8 Best Perennials for the Alaskan Cutting Garden
There are so many benefits to adding perennials to your cut flower garden.
Once established, they are super hardy.
They spread each year, leading to a greater number of stems every summer.
They often bloom earlier than annuals, thus filling the gap between spring blooming bulbs and annual flowers.
Pollinators love the early-season blooms.
Many of them are truly extra unique.
Perennials can be expensive to purchase from the nursery. But with patience and curiosity you can start most of these perennials from seed for almost nothing.
Some perennials need to be seeded a full year before they flower, but don’t be discouraged.
The best time to start a perennial by seed was last year. The next best time is this spring.
Commit to picking 3 varieties to try from the list below and grow 10 plants of each variety. You’ll have extra in case some die off OR you’ll have extra to give to your neighbor.
Columbine - Barlow Mix, Pink Petticoat and McKana Giant Mix.
Plant in the spring for flowering the following year.
After only a couple years Columbine forms a lush and full bushy plant with many stems. It is one of the earliest to bloom in the garden, which is a huge bonus for the cut flower patch.
Cut for the vase when half the florets on the stem are open. After cutting one round from a plant, watch and wait as I’ll often get a second flush of blooms a couple weeks later.
Pink Petticoat Columbine (bottom left) in an early summer Turnstone Farm bouquet.
Echinacea - There are a few varieties in different colors, just pick your favorite!
These need to be started the year before they flower. I start mine first thing in the spring, usually in week 11 or 12.
Once established, they are hardy and tall.
Harvest fresh for the vase when the petals have opened. Harvest for drying once the cone has started to turn golden.
Echinacea Cone in a Turnstone Farm Boutonniere
Eryngium - Blue Glitter and White Glitter.
Plant in week 11 or 12 for flowering the following year.
This plant gets a top score for cool looks! It has attractive thistle-like blooms with a metallic shine.
Eryngium is a hardy perennial with long, sturdy stems.
It does well in hot, sunny locations. But also tolerates a wide variety of conditions. Expect flowers during the second year of growth and in subsequent years (although mine bloomed the first year!). Great for bees, beneficial flies and wasps. Also known as plains eryngo and flat sea holly.
This is an excellent long lasting cut flower and dries well.
Blue Glitter Eryngium
Heliopsis - Burning Hearts
Sow in the early spring for flowering the following year. I start any new plantings in week 12 or 13.
These are slower to establish but offer delicate and stunning flowers.
Harvest for the vase when flowers are fully open.
Burning Hearts Heliopsis in the Turnstone Farm Garden
Monarda - Red Shades, Panorama Mix or Wild Bergamot.
Seed these in the early spring (week 12 or 13) for flowering the following year.
Monarda is a favorite for pollinators. My patch is always swarming with native pollinators and honey bees.
Plants grow tall and lush in the garden, which make a nice border for a garden room or as a living privacy screen.
Harvest when all the petals are almost fully open. Pop in a vase or hang to dry.
Red Shades Monarda (circled) in a Turnstone Farm Bouquet Subscription
Yarrow - Cloth of Gold and Summer Pastels.
Plant early in the spring for flowering the same season. I usually start a new variety in week 12 or 13.
Each year yarrow expands, so you have to be wary if you don’t want it to spread.
Yarrow is considered a “cool flower” and can withstand a light frost.
Harvest for the vase when pollen is visible on the flowers. If you cut too early, the florets will wilt. Sometimes it’s hard to get this right, so be patient! You can also harvest at this same stage and hang to dry. Yarrow dries excellent and holds its color well.
Yarrow is a fabulous perennial for the Alaskan garden
Peony - so many fabulous varieties!
While Peonies can be started from seeds, like apples, they will not be true to their parent plant.
I am going to try this in 2023 and will give you an update in a following blog.
If you’d like to try your hand at starting a NEW peony variety from seed here are the steps:
Collect seed pods from a couple of plants.
Dry the seed pods.
Once the seeds start to ripen the pods will crack open.
Prepare a space in your garden and plant the seeds in the fall. Mark them well so you know where they are in the spring.
In the spring monitor and care for the plants that have come up.
You should get your first bloom in year 3 and many more in year 4 and 5.
Since most of us don’t want to wait 5 years for a bunch of blooms, peonies are most commonly started from root stock or purchased from a nursery.
A beautiful peony in the Turnstone Farm Garden.
I hope you are now inspired to start a few new perennials by seed this year!
Cannot wait to hear about your 2023 flower gardens.