I want.
flowers make me happy
love the sunflowers
I enjoy growing and picking flowers to brighten my home & to share with others. Colorful Zinnias, an annual I grow yearly, are my favorites of those listed. However, I do grow &/or have grown all of those listed in my yard over time and appreciate the uniqueness each brings to the landscape! Thank you for sharing these lovelies in your blog!
I don’t have any of these planted. I’m going to start with the sunflowers, love them.
Sunflowers and Dahlias are my favorites!
Beautiful! I wish I had a green thumb!
Mostly we don’t pick the flowers – they last longer outdoors apart from times of really hard rain. But between pruning (forsythia and lilacs) and ones are chickens step on and break in the spring (tulips and hyacinth) we still have a few indoor flowers each year. I love you included Queen Anne’s Lace as a cut flower. It’s fun to add food coloring to their water and track it’s uptake into the flowers. They are pretty messy, but fun enough to be worth the hassle.
just cut or
pick the perennials in the flower beds…thanks
I just pick, i cant grow i have a brown thumb
I love all sorts of flowers. I have them planted out in my yard
Beautiful, I want to try planting some of those flowers
Now I have a better idea of what to grow for flowers in my home.
Stunning photos. Your article gave me several ideas for next year. Thanks
Love daisy’s, cosmos and zinnias.
I’m going to dedicate 2 of my eight veggie beds to flowers next year just so I can have fresh bouquets and vases full. All of these plants will be welcome addition.
I don’t grow just to pick. I started a small perennial garden this year, Next year they should come back bigger and I’ll fill in as needed. Then, Ill pick!
Such pretty bouquets! I love them all.
Containers have not been successful for me. Not their fault. All mine. I do better where I do not have to hand water.
As kids, we made the snapdragons snap and hollyhocks into tiny dresses. I love seeing Queen Anne’s Lace growing wild with it’s tall stems and stately dainty white flower heads.
I love flowers to look at and admire in my backyard. The Dahlia’s are beautiful. I need to find some for my backyard.
My favorites are daisies and sunflowers.
GREAT post! I can see where this would be GREAT for my boxed garden.
I grow some, but I wish I had more room.
We grow many different kinds of flowers and flowering bushes for our bees. Flowers make you happy.
Snapdragons, zinnias and daisies make the perfect bouquet for me
I love to grow them, pick them and dry them. So in love with hydrangeas. Thank you!
One flower is more beautiful than the next! I’ve always loved Queen Ann’s Lace and sunflowers together.
I love all of my roses and bringing them into the house is the best.
Just love Wildflowers .
Lots of beautiful ideas for us less creative folks- Thanks
Yes, I have Coneflowers in my garden
win
These bouquets are gorgeous! Love all of these flowers. I feel like Queen Anne’s lace is so underrated but it’s one of my faves!
I love the flowers. I love growing my own. They are beautiful.
This is a great list. I definitley want to add more cutting/picking flowers to my garden next year
FLOWERS, FLOWERS AND THEIR COLORS ARE GOD’S CREATION.
Love flowers,,wildflowers are the best
Love all the ideas and sweeps
Such a beautiful selection ! Thank you for such an informative and enjoyable post
I just really like the flowers to provide nectar for the bees and butterflys !
Wished my cone flowers would last – I’ve never had such trouble until my current home
Love these, would look great in my yard
Great looking flowers and ideas
My husband drives me nuts. He grew up on a couple of acres and now we have a house on a postage stamp. His thing is if we can’t eat it we will not plant it. I am going to sneak flowers in there one day.
The above pictures of different flowers are all lovely!
Zinnas, Hydrangeas, Tulips, and Calla Lily are some of my favorites.
When I was younger and healthy I cared for a garden of flowers.
Today I’m older and sickly so I can’t care for a garden of flowers
I love sunflowers. I plant many from small to massive. They just make me smile
queen anne’s lace is my favorite
Super Cool!!!
snap dragons are my favorite. So delicate and gorgeous
Ooh the shasta daisy is really pretty. I don’t grow many flowers!
Sunflowers and snapdragons are our favorite. They are always so pretty and cheerful looking.
I like to leave my sunflowers for the birds
nice site vary informative
The queen’s lace is so delicate.
I PLANTED SUNFLOWERS FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS YEAR. SUCCESS
I have most of these in my garden also. I love to plant flowers that the bees, humming birds & butterflies enjoy & also that I can use for cut flowers in the house!
I love picking my Peonies for display with some Baby’s Breathe, as long as the ants haven’t gotten into them. Once the Peonies had ants in them and I didn’t know it until they were coming out onto the counter AUGH!
I’m currently adding more color to my flower beds – we now have mostly greenery. I’m looking for something that loves sun.
my wife loves flowers can’t get enough
These are some great ideas!
I love the sunflower vases!
These are all gorgeous. These pics have me dreaming of the garden and arrangements I’d love.
The photos pop with color! I love an old fashioned Sweet William flower
Reminds me of my Grandpas chair in his backyard….it was his favorite.
I love to grow wild flowers to attract bees to my garden!
Yes I grow hydrangeas all over my yard and keep trying for the blue color from the pink and white
I know just the place I would put these,
I LOVE gardening. These are excellent choices. I don’t typically cut my flowers. I prefer the bees and butterflies to enjoy them.
I grow several types of dahlia each year along with decorative sunflowers, zinnias and gladiolas for cutting. There are also so many beautiful wildflowers growing around here, common chicory is so pretty added to a vase of flowers.
They are all so beautiful.
“She loves me; she loves me not”. Man, that takes me back to being a kid and plucking wildflowers. I haven’t thought about that in ages.
I actually have some of these flowers and will be using them in bouquets now!
I love to pick flowers and put them in my hair. Thanks for sharing,
I love flowers I plant new ones every year
You are awesome and inspire me!!
I grow a lot of my own flowers. My porch is also covered in plants.
I love this sight , as I love all flowers ,and I love reading about flowers .Thank you for the sight.
I love bringing in fresh cut flowers. I make arrangements which last for days. The beauty and smell makes my rooms more homey and bright!
They are so beautiful, I have a few of them in my garden.
Not a bad one in the bunch. I so love vases of mixed flowers around the house. I’ll take these over a dozen roses any day!
Those are some beautiful arrangements! My father in law has zinnias in his garden.
That’s an impressive list. I love the many choices you present.
These flowers are so beautiful. I love the Shasta Daisies the best!
Sunflowers look so good on a kitchen table. Just gorgeous.
Oh I love fresh cut flowers to put in a vase!
zinnias always grow great for me, just added dahlias this year and so far doing well
This article Top ten flowers for the picking & plucking! is just wonderful. I do love looking at the photos!
Very good information and very pretty flowers
Such beautiful flowers I love them all!! 🌸🌿🌼
I had gotten so many flowers as ‘ditch’ flowers. The nice thing about them though is you know they are native and will grow!
Love the photos
And then you have the granddaughter who just CANNOT leave the cheerful daffodils in the yard to bloom, despite being told others are there to pick. Oh, well–they are a bright splash of color in the house.
All beautiful flowers. I grow a lot of different kinds too!
My favorite is sunflowers for they always seem to be smiling and are so cheery. I’m finally getting the nerve up to try to grow the cottage garden I’ve always dreamed of having so this was extremely informative. I’m planning to do a combination of growing from seed and planting some established plants. My goal is to have a garden where I’ll have plenty to cut and bring inside as I LOVE the life and beauty fresh flowers bring to my home. My wallet will appreciate being able to cut what I own as opposed to always buying them, lol.
I get so much joy from my bright yellow cone flowers, white daisies and dark sunflowers. They are such easy flowers to grow, but prolific. My sparkling blue anagallis are abundant champions as well, but the heat this summer is a challenge for them.
I miss my yard full of flowers! All summer long I would cut and have them in my home. these are some of favorites
Love Zinnias – perfect for both yard and home. Some big coneflower patches nearby in nature… I occasionally nick a few!
All are beautiful. I especially like sunflowers.
Love the site & all the garden tips!
I love sunflowers! They are so cheery. I look forward to them every summer!
I love all these flowers but my favorite are the sunflowers its just such a happy flower
Love the snapdragons
I love planting fliwer gardens
Like the Gerber daisies & sunflowers.
Love sunflowers… for me and the birds…