Growing A Cut Flower Garden In Eastern Idaho

For eastern Idaho, you might think growing cut flowers is a challenge—but don’t worry, your garden can still be a floral powerhouse! With the right mix of annuals, perennials, and flowering shrubs, you can enjoy fresh, homegrown bouquets from late spring through fall. Here’s how to create a vibrant, cut flower garden that’s both beautiful and bouquet-worthy.

Annual Flowers

Annuals are your go-to for abundant blooms. Many are easy to grow from seed and provide nonstop color throughout the growing season.

Top picks:

• Amaranth – Stunning, textural stems in rich tones.

• Bachelor’s Buttons – Cool-season charmers in blues and purples.

• Calendula – Cheerful and edible flowers with long vase life

• Celosia – Unique forms and vivid colors.

• Cosmos – Delicate, daisy-like flowers that keep on blooming.

• Dahlias –

• Dusty Miller –

• Nasturtium –  

• Pansy – Wide array of early-spring colors. 

• Snapdragons – Tall, colorful spikes that add vertical drama.

• Statice – Long-lasting blooms, excellent for drying

• Stock – 

• Sunflowers – A cut flower staple; choose branching varieties for more blooms.

• Sweet Pea– 

• Zinnias – Bold, bright, and long-lasting in vases.

Reliable Perennials for Repeat Blooms

Perennials return year after year, making them a great investment. They add stability, texture, and variety to your cut flower garden.

Astilbe – Feathery, shade-loving blooms for delicate arrangements

Bee Balm (Monarda) – Vibrant and great for pollinators and bouquets

Coreopsis – Daisy-like and abundant summer bloomer

Delphinium – Towering spires in rich blues and purples; best with support.

Echinacea (Coneflower) – Long-lasting summer blooms and great pollinator plants.

Euphorbia– Bold spring color and long-lasting. 

Foxglove– Tall sprays of bell shaped flowers.

Hellebore – Early spring bloomers with long-lasting flowers

Helenium – Fall-blooming with warm red, yellow, and orange hues

Joe Pye Weed – Tall, dramatic clusters for late summer/fall arrangements

Ornamental Grass – 

Peonies – Zone 4 classics with big, romantic blooms in spring.

Phlox (Tall Garden Phlox) – Sweetly scented midsummer flowers.

Rudbeckia (Black-Eyed Susan) – Bold yellow blooms that last well in arrangements.

Russian Sage – Airy, lavender-blue flowers and aromatic foliage

Scabiosa (Pincushion) – 

Shasta Daisy – Bright white petals and sturdy stems.

Veronica (Speedwell) – Spiky blooms in purple, pink, and white

Yarrow – Flat-topped flower heads in a rainbow of colors—great for fillers.

• Flowering Shrubs & Trees

• Crabapple – Blossoms in spring; small branches are beautiful in vases

• Elderberry (Sambucus) – Lacy white flowers and dramatic leaves

• Forsythia – Bright yellow branches bloom in early spring

• Lilac – A springtime favorite with fragrant clusters of pastel flowers.

• Hydrangea (Panicle or Smooth types like ‘Annabelle’) – Large blooms that dry beautifully.

• Ninebark – Pretty spring flowers and dramatic foliage all season.

• Rose – 

• Spirea – Small, clustered blooms perfect for filler in bouquets.

• Mock Orange – Sweet citrus-scented white blooms in late spring.