These in MHO are a piece of cake - good luck

Zinnias (A)
Sunflowers (A)
Amazon Neon Dianthus (P)
Marigolds (A)
Amaranthus (A)
Yarrow - (Cottage types "Summer Pastels or Berries ")
Tuberoses (P)
Millets (A)
Gomphrena (A)
Larkspur (A)
Statice (A)

Kim - Billabong Fresh Flower Farm

Kim, Thank you so much for answering my post. It was very helpfull. This has been a learning experience for me and boy do I have alot to learn. I bought alot of plants that didn't come up at all and I was very disappionted. Next year will be better.
Thanks again
owl

I've only been at this a few years, but my top ten would be:

zinnias
sunflowers
chinese asters
echinacea
rudbeckia
amaranthus
dahlias
snapdragons
celosia
statice

I like using phlox for a beautiful fragrant bloom, but it's not very long-lasting for me. The individual blooms are kind of fragile and fall off easily. I use it, but make sure to have lots of other long-lasting flowers in the bouquet too.

Good luck to you!
:)
Dee

Dee, Also a great list. I have to look up a couple I didn't know. I am not sure what zone you are in but I have trouble growing dahlias. Also Kim, this is my first year growing tuberose- a bit expensive. Thanks to both of you for your suggestions.
owl

Owl, I'm in zone 6, Connecticut. Why do you have a problem with dahlias? I'd think you have an easier time than me, since you might be able to get away with keeping them in the ground over winter. (That's my problem with them - overwintering them in the basement!) Maybe you should give them another try?

:)
Dee

Kim, I noticed that you listed the dianthus amazon as a perennial, is it reliably perennial? Would love to know as I love love love this series of plants. Owl, I havent been at this for very long either and I would second both the lists made by Dee and Kim. All pretty easy and generous plants. Good luck. Kat

kitkat (if Kim doesn't answer), not reliable in some zone 5-6. Mine did not survive last winter tho some Elegance, Kawara and Siberian Blues did. Funny thing is I gave some extra Amazons to friends for their home garden nearby. Looks like theirs will make it. Kim being in TX would have different conditions.

Thanks paveggie, I think it would be worth leaving some of mine in and do a test this winter. Hard to think of winter when it is 101 here already. What happened to spring? Kat

I tried leaving mine in the ground over winter...Zone 8b here...had only a few weak survivors. I will definitely plant them in spring here. This year I am doing without. I do plan to plant new perenniel sweet williams this fall though...I love having them to work with! I have just a few left overs from plantings over the last 6 years but even they are useful when you do not have anything better. They make nice fillers for smaller bouquets.

Kat
Sorry haven't checked the boards for awhile. Reliable perennial for me in 8b. The plugs are planted in October and make it through winter just fine, I've had plants placed in personal garden that are a couple of years old and rockin.... Why don't you put some somewhere and see how they do.
Cheers Kim
Billabong Fresh Flower Farm

Hey Kim, no worries on the reply post, I had actually forgotten about this. I have a really weird situation with these plants this year. Mine are exactly 2 inches tall and have been exactly 2 inches tall for the past 5 weeks. They are healthy little things but they refuse to grow. Any thoughts would be appreciated as I really, really miss having these for my bouquets this time of year. Last year these were at least 2.5 feet high by now and full of blooms. I have fed them and cursed at them and threatened them with relegation to the compost pile, (although only half heartedly) and there is not an inkling of change. This year is the pits for annuals for me, suns are weak and spindly, zinnias are not much better, they all got treated to a very hot spell very early on and then thrust into a light freeze followed by a see-saw of warm and cold, geeeze, is this global warming or what!. Perennials kicked preverbial b***, on the production scale but annuals have been horrible, so I am hopeful that the dianthus will do their thing next year, like yours Kim. HELP! Kat

Possibilities for cut flowers: you might add bee balm & allium. These 2 plants have the additional advantage of attracting butterflies. I have a beautiful bird of paradise but don't know hot to treat it as a cut flower. It doesn't last long on the plant. Houston soil is lousy but these plants seem to tolerate it & Houston summer heat!! Nobody mentioned ROSES as a cut flower.

This was my first year selling flowers and I must say I was not very successful. I am going to try again next year. I did fairly well with my sunflowers but have talked to others who have tried cut flowers and they have also had problems. All of us have gone to local farmers markets so I may have to find another way to sell. I thank all of you for your help and support.
owl

That's too bad that you didn't have a good experience selling at farmer's markets. Can you be more specific about the problems you encountered?

Owlhollow,

I really feel for you. How disappointing. I hope you have a chance to respond to pudge about the challenges you encountered.

Take care,

Teresa

I thought I posted a follow up but I guess I sent an email. I did make some changes to my set up at the farmers market by putting my flowers in vases and selling by the bunch instead of setting decorative buckets on the table and selling by the stem. My sales did pick up a little. I also made a flower hat that I wear everyday and people remembered me because of my outlandish hat- even had my picture in the paper. Next year will be better. I do need to find another outlet as our local farmers markets will be closing up shortly. I was very interested in your mention of flowers for a local restaurant. How do you charge and do you ever have to buy flowers when you own garden isn't blooming? I will need to do something for the winter when my garden is dead. Thanks for all your help.
owl

Owl - I'm still pretty close to being a beginner at this, but I found that in my small market very few people will buy flowers by the stem. Probably 95 percent of what I sell are mixed bouquets, which sure do add to the labor, but also to the bottom line. I would urge you to try a few bouquets and see how they go. (If that's what you meant when you said bunches, then I guess you've already done this.)

ThinMan

Yes, That is exactally what I ment, but then I ran out of flowers except sun flowers. Now they are gone. Like I said, next year will be better.owl

Like I said, next year will be better.

Yup, I hear you. This year has been a ton better than last year for me, and I also had the fun of making a brand new set of mistakes.

Good luck to you.

ThinMan

My flowers are just kicking into high gear now that we actually have had a few heat units! It was too hot to even sell this weekend...I sell at outdoor locations and the flowers were frizzled in a few hours. Ended up with 8 buckets of fresh flowers I picked last night so will try selling all week this week at our 2 stands. Not today though...heavy thundershowers and storms.

Here in this very weird Northwest summer I now have glads, snapdragons, dahlias, roses, calendulas, clarkia, cleome, amaranths (copper and burgundy), larkspur, crocosmia, rudbeckia, lime green nicotiana and blue batchelors buttons.
Phlox are kicking in, and lilies are ending. Yesterday it was 83 degrees, today it is 60 at 1:30 in the afternoon! Nature did the watering this morning! I would have had more flowers but I had both knees replaced this year and am just back to full time garden work...and catch up!

LizaLily - I'm having your same wierd weather!! I loved last week (except for Sunday - 105 and humid), now its cold and rainy...darn!

The dahlias just kicked in, the zinnias are starting and finally my sunflowers! But, we have snaps, phlox, calliopsis, butterfly bush, lime, pink, white nicotiana, tithonia, glads, crocosmia (can't get the larkspur to grow), some amaranthus, caryopteris, millet, marigolds, heather, lilies as they come on, scabiosa FAMA, and a few straggling rudbeckia and dianthus. Statice, wheat, broomcorn, and strawflowers and carthamus are coming soon.

Lots to pick!

Take care all!
Wendy

I never thought of butterfly bush. Are they good for cut flowers? I would love to have some permanent bushes for flowers. I have planted lilac and am planting over 1000 bulbs this year. I am really getting excited about nest year.
owl

Owl - I like butterfly bushes...and they retain their fragrance even when they're brown. So you can poke them down in the arrangement and still have it smell good. You definitely have to harvest when they're about 1/3 open and if they droop, recut the stems and put them in hot water with preservative and then in the cooler, they perk right up after about 30 minutes.

Good luck,
Wendy

I saw a bouquet at the farmers market today with a butterfly bush bloom. I stopped to talk to the vendor and she said the same thing. She likes to use them too. thanks for the feed back.
owl