At Adaptive Seeds we grow flowers for many reasons and every year we seem to grow more and more. They are a great addition to any food garden or vegetable farm. Flowers really do add a bit of joy as well as diversity to the landscape.
Below are some special flower attributes to help you decide which ones might be right on your farm or in your garden.
Helianthus annuus. 70 days. Bicolored petals are yellow at the tips and dark maroon at the centers. Plants grow to about 5′ tall with lots of branching. The primary flower is 6-8” and plants continue to set many smaller, 3-5″ flowers on long stems through the end of the season, which makes this variety superb…
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Helianthus annuus. A sunflower party, this collection is an evolving mixture of sunflower colors and growth habits that we have been curating since 2005. Selected over the years from various crosses and volunteers. Many are classic yellows as well as unique reds and a few lemon yellow types. But the real gems in the mix…
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Helianthus annuus. Flowers reach 6″ wide on well-branched, 6′ tall plants. Flower color varies and includes pale yellow, bright yellow, bicolor, and red flowers. A very good cut flower since each plant produces several flower heads and stem size works well in bouquets. We were given this seed by Wim Brus, a biodynamic seed grower…
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Lathyrus odoratus. 60 days. The Blue Celeste Sweet Pea patch is one of my favorite spots in the field or garden in early summer. Loads of sky blue flowers with a faint purple hue are almost luminescent, and the classic sweet pea scent seems to call out and remind me to take a few minutes…
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Lathyrus odoratus. 70 days. Cream colored sweet peas add a hint of romance and elegance to the garden and to bouquets. Worth growing for their fragrance alone, and the long, strong stems make Jilly work exceptionally well in arrangements. A great choice for fall sowing for early spring blooms. Plants grow to about 4’ tall…
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Lathyrus odoratus. 70-80 days. With red to maroon streaks and specks on white background petals, this variety is a striking change from classic pastel bicolor sweet peas. Modern sweet peas often lack the sweet scent that gives the species its name in the first place, however, Wiltshire Ripple is fully and joyously fragrant. Grows easily…
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Dianthus barbatus. 60 days. Deep, velvety red, 1” flowers grow in slightly dome-shaped clusters that reach 4” across. Petals feature two similar shades of red, providing a depth of color to Barcelona Red that feels like there is something beyond human perception (or at least beyond this human’s perception anyway!). Unlike other varieties of this…
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Dianthus barbatus. Biennial / Perennial in zones 3-9. Dark pink and white, candy striped flowers. Small, 1″ wide, single blooms appear in saucer-sized clusters atop 2′ tall, sturdy stems. The flowers bloom over a long season without deadheading and are highly desired by butterflies and bumblebees. If the plants are cut back low to the…
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Dianthus barbatus. 50 days. This Dianthus / Sweet William is an annual cut flower version of the cottage garden favorite. So many Sweet Williams are biennial and it is difficult to wait for the blooms. The 2′ tall plants of Hollandia Purple Crown Mix display many of the classic Dianthus colors – red, purple, white,…
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Nicotiana alata. 70 days. Bright white trumpet-shaped flowers bloom in the evening and practically glow at night—simply stunning in the full moon! But more significant is the amazing jasmine smell that is particularly strong at dusk as it begins to attract large moths for pollination. The scent is so strong you can smell it from…
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Nicotiana x sandarae. 60 days. Dark, deep purple, trumpet-shaped flowers with all of the intoxicating fragrance of taller nicotianas. Shorter, 2′ tall plants are perfect when creatively placed as accents in the garden, or in containers. The flowers are loved by twilight and nocturnal insects. We discovered this cute little plant at Nichols Garden Nursery…
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Nicotiana tabacum. This rare, Iranian tobacco grows about 4-5′ tall and produces lovely white flowers with lavender-pink blush. Said to be a good, full-flavored smoke and also good for a homemade garden insecticide, though we haven’t tried either. We have been told that Shirazi is easy to cure out here in the West and doesn’t…
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Ismelia carinata. 55-65 days. Daisy-like flowers in a wide array of color patterns make this mix a fun addition to the garden. Colors form in concentric circles around dark reddish brown centers and range from white to pale and dark yellows, oranges, salmon, pinks, reds and even lavender and burgundy! Profuse quantities of 1”-3” blooms…
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Ammobium alatum. 60 days. Perennial in zones 9-10. Perhaps one of the best and most well known dried flowers, Winged Everlasting (aka, Ammobium), is also a good filler in fresh arrangements. Tiny white strawflower like blossoms sit atop sturdy stems, and can be cut before they fully open for all white flowers, or after they…
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Achillea millefolium. Perennial. Sometimes our penchant for seed saving goes a little too far – such is the case with Danish Yarrow. We saved seed from a bunch of plants growing along the roadside while out exploring the ruins of a 14th century castle about 12 miles from Aarhus, Denmark, during the first days of…
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Achillea filipendulina. Perennial in zones 3-10. A striking ornamental. Gold flowers make excellent cut flowers and are even better dried as everlastings. The upright growth makes for easy cutting and the flowers last all summer. What we love most about Parker’s Gold is the captivating aromatic leaves that look like ferns but smell like the…
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Zinnia haageana. 60 days. Charming miniature zinnias in a range of burgundy shades with yellow and white accents are beautiful both in the garden and in short bouquets. Small plants grow to 18” and are great for bedding or containers. Attractive to pollinators with 1.5” double blooms that keep going right up until frost. Z….
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Zinnia elegans. 65-75 days. Softly romantic shades of coral-peachy goodness. El Dorado Zinnia’s double blossoms last for days and seem to glow in the orange light of sunset. A lovely cut flower reminiscent of dahlias. Sturdy, hardy plants thrive even under adverse conditions in our field. Deer resistant. Zinnias are tender annuals that will bloom…
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Zinnia elegans. 65-75 days. Fireball Zinnia is a mix if vibrant shades of oranges and reds, with the very occasional dark pink. Tall plants produce over a long season. Bloom types range from single to fully double, some looking like lions’ manes. Very attractive to pollinators, providing good habitat for them as well. Long, strong…
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Zinnia haageana. 60 days. Old Mexico zinnia has a delightful range of single to double, mostly bicolor red and dark orange flowers with golden to yellow tips. Dense, compact plants are a magnet to beneficial insects providing shelter and forage for many garden friends, especially when planted en masse. Plants grow to 18″ tall and…
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Zinnia elegans. 60-70 days. Lovely bright orange blossoms of Oriole Zinnia are so brilliantly colored they almost seem incandescent. Long, sturdy stems are great for cutting. Blooms right up until frost for good late season color, and provides excellent habitat and food for pollinators and songbirds. Big branching plants are covered in flowers. Cutting for…
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Zinnia elegans. 70-80 days. With its lime green highlights and soft overtones, the Queeny Lime series (aka, Queen Lime) took the cut flower market by storm when it was first introduced in the late 2010’s. Queeny Lime Orange received both All America Selection and Fleuroselect awards in 2018, and Queeny Lemon Peach won an AAS…
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Zinnia elegans. 65-75 days. Single color flowers with some variation in shades of dark red. The color of Super Yoga Red Zinnia reminds us of a classic red rose; thankfully zinnias are much easier to grow! We were tempted to rename this variety something like “Red Wine Shades” or “Yoga and Wine” because of the…
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