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Home » Gardening Information » Great Plants

What could be more satisfying than creating dried floral arrangements from the annuals you have cultivated, harvested, and dried yourself? Always harvest on dry mornings, avoiding both dew and raindrops. Tie plant stems with rubber bands into small bunches and hang them upside down. (Bunches tied with string may easily come undone as they dry, sending the flowers headfirst to the ground.) Hang the bunches in a dark, warm, well-ventilated space to dry. Occasionally check for mildew and decaying stems.

Briza maxima 'Rubra' Red Quaking Grass

Originally from the Mediterranean region, this annual grass has been cultivated as a garden ornamental for nearly 200 years. Red quaking grass is loosely tufted and erect, with fairly coarse, linear leaves that are pale green fading to straw-colored in the fall. From late spring to late summer, it bears loose, open 4-inch-long panicles with 7 to 20 half-inch-long ovate heads (called spikelets), which are quite animated, dancing in the slightest breeze.

Growing Tips Sow seeds directly outdoors in early spring (which makes eradicating weed grasses a little difficult at first!), or start them indoors in well-drained soil six weeks before the last frost date. The panicles are ready for harvest when the spikelets have attained full size.

Companion Plants Try a combination of quaking grass 'Rubra' with airy, cerise-pink fame flower (Talinum calycinum) and Salvia splendens 'Phoenix Bright Lilac'.

Cultivars and Related Species Briza maxima has spikelets tipped with reddish brown or purplish gray.

Consolida ajacis · Larkspur

Larkspur fits well into a cottage garden, old-fashioned flower bed, or cutting garden. Tall, well-branched, slender racemes of delphiniumlike spurred flowers are produced throughout the summer. Larkspur seeds are poisonous.

Growing Tips Sow seeds in the garden from early spring to early summer in light, fertile soil. Medium and tall cultivars will need support. Harvest the racemes when two thirds of the florets are open. Hang upside down in small bunches to avoid crowding and mildew.

Companion Plants Combine larkspur with Petunia 'Pearls Azure Blue', Salvia 'Cambridge Blue', and California poppy (Eschscholzia 'Carmine King').

Cultivars and Related Species Consolida ajacis 'Earl Grey' bears strong erect racemes of double slate-gray florets. The 'Dwarf Hyacinth' Series is few-branched, but the racemes are 6 to 10 inches tall, blunt-tipped, dense, and closely packed with fully double flowers. 'Frosted Skies' is 12 to 18 inches tall and displays large, semidouble mauve-lavender florets.

Gomphrena globosa · Globe Amaranth

Globe amaranth is a tropical annual originally from Guatemala and Panama that's grown for its everlasting, iridescent cloverlike blossoms. The plant bears its stiff, ovoid 1 ½-inch flower heads throughout the summer and into early autumn.

Growing Tips Sow seeds indoors six weeks before the last frost date and set them out after all danger of frost has passed. The seeds take about 15 days to germinate. Globe amaranth needs relatively fertile, well-drained soil. It is subject to powdery mildew, gray mold, and fungal leaf spots during cool, damp weather. Harvest the flowers when they are completely open but not too old. Simply gather them in bunches and hang them upside down to dry. They are easy to work with and great for children's craft projects.

Companion Plants Combine globe amaranth with Clarkia 'Salmon Princess' or with heat-resistant pansy Viola x wittrockiana 'Orchid Blotch' and Petunia 'White Swan'.

Cultivars and Related Species Gomphrena globosa 'Buddy' is 6 inches tall and bears deep purple flowers. 'Full Series Mixed' grows 18 to 24 inches tall and produces red, peach, pink, bright white, and orange flowers. G. haageana, 'Lavender Lady' offers 1 ½-inch round lavender flowers. 'Strawberry Fields' produces 2-inch brilliant red flowers.

Gossypium herbaceum 'Nigra' · Levant Cotton

An upright tender shrub, this spectacular cultivar of the commercial fiber crop bears some of the darkest foliage and stems. The walnut-size seedpods, called bolls, split open when ripe to reveal white, fluffy cotton fibers, often referred to as lint. The 3-inch-wide hibiscuslike flowers are also quite beautiful and develop with the heat of midsummer.

Growing Tips Levant cotton needs average garden soil and rarely requires staking. It relishes the heat and humidity of high summer. Start seeds indoors in individual pots four to six weeks before the last frost date. Harvest boll-bearing branches on dry, warm mornings when the seedpods are just about to burst open. You can lightly spray the thoroughly dried bolls with a fixative to prevent the fibers from dislodging.

Companion Plants Combine levant cotton with eggplant (Solanum melongena 'Black Enorma'), poppy (Papaver paeoniflorum 'Black Peony'), or Haloragis erecta 'Molten Bronze.'

Cultivars and Related Species Gossypium barbadense, sea island cotton, a native of tropical South America and the Caribbean, has several selections that produce tan, brown, or rust-colored lint.

Limonium sinuatum 'Art Shades' · Statice

Originally from the Mediterranean region, statice is a perennial that's typically cultivated as an annual. It is excellent for seaside gardens. From summer to early fall, winged, slightly leafy stems bear panicles of clustered spikelets that consist of tiny funnel-shaped flowers 3/8- to ½-inch long enclosed in a hairy calyx of white or pale violet.

Growing Tips Taprooted statice resents transplanting, so plant seeds directly in the garden in spring in sandy, moderately fertile, well-drained soil. Harvest mature stalks on dry mornings when the panicles are half- to two-thirds open; gather them into small bunches to avoid mildew, and hang them upside down to dry.

Companion Plants Pair statice with breadseed poppy (Papaver somniferum 'Double Raspberry Blush' or 'Applegreen'), Gazania 'Kiss Series Rose', and geranium (Pelargonium 'Horizon Salmon').

Cultivars and Related Species Limonium sinuatum 'Forever Gold' produces yellow flowers. Plants in the 'Petite Bouquet' Series are dwarf, with tightly bunched spikelets in blue, purple, deep salmon-pink, pure white, creamy white, lemon-yellow, and golden yellow.

Moluccella laevis · Bells-of-Ireland

Bells-of-Ireland is an old-fashioned annual cherished for its upright 12-inch spikes that bear flowers with prominent green funnel- or bell-shaped calyces. The light green foliage is scalloped and very pretty as well. Use the flower spikes in linear or parallel designs or try them in fresh or dried wreaths or swags.

Growing Tips Bells-of-Ireland require moderately fertile, well-drained soil and may need staking if planted in a windy spot. Start the seeds six to eight weeks before the last frost date in individual 3-inch peat or newspaper pots to avoid disturbing the plant's taproot when transplanting later on. Do not cover the seeds, as they need light to germinate. Harvest flower spikes at any stage for drying; be sure to hang them individually in order not to crush the calyces.

Companion Plants Play up the green calyces of bells-of-Ireland with chartreuse-flowered Zinnia 'Envy Double' or flowering tobacco (Nicotiana langsdorffii). Or pair it with coleus (Solenostemon 'Super Chartreuse').

Cultivars and Related Species None.

Proboscidea louisianica · Unicorn Plant

Cultivated for its remarkable seedpods, which are about 6 inches long and reminiscent of milkweed pods except that they have two long, curling horns, unicorn plant is native to the southern United States southward to Mexico. The 2-inch, open-throated flowers look like a cross between a foxglove and a gloxinia.

Growing Tips Unicorn plants need fertile, moisture-retentive, well-drained soil. Start seeds indoors four weeks before the last frost date. Harden off the seedlings well before transplanting outdoors. Harvest when the seedpods are almost completely ripe. They will split open as they dry.

Companion Plants Try teaming unicorn plant with silvery-white and gray-leafed annuals, such as Salvia argentea or Senecio cineraria 'Silver Dust'. Pair it with bold blessed thistle (Silybum marianum) for an astonishing visual effect.

Cultivars and Related Species A related genus, Martynia annua, devil's claw, closely resembles the unicorn plant in all aspects but is more procumbent in growth habit. It is perfect to grow on fences and trellises.

Scabiosa prolifera · Carmel Daisy

Native to the Mediterranean from Israel to Turkey, carmel daisy is cultivated for its profusion of 2-inch-wide, round pincushion-style inflorescences that bloom throughout the summer. When the yellow petals are shed, peachy-light green, funnel-shaped papery calyces are left behind.

Growing Tips Carmel daisies are insect- and disease-resistant and best cultivated in moderately fertile, well-drained neutral or slightly alkaline soil. Keep harvesting the flowers to ensure continuous bloom. Harvest carmel daisies on dry mornings any time after the petals have dropped. Hang to dry individually to avoid crushing or misshaping the globoid heads.

Companion Plants Combine carmel daisy with bells-of-Ireland (Moluccella laevis) and Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus 'Santa Fe') in front of sunflower (Helianthus 'Apricot Twist').

Cultivars and Related Species Scabiosa stellata bears round seedheads. S. stellata 'Drumstick' bears light blue flowers that turn to bronze, and 'Ping Pong' produces small white seedheads.

Xeranthemum annuum · Immortelle

Grown for its delicate, daisylike 2-inch flowers, which are produced all summer long, immortelle is native to southeastern Europe, the Caucusus, and Iran. The plant has an ethereal quality that plays up more robustly configured annuals. Flowers may be single or double.

Growing Tips Immortelles require well-drained, moderately fertile soil. In windy sites they may need some support. They are generally free from pests and diseases. Start seeds indoors four to six weeks before the last frost date. Keep flowers picked to ensure continuous production. For best results, harvest the flowers before they are fully open and hang them upside down in small bunches to dry.

Companion Plants Combine immortelles with pastel pink Helichrysum macranthum (also good for drying), toadflax (Linaria purpurea 'Springside White'), and soft pink, royal blue, and pure-white Ageratum houstonianum 'Hawaii Mixed'.

Cultivars and Related Species Xeranthemum annuum 'Snow Lady' produces single white flower heads. Xeranthemum cylindraceum 'Lilac Star' grows to about 24 inches tall and produces single mauve-pink flowers. It is also exceptional for drying.

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