What are the best companies for ordering flower seeds online? Here's a list of my favorite suppliers for both cut flower seeds, and wildflowers for naturalizing.
In a recent newsletter, I talked about how I'm giving over half of my growing space to flowers this year. After years of growing almost exclusively vegetables, this is already an exciting new gardening adventure.
One surprise on this step toward flower farming, was the discovery that my favorite garden seed companies weren't necessarily the best options for ordering FLOWER SEEDS.
In fact, most of my favorite vegetable seed companies have only a token selection of cut flower seeds. So I spent quite a few hours researching the best and most affordable places to source quality flower seeds.
Whether you're taking a step toward flower farming, or looking for native flower seeds to naturalize your homestead, here's a list of seed companies that I've ordered from and recommend.
Where to buy cut flower seeds
Johnny's Selected Seeds
I love Johnny's. If I had to limit myself to ordering flower seed from ONLY one company each year, this place would be it.
If you're growing large numbers of cut flowers, in my opinion, Johnny's is the best place to start. They have hands-down the best prices if you need more than just a small amount of each variety you intend to plant.
Johnny's also does an amazing job of staying on top of floral trends, so they have an incredible selection of cut flower varieties.
In my opinion, they also have the best growing advice of any seed company out there. Even when I buy several varieties of a certain flower species from different companies, it's the Johnny's seed packet that I look to, for reminding myself about best growing practices for that particular plant.
Best for: Volume orders, outstanding selection of Stock, Sweet Peas, Sunflowers, and Snapdragons
Renee's Garden Seeds
I find Renee's to be just a delightful place to source seeds, both for the carefully-curated selection of cut flower seeds, as well as their beautiful seed packets. Renee's is a great place to source hard-to-find varieties of English sweet peas, including a wonderful flower-box mix that I'm excited to try this year.
Best for: Cottage garden favorites and extensive selection of Sweet Peas.
Baker Creek
This is one of those companies that I order from every single year. Baker Creek is known for their incredible variety of heirloom vegetable seeds, as well as for their show-stopping print catalog.
However, they also have a pretty good variety of cut flower seeds, and for modest amounts of seed, I find them to be cheaper than many other companies. This is a great place to look for specialty poppy and aster seeds.
Best for: Heirlooms, pollinator favorites, and free shipping.
Swallowtail Garden Seeds
Chances are, if there's a flower you want to grow, Swallowtail has the seeds to grow it. Their selection is truly outstanding.
If you're looking for large quantities of seed, I would still always start with Johnny's, since Swallowtail's packets are generally just 25-30 seeds. However, if you're looking for smaller quantities, or need varieties that aren't carried elsewhere, Swallowail is the place to look.
Best for: Very comprehensive selection of cut flower varieties, including many that are difficult to find elsewhere.
Pinetree Garden Seeds
I need to preface this suggestion by saying that for a long time, I stayed away from Pinetree because I had two separate bad experiences receiving seed that was either mislabeled or egregiously cross-contaminated.
However, the company has since passed into the hands of another generation, and since I started ordering again a few years ago, I've had nothing but good experiences.
The cool thing about Pinetree is that their seed is just so darn affordable. The seed packets generally contain a modest number of seeds. But if you don't need flower-farm volumes of seed, this is a GREAT place to get many different varieties to trial, without spending an arm and a leg.
They also have a much, much better selection of cut flower seeds than most heirloom seed companies, so this is a family-run company that's back on my yearly ordering list.
Best for: Extremely affordable prices for those needing modest amounts of seed.
Where to buy flower seeds for naturalizing
Perhaps you're not looking to start a flower farm, or for an endless supply of blooms for bouquets. What if you're looking to add some native flower species to your homestead, or want to create a meadow full of wildflowers?
Generic packets of "wildflower mix" are easy to find, but they don't always carry varieties that are native to your region, or that will thrive in your particular micro-climate.
If you're looking for high quality seeds from companies that specialize in native species, these are three great companies that provide exactly that.
Vermont Wildflower Farm
Particularly if you live in the Northeast, Vermont Wildflower Farm is definitely place that should be on your radar. They have an incredible assortment of seeds, from specialized wildflower mixes, to some very hard-to-find native woodland perennials.
Browsing this shop's offerings is what inspired the "Trillium Garden" that I'm installing this year, in a shady glade corner of the homestead.
Best for: Difficult-to-find native perennials, Northeastern US native species, and many specialized wildflower mixtures.
Nature's Seed
I don't usually recommend places I don't have personal experience ordering from, but Nature's Seed has been recommended to me enough times that I felt they deserve a place on this list.
Their collection of specialized wildflower mixes is impressive, and there are collections for nearly every climate within the U.S.
Best for: Native seed collections for regions throughout the US.
Wild Seed Project
This is company that's based here in Maine and specializes in Northeastern native plants.
One really neat thing that Wild Seed Project offers is their "Seed Bombs". I think these are fun, but they can also be a practical way to re-introduce native species in an area that you're not continually tending.
Keep in mind that Wild Seed Project makes their seeds available in the fall and winter months, so by the time you're thinking about planting seeds in spring, they may not be available. I missed everything I was interested in for this year, so I've got an alert set in my calendar to check their site in early November.
Best for: New England native seed varieties, as well as their fun and practical "seed bombs".
I hope you find this list of flower seed companies helpful. If you have others that should make it onto the list, please feel free to recommend them in the comments below.
I'd especially love to hear if you have any companies you recommend, which might specialize in native species from the southern or western states, or Canada. (I know I've got a lot of you readers up there!)
Happy flower farming, my friends!
Anna Chesley
Anna Chesley is a freelance writer living a homestead lifestyle, with a special love for family travel, old books, vintage skills, and seaside living. In addition to founding Salt In My Coffee, she runs the website, New England Family Life, as well as The 1800's Housewife, a website devoted to re-creating authentic 1800's recipes.
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