Garden Experiment: Hardy Annuals
For the upcoming cool season, I’m going to plant hardy annual flowers in my garden in addition to the usual cool season plants - lettuces, kale, spinach, radishes and carrots. Hardy annuals are the first flowers to bloom in the early spring, can withstand cold temperatures and make amazing cut flowers. These flowers actually come to life in cooler temps!
I’m planning on a fall planting (where I can) to give these flowers ample time for root development. Some of them I’ll be able to sow directly into my raised garden beds, but some I’ll have to start inside from seed and then transplant out. And several are considered semi-hardy so if you live below USDA Zone 7, you’ll need to provide some protection (like from a frost cloth).
1. Bachelor’s Buttons
The first cut flower I’m going to include in my garden is Bachelor’s Buttons - Classic Magic. This particular variety has blooms that are a mix of dark plum, purple and white. They are easy to grow and will keep producing as long as you keep harvesting. Besides - the bees love it!
Bachelor’s Buttons will get 3 feet or taller and take anywhere between 65 to 80 days to mature. Plant the seeds directly into your garden about 12 inches apart either in the fall or the early spring. I’m planning on direct seeding in the fall and will sow 2 plantings for a longer harvest - probably about a month or so apart.
You’ll want to harvest these flowers when the blooms are about half open. They should last in a vase for about 7 days.
2. Feverfew - Magic Lime Green
Even though its blooms are a soft creamy yellow! These little flowers have centers that look like fuzzy buttons that are surrounded by small pointy petals. Feverfew will get 2 to 3 feet tall and take about 100 days to mature - that’s a long time!
I’ll be starting my seeds indoors around January 14th - about 10 weeks before the last frost date in my area. Once there’s no more danger of frost, I’ll plant them out in my garden.
Feverfew should be harvested when 1/4 to 1/2 of the blooms on a spray are open. They’ll last in a vase for about 7 to 10 days. But sometimes the vase water starts to look yucky. A tip from Floret Flower Farm is to add a few drops of bleach to the water. Maybe I’ll try that.
3. Love In A Mist
I’m going to try a mix of this particular cut flower. I’ll be planting Albion Green Pod, Cramer’s Plum and Miss Jekyll Rose. These flowers are fluffy with star-shaped blooms. And then they leave behind these gorgeous seed pods when the petals drop!
Just like Bachelor’s Buttons, these flower don’t like to be transplanted. So I’ll be direct seeding them into my garden this fall. In order to help with germination, I’ll put the seeds in the freezer for about 2 weeks before I plan to sow them to speed things up a bit.
You can harvest these flowers when they’re almost all the way open or wait and harvest the seed pods. Cut flowers will last in a vase about 7 days.
4. Clary Sage
This hardy annual is a super friendly pollinator. It’s got super long spikes with a mix of pink, purple and white blooms. Plants will get about 24 inches tall and need to be spaced about 8 to 12 inches apart. Within about 80 days, you should have some gorgeous blooms!
I’ll be direct seeding this flower into my garden in early spring. Raised beds will keep the garden soil warmer than in the ground, so we should be good to go around mid to late March. I may also try starting some seeds indoors around the end of February and then transplant them out. That would be a good experiment!
Harvest these babies when the flowers are almost all the way open. They should last in a vase about 7 to 10 days. You can also hang them to dry - but maybe I’ll try drying them in a dehydrator and see what happens.
5. Pincushion
This is another cut flower where I’m going to plant a mix - Fata Morgana and Black Knight. Fata Morgana has these little button flowers that are a kind of blush color. Black Knight is almost black (like its name suggests). I think they’ll be a great combination!
Pincushions are semi-hardy annuals that take about 90 days to mature and get about 36 to 48 inches tall. I’ll start seeds indoors around January 28th - about 8 weeks before my last frost date. Once there’s no more frost in the forecast - they’ll go out to the garden.
These babies do best if they’re harvest in the bud stage - just right before the blooms are starting to open. They should last in a vase for about 7 to 10 days.
6. Snapdragon
Snapdragons are another semi-hardy annual and I chose Madame Butterfly. They’ve got double petals, long lasting blooms and smell heavenly! Plus these flowers last super long in a vase.
I’ll be starting these seeds indoors around January 14th. That’ll be 10 weeks before my last frost date - ‘cause these beauties take 110 to 120 days to mature. Snapdragons should be planted about 9 to 12 inches apart and do best pinched when they’re 4 to 5 inches tall - they’ll eventually get to be about 36 inches.
Harvest your snapdragons when the bottom flowers (like 2 to 3 of them) are open. Use flower food for longer lasting blooms.
7. Bells of Ireland
Bells of Ireland also are a semi hardy annual. It’s a gorgeous lime-green foliage plant that you can use as a filler in your vase designs. The spires are tall - like 24 to 36 inches - with bell shaped blooms. It takes about 100 days for them to reach maturity so I’ll be starting it indoors from seed around January 28th - about 8 weeks before my last frost date. Once there’s no danger of frost, I’ll transplant them out.
Bells of Ireland seeds can take their own sweet time to germinate. I’ve read that it’s best to chill these seeds in the freezer for about 2 weeks before planting in seed trays. I’m definitely going to try it.
Harvest Bells of Ireland once you see the lime-green blooms starting to form. Remove all the leaves from the stem before arranging in a vase. These cut flowers should last for about 7 to 10 days.
Well there you have it! My garden experiment intentions. Join my wellness community to keep up with how this experiment is working out. And feel free to try an experiment of your own!