How to design your Cut Flower Garden

This is a question that a lot of people breeze right through. “Everyone on Instagram is growing zinnias and dahlias so that’s what I’ll grow!”

❌ Most people start with thinking about what flowers they want to grow on an individual level. Zinnias, dahlias, cosmos, etc.

🙌 I think the best way to start planning what you’ll grow is looking at images of flower bouquets you LOVE.

Because after all, the main perk of having a backyard flower farm is creating stunning bouquets that you are obsessed with. Bouquets that will fill your home and that you will gift to family & friends.

When people come over to my home, they always comment on the fresh cut flowers usually sitting on my kitchen table.

And not because they are random flowers put into a vase.

It’s because the arrangement feels balanced and complimentary… because I designed it that way from the very beginning!

The first step in planning what to grow is discovering what you love.

Forget the trends.

Forget what the flower farmer on Instagram is telling you to grow.

Grow what you love.

How do you discover what you love? Look at a bunch of different styles and colored bouquets and you'll find yourself coming back to certain patterns.

Here’s how I discovered what I love:

Step 1:

✅ Go onto pinterest or instagram, or your site of choice.

✅ Create a new folder or board “Cut Flower Garden ‘25”

✅ Start searching and saving images of bouquets you LOVE. Only save your most favorite ones.

Because a lot of flower bouquets are made up of flowers shipped in from different countries, try using these search terms to come across bouquets you can actually re-create:

”backyard flower farm bouquet”

”cottage style bouquet”

”farmers market bouquet”

Step 2:

I use chatGPT to help me identify and create a planting guide to create my favorite bouquets.

If you aren’t a user of chatGPT, this is the perfect time to give it a try. It’s a tool that can really help you in your Cut Flower Garden journey.

You can sign up for an account here: (it’s free, but I recommend upgrading!)

Here is a question I asked chatGPT along with a photo I found on pinterest:

Copy the prompt below:

List the flowers that are in this bouquet. Please provide links to where I can buy the seeds and create a simple planting guide layout for an 8'x4' raised garden bed. My zipcode is XXXXX

Step 3:

Once you have identified a list of flowers that you love and will go great together, perform a second step in your research to make sure those flowers can be grown in your gardening zone.

You can use this prompt in chatGPT to find any issues:

"Based on this list of flowers and planting guide, are there any flowers listed here that won't do well in my zipcode XXXXXX?"

After you get that answer, start to purchase your chosen seed and get ready to plant!

"But I don't have the time or space to grow seeds all winter long inside!"

If that's you, I hear you. Growing seeds indoors all winter long can be expensive (equipment costs) unpredictable, and it's a big commitment to taking care of them every single day.

If you want healthy ready-to-plant cut flower seedlings delivered right to your door in the Spring, check out these Seedling Bundles.

They are pre-designed based on beautiful bouquets and you get 7-10 different types of flowers and over 40 plants!

It's the easiest way to have a Cut Flower Garden this year.

(My fav is the Summer Sunset bundle 😍)

Happy planning!

-Katie, Founder Flowerfarming.com