Flowers can be a great way to bring more colour into your home, but store-bought varieties can also be expensive and have a big environmental footprint.
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varieties → bring → footprint
Growing your own cut flowers (blooms bred for use in vases and arrangements) is a fun way around this, and while it might sound intimidating, incorporating blooms into your garden space or even pots can be simpler than you think.
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you → grow → space
Royal Botanic Garden Sydney horticulturalist Madeline Ward grows flowers at work and at home, where she usually has something in bloom.
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she → grow → bloom
"For beginners … if you start with one or two species [of flowers] and you really get to know them as friends … then you can expand from there," she says.
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she → start → friends
Step one: Choosing the best spot
To grow flowers, the first thing you need is sunshine.
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you → choose → flowers
Madeline says ideally, you want an area with full sun that's close to a tap or hose for watering and in a spot with easy access so you can actually enjoy the garden once it gets going.
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it → say → garden
Bec Shelley owns a family-run seed company outside Hobart/Nipaluna and also grows her own flowers.
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Shelley → own → flowers
She says you don't need to make a formal garden bed.
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you → say → bed
"I think you can incorporate little patches of cut flowers in between your landscaped bits … it can still be pretty," Bec says.
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Bec → think → bits
Step two: Prep your soil
Once you've chosen your spot, you want the soil to be loose and free of weeds, Madeline says.
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Madeline → prep → weeds
She recommends getting into the soil and weeding by hand to make it easy for your seedlings to send down roots.
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seedlings → recommend → roots
"Once you've cleared the bed … and you've turned it over a little bit, you want to give it a nice healthy dose of compost over the top," she says.
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she → clear → top
Madeline says store-bought compost is good for beginners, and homemade compost is also fine, as long as it's "well rotted and well turned".
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But she says don't worry about manure, as this can over-complicate things.
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Madeline also recommends making sure your bed is free of big rocks and debris, which can obstruct root growth, and using a rake to create a smooth surface to sow into.
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which → recommend → surface
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Step three: Choosing and planting your flower seeds
With so many beautiful cut flower varieties available, choosing which to grow first can feel overwhelming.
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But there are a few easy-to-grow exotic and native varieties that are ideal for beginners, depending on your climate zone.
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As many cut flower varieties, including the ones mentioned in this article, are hardy and don't need a lot of care, they can become weeds if they spread outside of gardens.
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So, before you get started, it's important to check with your local council whether that is the case in your area.
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Click into the cards below to explore the flower types Bec and Madeline suggest, and growing tips for each.
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Bec → click → each
Zinnias are exotic annuals (plants that flower then die), mostly native to North and South America, with the kind of round flower heads you see in children's drawings.
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you → die → drawings
Species bred for cutting can grow almost a metre tall and come in a huge array of colours.
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"They'll come up pretty quickly and they're easy to look after," Madeline says.
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Zinnia seeds are best planted in the warmer months (see climate zone map for your area) in moist, well-drained soil, and the plants don't like frost.
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While not illegal to grow, Zinnia peruviana is considered a weed in parts of Australia, including Queensland and northern NSW.
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If they are in your location, try growing the equally gorgeous Zinnia elegens.
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| Climate zone | When to sow |
|---|---|
| Tropical | April to July |
| Subtropical | February to December |
| Temperate | August to December |
| Cool | September to December |
| Arid | January, August to December |
Comos is an exotic annual with classic round flower heads and soft petals, primarily in white, pinks and purples, originating in North and South America.
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Comos → sow → America
Cosmos varieties bred for cutting can grow up to 2 metres tall, with flower stems of up to 60 centimetres.
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varieties → breed → centimetres
Bec says cosmos seeds germinate quickly and the plants are "quite low maintenance".
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plants → say → ?
Cosmos bipinnatus and Cosmos sulphureus are considered emerging weeds in some states.
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bipinnatus → consider → states
If they are where you live, try the more subdued chocolate cosmos (Cosmos atrosanguineus), with blooms that smell like their namesake.
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that → live → namesake
| Climate zone | When to sow |
|---|---|
| Tropical | April to October |
| Subtropical | All year |
| Temperate | August to December |
| Cool | September to December |
| Arid | August to December |
Billy buttons are wildflowers native to inland and eastern Australia, with a striking yellow, spherical flower head.
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buttons → sow → head
The most common species grown in gardens is the perennial Pycnosorus globosus.
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species → grow → gardens
"It's an Australian native and so it's super hardy … a little bit trickier to start from seed but once that gets going you don't have to do a lot," Bec says.
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Bec → start → lot
They're best grown in full sun or part shade and are drought and frost-tolerant once established.
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Shallow sow with just a millimetre of soil on top, as they need sunlight to germinate, and be sure to keep the soil moist.
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sunlight → shallow → soil
Sweet peas are another classic exotic that are easy to grow.
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that → grow → ?
They come in a range of colours, have soft, frilly petals and are native to Sicily, southern Italy, and the Aegean Islands.
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"I would really recommend people look at the heirloom varieties and the ones that have a strong scent.
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The most beautiful thing about sweet peas is how gorgeous they smell," Madeline says.
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Madeline → smell → peas
…and 28 more, not listed.
The Aporia