5 Easy Flowers to Direct Seed This Fall

Want to try growing your own cut flowers? Fall is a great time to get some cool-season flowers started, and these five are some of my favorites to direct seed right in the garden!

Larkspur – Tall spikes of flowers that add height and an airy look to bouquets. They come in some beautiful shades of blue, purple, pink, and white. Larkspur is toxic to humans, so be careful about where you chose to plant this one. These also self-seed readily for gorgeous colorful spikes each Spring.

Nigella – Also called love-in-a-mist, these have delicate, wispy foliage and unique flowers, followed by beautiful seed pods that are great for dried arrangements. Plus they come in blue! Fun fact: These flowers are even edible and self-seed easily in the garden each year.

Bupleurum – My favorite for adding greenery and interesting shapes to arrangements. Its lime-green flowers are great for filling out bouquets. In warmer climates, these only provide you with a single cut (albeit a large one!). 

Bachelor Buttons – Also called cornflower, these are easy to grow and come in gorgeous shades of blue, pink, purple, red, and white.These are also edible! Although they taste (in my opinion) like paper. Place them in full sun for large and healthy plants. 

Orlaya – These look like delicate white lace and add a beautiful, airy texture to bouquets. They are highly prolific as well, a perfect cut and come again flower for your early Spring garden. 

BONUS:

Bells of Ireland – This flower is a little trickier to germinate. You have to soak it in water for 24 hours prior to direct seeding to encourage germination. Some folks even say to nick the outer shell. When in doubt, always sow more than you’ll need with this greenery. You can never have too much! It smells lovely and creates the most interesting shapes for a bouquet.

All of these flowers can be direct-seeded outdoors, so you don't need to start them indoors or buy special equipment.

Here in Hampton Roads, October is a great time to give these a try! Buy more seeds than you think, and thickly sprinkle seeds onto your soil. Follow the seeding instructions for whether they need to be surface sown or buried under a bit of soil to germinate. Keep the soil moist while the seeds germinate, and you'll be on your way to growing your own cut flowers next Spring.