June is a surprisingly sparse month for cut flowers. If it weren’t for the blousy beauty of peonies, June would be a very difficult month for flower farmers and designers dedicated to locally-grown. The flush of spring blooms like anemones, ranunculus, tulips and narcissus are done. But the parade of warm-loving summer annuals hasn’t quite begun. Ever since I began flower farming, I’ve been working hard to bridge this gap, looking for more and more crops that will bloom in June.

Meet Agrostemma githago, my new favorite late spring annual. I grew it last season but didn’t quite have the knack for it yet. I didn’t realize just how early it wants to be planted out. It’s very frost/cold tolerant and needs that chill to get tall stems. It’s a once-and-done cut, meaning it needs to be succession sown to keep it in the rotation for a longer time. I suspect it can be direct-sown in the fall, but this year I started transplants in the greenhouse beginning in January and then three successions two weeks apart after that. Seeds germinate quickly and grow fast. It’s important to have the ground prepped and ready for planting so the transplants can go in as soon as they’re ready. They don’t like to wait.

I grew ‘Ocean Pearls’ this season, which is supposed to be only white. There ended up being about 25% pink in my plants though. It’s a nice pink that goes with different shades of other pink and purple so I think I will try to find more pink for next year.

These incredibly graceful flowers come on very slender stems that can be a little tricky to work into arrangements, but it’s worth the effort. They bend and bob above other larger flowers and add the perfect touch of movement to floral designs. And I really love the little bit of “stitching” at the center of the white blooms. Simply charming.

Big thumbs up for Agrostemma!