Home-Grown Cut Flowers for Autumn & Winter

Calendula and Ornamental Kale - these annuals love the cool weather and are a real delight in the garden and in a vase display. Calendula colours range from the traditional bright orange to pale yellow and peach. Ornamental kale develops gorgeous rosettes of cream, purple or pink leaves which make an impressive statement in floral arrangements.

Chrysanthemum, Aster, Echinacea and Salvia - perennial flowers can provide welcome autumn colour both in the garden and indoors. Chrysanthemums, synonymous with Mother's Day, can create a gorgeous petite posy or the larger flowered varieties a huge bunch of blooms.

Easter daisies (Aster novi-belgii) produce masses of dainty flowers in white, pink or mauve and are best picked for a vase when around one third of the flower buds have opened. Commonly used in herbal remedies, echinacea (coneflowers) also make a delightful cut flower.

Sow Yates Echinacea seed in spring for their pretty pink autumn flowers. Perennial salvias are one the floral stars of autumn and they're underused for vase displays. Available in a rainbow of colours from vivid sky-blue to pastel pink and vibrant magenta 'Wendy's wish'. Pick salvia stems for a vase when just a few of the buds have started to open.

Belladonna Lily - also known as naked ladies, the leafless flower stems that emerge in autumn are perfect for a vase. These sweetly fragrant flowers come in white or pink and are a tough bulb for naturalising in a sunny spot in the garden.

Camellias - a bunch of stems, or even single stems, of autumn flowering sasanqua camellias (or later flowering japonica camellias) look fabulous in a vase, or float a few blooms in a shallow bowl of water. Pick camellia stems when the flower buds have just opened.

Cornflowers - when sown in early autumn, cornflowers will start blooming in mid-winter. Yates Cornflower 'Mystic Blue' produces an abundance of beautiful blue flowers and Yates Cornflower 'Double Mixed' has a blend of soft pink, blue and white blooms.

Jonquils - one of the first bulbs to flower in winter, jonquils have intensely fragrant creamy white flowers. Just one stem can perfume a room. Like daffodils, jonquils are best put in a vase on their own as their sap can affect other flowers. Plant jonquil bulbs during autumn in a well-drained sunny spot in the garden or a pot.

Hellebores - also known as winter roses, hellebores will thrive in a partly shaded garden spot underneath the canopies of trees or in a pot on a shady patio. They put on a beautiful show of large, bell-shaped flowers in winter and there's lots of colours to choose from in the Plant Growers Australia Hellebore Collection, including mottled burgundy 'Charmer', elegant white and mulberry 'Sophie's Choice' and 'Tutu', which has pale pink flecked petals around a ruffled centre. It's best to pick mature hellebore flower stems, as young flowers are more prone to drooping.

Leucadendrons and Proteas - Leucadendrons, native to South Africa, are treasured for the colourful bracts that surround their small flowers. From rich red 'Misty Sunrise' to bright yellow 'Golden Mitre', leucadendron stems team well with Australian native wildflowers as well as tropical and traditional flowers. Proteas are another South African native with most varieties having stunning large flower heads. One of the most impressive is the king protea, which has flowers up to 30 cm in diameter. To promote the longest vase life for leucadendrons and proteas, remove all the foliage that will sit below the water line.

• Foliage - don't overlook greenery when it comes to filling a vase, whether it's on its own or blended with flowers. Eucalyptus, pittosporum, viburnum, conifer, fern and ivy can all create a gorgeous leafy display.
• Flowering plants need regular feeding to promote the best possible flower show. It's easy to provide flowering plants with the right blend of nutrients by using Thrive Roses & Flowers. Spread the pellets around the plants every six to eight weeks during the growing and flowering seasons. For flowers like proteas and leucadendrons, feed them with Yates Dynamic Lifter Soil Improver & Plant Fertiliser. It's safe for phosphorus sensitive plants like proteas and leucadendrons, as well as Australian native plants.
• To protect flowering plants from common insect pests like aphids and caterpillars and diseases like powdery mildew, spray Yates Rose Gun over affected plants as soon as pests or diseases are noticed.