THE BEST COMPANIES TO PURCHASE CUT FLOWER SEEDS FOR YOUR BACKYARD FLOWER FARM
You’ve been stalking your favourite flower growers on Instagram and you’ve decided that it’s finally time to take the plunge. You’re going to grow your own backyard cut flower garden.
But where do you get annual cut flower seeds? The ones in the big box stores and garden centres are nice, but they’re usually not the Floret-style Instagram-friendly ones that stole your heart and made you want to grow flowers.
Don’t worry. I’ve compiled a list of seed companies that sell annual cut flower seeds to backyard gardeners across Canada, the United States, and Europe. Being from Canada myself, the Canadian list is the most extensive, but there is enough in the other lists to get you started on your cut flower gardening journey.
HOW DO I CHOOSE WHICH FLOWER SEED COMPANY TO BUY FROM?
After you read my list of companies to purchase flower seeds from, you’re likely going to get overwhelmed. While it’s nice to order a little bit from everyone, it’s also the fastest way to completely blow your budget. Here are a few of the questions I ask myself when I’m trying to choose which 2 or 3 companies I will order from each year:
- Is the company in my geographical region? (Not a requirement, but it is a big consideration if you are buying perennials.)
- Could I also purchase my vegetable seeds there? Sometimes it’s nice to order both your flowers and vegetables from the same place.
- Which company has 75% or so of the items on my must-have list? I will often go with the company that has the bulk of the flowers that are on my wish list, then buy smaller orders from one or two other companies. And usually a small fall purchase of something or other makes its way into my online cart, too.
- If you’re ordering from a different country, Does the price of exchange make it worth buying? Sometimes that specialty flower is just not worth the 30% markup that the exchange brings.
- Also, if you’re ordering from a different country, Will the seeds be allowed over the border? The laws between the Canadian and American border are tightening, and sometimes the flower company can not honour your order because it gets stopped at the border. Perennials are a no-go in general.
- Do I really want specialty colours and varieties, or am I happy with basic cut flowers? If you’re happy with basic cut flowers, you can likely find a decent-enough selection with the company you order vegetables from. If you need the special colours and varieties, then it is 100% worth it to order the bulk of your order from a specialty grower.
There is no right or wrong answer in deciding where to purchase annual cut flower seeds for the year. I hope these questions will help you arrive at your answer with more clarity. If your goal is just to get the prettiest flowers, as you see on Instagram and Pinterest, then head over to this video for my recommendations.
WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO PURCHASE ANNUAL FLOWER SEEDS?
If you are reading this in April or May, it is likely too late to get the best selection. The most popular varieties of cut flowers go out of stock within days of the seed company opening the website for business. If you love a company, you must get on their email list and stalk them on Instagram. It’s the only way to ensure you will know when their shop is open for business.
If you’re looking for perennials, dahlias, or ranunculus, flowers like these will often go on sale in the fall around September or October and will be shipped out in the spring. You can usually still purchase them in the spring, but the most popular varieties are often not available.
Want to start a backyard flower farm on the cheap? Here’s how one flower farmer did it.
Now, on to the list!
Please know that, although I have ordered from most of the Canadian companies and a few of the American ones, I have not personally purchased from all of the companies on this list. In the case of companies where I have not personally purchased, I have researched their site with this thought in mind: “If I could purchase from this company, does it have enough selection and specialty varieties for me to want to do so?” If the answer is yes, it made the list.
Finally, if there’s a company you think should be on this list, please let us know in the comments!
This post contains affiliate links, meaning that if you purchase something by clicking one of these links, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. You can read more about it here in my Privacy Policy.
P.S. Once you’ve figured out where you want to order cut flower seeds from, here are 10 easy-to-grow cut flowers you need to plant:
CANADIAN COMPANIES
1. Incredible Seed Company
The selection may not be as large as some other companies, but what they offer is very on-trend. All seeds that the Incredible Seed Company sells are heirloom varieties, so you know you can save the seeds. The Tower Chamois Asters and Charbaud Picotee Dianthus mix are on my must-have list.
Also, they stock crackerjack marigolds, which are not the most common cut flower, but one of my favourites for their versatility in both the cut flower garden and the vegetable garden. My baby also enjoyed ripping up the blooms I gave her to play with last summer.
2. Edgebrook Farm
I might be making a pretty big claim here, but I would consider Edgebrook Farm the Floret Farm of Canada. If you want to get into flower farming for profit, the seed selection at Edgebrook can’t be beat. I really appreciate that you can filter their cut flowers by colour or form and that they have an extensive selection of dahlias.
New to cut flowers? I highly recommend the Garden collection of dahlias. It’s a small but beautiful collection that will get you hooked on the wonderful world of dahlias. No ugly big-box-store varieties here!
Unfortunately, Edgebrook Farm was hit pretty hard by the pandemic shortages, and it’s difficult to get what you need in 2022. I hope they will have more seed availability in 2023!
3. Veseys
I personally love Veseys because it is truly one-stop-online-shopping for everything plants. The selection of vegetable seeds, cut flower seeds, and perennials are all really good. New to flower gardening? The perennial kits are a no-brainer way to start a flower bed.
Veseys is also one of the few places that have bulk quantities of seed and perennials that you can order as a gardener and not a farmer.
Last year I ordered calendula, zinderella peach zinnias, and my queen lime series of zinnias with great results.
(Slightly unrelated: if you do order flowers from here, you must hop over to the vegetable section and order yourself a packet of Sunset Orange Paste tomato seeds. Amazing fresh taste, great for making tomato sauce less acidic, each plant has TONS of tomatoes, and if you ripen them indoors they do not go bad quickly.)
4. Whistling Prairie
Whistling Prairie is a flower farm in Southern Saskatchewan, and Dawn has one of the most beautiful and honest accounts on Instagram. When she opens the cart for seed, bulb, or dahlia sales, the flowers fly off the shelves. It’s worth the trouble, though, as the tulip and dahlia varieties she carries are so gorgeous. In 2019, I was able to score two varieties of ranunculus, and I’ve been lucky enough to score some hard-to-find daffodil varieties, as well.
Related: The 36 Best Cut Flowers You Can Grow
5. Antonio Valente Flowers
I wish I knew Antonio in real life because when I read his captions on Instagram, I want to cheer for team flowers every time. And I’d love to sit down, drink coffee, and chat flowers. Oh, who are we kidding, I’d want to see the farm! Anyway…
Antonio Valente Flowers carries a Floret-style assortment of dahlias, tulips, ranunculus, anemones, and narcissus. His offerings usually sell out fast, so get online ASAP when the shop opens for the best selection. My favourites are the Cornel Bronze dahlias and Renown Unique tulips.
6. Dahlia May Flower Farm
Dahlia May Flower Farm is a family farm offering bulbs, corms, subscriptions, and bulk flower purchasing for DIY wedding flowers in the summer. The tulip bulbs always go quickly, but I was surprised to see when I was researching this post that almost all the ranunculus varieties were still available. If you haven’t grabbed any yet this season, head on over and order yours.
7. Brecks
Looking to add perennials to your cut flower garden? Brecks is the place. You can filter the perennials by zone, exposure, colour, height, bloom time, and usage. Make sure to check the Cut Flowers box under usage to make sure the perennials you buy will have long enough stems. The Super Saks are a great deal if you have a large space to fill.
As for my favourites, the Pink Hawaiian Coral peony, October Sky dahlia, and Creme de la Creme phlox are on my must-have list.
Brecks is a Canadian company, but they also ship to the US and internationally.
8. Unicorn Blooms
Unicorn Blooms is another flower grower with a swoon-worthy Instagram account. They have large quantities for flower farmers and smaller quantities for home gardeners. If you’re a Canadian Flower Farmer, this is one of the go-to places for Floret-style flowers in large quantities in Canada.
The offerings were quite small at the time I wrote this post, however, I know that they are continually updated depending on when it’s time to plant a certain flower. Get on their mailing list or check back often for availability.
9. West Coast Seeds
West Coast Seeds is a reasonable alternative to the more common seed sellers. While they don’t have everything, they have a surprisingly good selection. Keep your eye out for a future post about how to make a $100 garden and how far that garden can go, featuring a partnership with West Coast Seeds!
10. Richters
Richters has an IMPRESSIVE variety of herbs and flowers. There are easily 30 types of basil listed, and I’m extremely tempted to order the chocolate cosmos. (They actually smell like chocolate!!). The only downside is that their site is not mobile-responsive, so it’s best to make your order on a desktop or laptop. A great resource to get flowers not every other flower farmer has.
AMERICAN COMPANIES
As a Canadian, I am always very excited when American companies ship to Canada. I have included a note about the ones that ship here. If you are a Canadian purchasing from an American company, please note that you will not be able to purchase any perennials. Some annuals are unavailable, as well, and occasionally your order will not be allowed to cross the border.
If you are an American reading this list, I would love to know what companies you would add.
1. Floret Flower Farm
Due to the popularity of their small-scale flower farming book, Floret Flower Farm is the go-to seed company for beautiful, on-trend flowers. If you are planning to purchase anything from Floret, I highly recommend signing up for their newsletter so you can mark your calendar when flowers and seeds are available for purchase.
The most popular varieties sell out FAST. So fast that if you don’t purchase on opening day, you might not get what you want. They also ship to Canada, but some varieties are not allowed to cross the border…Bread Poppies and Peony Poppies, I’m looking at you!
Floret Flower Farm has also published an assortment of beautiful books: Cut Flower Garden, A Year in Flowers, and, most recently, Discovering Dahlias.
2. Johnny’s Seeds
Didn’t get your order in fast enough at Floret? Go to Johnny’s Seeds where you will find colours and varieties just as beautiful and on-trend. Excellent selection and good prices. Get your vegetable seeds there too, as the selection is very impressive. Johnny’s Seeds offers different quantities of seeds for flower farmers or home gardeners and they also ship to Canada!
3. Harris Seeds & Garden Trends
Harris Seeds has every type of cut flower seed you could possibly want in large quantities for flower farmers. Their sister company, Garden Trends, offers a similar selection in quantities more suitable for the home gardener.
I like the Double Click Rose Bon Bon Cosmos, Larkspur Cannes Mix, and their beautiful collection of Ornamental Kale.
Related: How to Create a Beautiful Cut Flower Bouquet
4. Select Seeds
Select Seeds also has an impressive variety of unusual and on-trend cut flowers. The Apricot Lemonade Cosmos are a must-have that I haven’t seen on any other seed companies page. There are over 50 varieties of zinnias, and I really need the Eldarado one in my life (a double flowering salmon colour). The rare finds section is also worth a look. They also ship to Canada for a flat rate of $15.
5. White Flower Farm
No annual seeds here, but a very impressive selection of beautiful perennials. If you want to focus on perennial cut flowers, White Flower Farm is an excellent mail-order option. I’ve found over the years when I’ve researched them, that the website is always up to date, and whatever is seasonal and on offer looks so good, making me wish I could order there!
My American readers assure me that the quality of the perennials you order is second to none. I also appreciate how you can filter perennials by price, zone, growing conditions, colour, and more.
6. Swallowtail Garden Seeds
Swallowtail Garden Seeds is based in the US but will ship to both Canada and Internationally for a reasonable flat fee. The selection is impressive and there are quite a few varieties that I didn’t see anywhere else in my research.
Must-haves for me include Cupcake Pink Zinnias, Queen Lime with blotch Zinnias, Gypsy Charmer Sunflower, and anything in the Twinny Snapdragon series.
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7. GeoSeed
GeoSeed is one of the best and cheapest places to get seeds from. However, they have no pictures on their website. Only Latin names. If you don’t know what the Latin names are, you have to Google them.
If you’re a beginner gardener, this is not the place to start. However, when you do buy seed from GeoSeed, I have heard nothing but good things about their germination, service, and prices.
EUROPEAN COMPANIES
I’m sure there are many other growers whose websites are in different languages, but these are the English-language ones I could find. If you know of any good growers whose website is in another language in Europe, please let us know in the comments.
1. Chiltern Seeds
They have over 1000 cut flower varieties for sale. Enough said.
2. Seedaholic
I love that Seedaholic has separate sections for cut flowers, dried flowers, edibles, and flowers that are good for natural dyes. Also a good selection of wildflowers and bee-friendly options.
3. Sarah Raven
A beautiful selection of unique cut flowers in trendy colours. I especially love the cut flower garden kit, which is a selection of easy-to-grow cut flowers perfect for the beginner gardener. There’s just enough of each variety to keep a backyard flower gardener in bouquets all season long.
4. Suttons
The Cut Flower Wall Chart and Growing Guide is very helpful for trying to plan your backyard garden. Even if you don’t live in the UK and the timings don’t quite apply to your situation, it’s still helpful for planning out enough filler, thriller, and spiller flowers for your garden.
Got all your flowers and looking for vegetable seeds? Here are 20 more companies my readers and I recommend.
There you have it, 21 different cut flower seed companies to order cut flowers from online! I’d love to hear if there’s a hidden gem I’ve missed. Ready to grow your own beautiful cut flower garden, without the hassle? I’ve taken all the guesswork out of creating a cut flower garden with my e-book, Cut Flowers Made Simple. It’s the perfect way for beginner and intermediate gardeners to start their own cut flower garden with or without seed starting.
