High summer is when the garden is most generous — spilling over with colour, texture and scent. If you’ve been cutting armfuls of poppies, penstemons and dahlias for the house, you’ll know the quiet joy of garden-grown arrangements. While the summer border puts on a confident display, now is also the time to start planning ahead: think about what to sow, plant and position, to carry you through autumn and into the quieter months of winter.
A cutting garden doesn’t have to be a formal, segregated patch. In fact, the most satisfying are those that blend beautifully with the rest of the garden, slipping between perennials and shrubs without ever looking bare or utilitarian. The secret to this lies in layers — combining plants for their flowering time, foliage and structural interest, so there is always something to pick (be it blooms, berries or branches).
At the moment, annuals and biennials are still flowering strongly: think cornflowers, foxgloves, Queen Anne’s lace, poppies and the last of the delphiniums. If you haven’t already, now is the time to sow these hardy plants for next year’s early colour. Choices of Digitalis and Verbascum (mullein) can be sown now in trays, ready to plant out in autumn. Tucked between existing planting, they’ll quietly establish over winter and give you strong early flowers next spring.
Bulbs, corms and tubers are key players too. Dahlias and Eucomis are likely at their peak now, with Ranunculus having already performed in late spring along with other favourites such as clivias. Come autumn, plant daffodils, freesias, irises, St Joseph lilies and order your tulips for winter planting. (Remember, in milder climates, tulips may need a spell in the fridge to trigger flowering.) These bulbous plants are ideal for dotting through borders or, what I love to do, planting in pots to move indoors as they come into bloom.
Perennials such as penstemon, Trachelium, Liatris, foxgloves, delphiniums and arums are still flowering but will soon need cutting back. Use autumn as an opportunity to divide and replant, keeping the garden border looking full and giving you more material for cutting next season.
Shrubs and trees such as roses, hydrangeas, camellias, hydrangeas, buddleja, elderflower, geraniums, protea, Viburnum opulus ‘Snowball’ (a must-have) and the wonderful orange blossom provide a steady backbone — with foliage and flowers that carry through the seasons. Consider the structure you’ll rely on in winter; evergreens, interesting bark and berries are just as important as flowers.
Don’t underestimate foliage and grasses. — many are at their best now. Some of my favourites are Pennisetum villosum ‘Cream Falls’; oat grass such as Uniola paniculata; bamboo; big bold philodendrons and pittosporums; silvery florist gum and the willow Salix tortuosa for its bendy stems. These all provide sculptural form and movement to garden arrangements. Come winter, they’ll be what you turn to most.
Finally, succulents and aloes. Often overlooked in traditional cutting gardens, they are invaluable for their form and long flowering season — especially in milder climates. Aloe striata and Senecio mandraliscae ‘Blue Chalk Sticks’ as well as the deciduous Sedum spectabile are stalwarts here.
Planning a cutting garden is about orchestrating a long performance that extends from summer’s abundance through to the spare beauty of winter. Here, structure, scent and texture take turns in the spotlight.
Credits
Images: Elsa Young
This article was originally published in the House & Garden SA December/January 2026 Issue
