Also known as lady's mantle, this is an easy self-seeder, producing wonderful frothy, lime-green flowers and felty round lush leaves – ideal for bouquets and posies. Also looks great edging paths or trailing over pots.

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Create a beautiful arrangement with alchemilla mollis

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These flowers are held on tall, straight stems, making them ideal as cut flowers, and they’ll repeat bloom in a cutting garden, with bell-shaped flowers in blue or white.

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The chocolate cosmos (Cosmos atrosanguineus) produces velvety, wine-red, chocolate-scented flowers that look striking in the garden or in an arrangement in your house.

Photo: Thompson & Morgan

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'Mums' are a floristry favourite, and with sumptuous blooms in rich colours, such as Chrysanthemum ‘Green Envy’, ‘Blenda Purple’, ‘Bruno Bronze’ and ‘Payton Blaze Red’, it’s easy to see why. Find starter collections of chrysanthemums at www.sarahraven.com.

Photo: Sarah Raven

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Create these arrangements with chrysanthemums...

...floating candles and flowerheads

...autumn shades

...fresh and fruity

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Dahlias make flamboyant cut flowers and are great value. Each tuber will produce between eight and 10 cuttings. Favourite varieties include Dahlia ‘Bishop of Llandaff’, and ‘Hillcrest Royal’.

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Create a gorgeous arrangement with dahlias and roses

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This produces exquisite flowers, and is undemanding to grow. As cut flowers, lilies have a tendency to drop their pollen on everything they touch. To avoid staining, remove the sepals before bringing them indoors. Other favourites include Lilium regale ‘Album’ and ‘Nerone’.

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Create a contemporary arrangement with lilies and limes

Grow bulbs for all seasons

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Peonies make excellent cut flowers and only a few blooms are enough for a beautiful bouquet. The flowers are so large they create a big impact, and if picked in bud, can last three or more weeks in a vase. Favourites include ‘Duchesse de Nemours’, ‘Charlie’s White’ and ‘Sarah Bernhardt’.

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Arrange peonies with delphiniums and hydrangeas

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Planted liberally in the beds closest to the house, sunflowers make for an abundant back-door flower shop. Exceptionally easy to grow (sow seeds direct into the ground, water and protect from slugs), favourites include Helianthus ‘Chianti’, ‘Vanilla Ice’ and ‘Solar Eclipse’.

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Beautifully bright and bold sunflower centrepiece

How to grow sunflowers

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These are the quintessential climbing cut flower. Sow straight into the ground from March to April or from October until January if sowing in pots (sowing in cardboard loo rolls is ideal). If sowing in autumn, plant out in spring when the roots have filled your loo roll pot. Place at the base of a tripod in a large pot by the back door. Feed regularly with tomato feed to promote flower production, then cut often to encourage handfuls of exquisitely scented blooms. Favourite varieties include Lathyrus odoratus ‘Lord Nelson’, ‘Matucana’ and ‘Prince Edward of York’.

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Create a country-style arrangement with sweet peas and roses

Read more on growign sweet peas from seed

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