Which bushes to choose for creating beautiful bouquets all year round?

Why grow bushes for bouquets?

First of all, bushes are among those essential plants in the garden. They help structure the space and are perennial, lasting for many years.

Versatile, bushes can be grown both in the garden and in pots, in rockeries or borders, on slopes, in free-form or trimmed hedges, and even as standalone specimens. There is a great diversity capable of adapting to all garden styles (romantic, contemporary, exotic, rustic, Japanese-inspired…) and to all tastes. Single, sophisticated or fragrant flowering, deciduous or evergreen foliage, graphic or colourful, delicious or ornamental fruiting, decorative branches, coloured bark… So many assets that bushes can offer.

For biodiversity, they are also essential, providing shelter and food for many species, sometimes endangered.

Finally, many bushes are easy to grow, requiring little care to thrive. Some can even multiply spontaneously by sowing, layering or suckers. A great way to get more young plants at lower cost and with less effort!

But if we’re talking about bushes today, beyond these multiple benefits, it’s also because many of them allow you to create beautiful bouquets yourself, almost all year round. What could be more rewarding than growing the plants yourself that will later adorn our tables or be given as gifts.

First, it’s an economical solution: regularly buying fresh flower bouquets can quickly become expensive.

Secondly, it’s more eco-friendly. Indeed, the cut flower market is far from virtuous: most flowers are grown with heavy use of pesticidal and chemical fertilisers, on the other side of the world. They are then transported to us via CO2-generating transport, and often stored in energy-intensive heated greenhouses. So many negative impacts on the planet. Growing your own bushes for bouquets means therefore controlling your impact and your cultivation methods.

Finally, it’s a fun and creative activity that will give free rein to your imagination. Create your own bouquets according to your tastes, breaking the rules if you wish, regularly trying out new compositions.

Viburnum opulus ‘Roseum’, a classic for hedges or borders… and bouquets

How to choose my bushes for bouquets?

To choose from the wide range of bushes for bouquets, it is essential to take into account the growing conditions.

This includes:

• the type of soil (heavy, clay, light, sandy, well-drained, chalky, acidic, dry, moist…);
• the exposure (sunny, dappled shade, shady, dry, damp…);
• the climatic constraints (hot dry summers, rainy winters, intense late frosts, strong winds, sea spray…);
• the available space (limited, container-only, etc.).

Selecting plants that match your growing conditions helps promote their natural development and good health while limiting interventions. This saves you both time and money. So avoid choosing your bouquet bushes based solely on personal preference: research their cultivation requirements beforehand. To help you, don’t forget to create your garden profile using our Plantfit app. It recommends the best-suited plants for your space to prevent mistakes.

Bushes for beautiful flower bouquets all year round

Bushes offer us a beautiful diversity of flowering. By carefully selecting species that bloom at different times, you can enjoy them almost all year round. This way, you’ll have lovely seasonal bouquets.

We also recommend favouring long-flowering bushes, which are particularly generous and can flower for several months.

In spring

For beautiful spring bouquets, many bushes will be of interest.

Let’s start with snowball viburnums, with their beautiful white spherical inflorescences.

Next comes the Japanese quince, which blooms in early spring and has the particularity of flowering on branches still devoid of leaves.

The misty pink flowering of tamarisks, an essential coastal bush, will also add lightness to bouquets.

Let’s not forget forsythias, with their sunny flowering that brightens early spring. They too bloom on bare branches. The same goes for flowering cherries, often breathtaking.

In late spring, play with the magnificent clusters of colourful, opulent flowers of lilacs.

Some roses, especially among non-perpetual varieties (which flower only once a year), also choose late spring to produce their beautiful blooms, perfect for bouquets.

Let’s not overlook deutzias, with their charming star-shaped flowers. We’ll end this non-exhaustive list with Judas trees, with their beautiful clusters of often pink flowers.

Incorporating flowering bushes with green flowers like the viburnum here adds freshness to spring bouquets

In summer

This is peak season in the garden and flowers abound! You’ll have no trouble cutting them to create beautiful summer bouquets. For this, consider growing essential roses, some perpetual varieties of which can flower from late spring until the first autumn frosts. The rose is clearly one of the emblematic flowers of romantic bouquets. You’ll find a wide palette of colours, from soft pastels to vibrant, striking hues.

Equally essential in summer bouquets: hydrangeas. Their generous clusters of colourful flowers offer great diversity in shape and shade. Ball-shaped, cone-shaped, in wide panicles, from white to pink through blue, purple and even green. They’re perfect for both fresh and dried bouquets.

Let’s also mention the clustered flowering of spireas or buddleias.

For a touch of lightness, consider the astonishing flowering of smoke bushes, with their beautiful wispy plumes.

For an exotic-looking bouquet, include the magnificent inflorescence of the bird of paradise. Best grown in pots outside the mildest regions of our territory (hardiness -4°C).

From summer to autumn, hydrangeas make sublime bouquets

In autumn

Though peak season has passed, autumn remains generous in the garden. Hydrangeas and roses will often still be floriferous until frost appears. The four seasons mimosa will also enliven the garden, sometimes until November. Among heather soil bushes, let’s mention autumn camellias, with their delicate coloured flowering.

In winter

Winter is often seen as the garden’s sad season. Yet, there are bushes that flower during this period, bringing colour and life. This is true of winter viburnums, which flower on bare branches.

Let’s continue with mimosas, whose sunny pompom flowering brightens late winter and all floral arrangements.

Remarkably, the flowering of black pussy willow consists of intense black aments with anthers that start brick-red before turning yellow. It occurs between February and March.

Little known, Vachellia farnesiana or sweet acacia is nevertheless very interesting with its yellow pompom flowering reminiscent of mimosas, occurring from autumn to spring. Perfect for brightening winter months in mild regions or in pots protected from hard frosts.

Let’s not forget mahonias, with their sunny winter flowering.

Bushes with decorative foliage and wood for bouquets

Flowering is not the only asset of bushes: many have remarkable foliage. However, foliage is essential for bouquet making, providing greenery, volume and textures. Evergreen bushes with tough, long-lasting leaves are therefore preferred.

First, consider Eucalyptus gunnii, with its pretty round leaves, often tinged with silvery blue. The oleaster also offers interesting, leathery foliage for bouquets. You could even opt for the variegated varieties in yellow and green, which are very bright. Pittosporum is another excellent choice, with its undulate leaves that can be very colourful. Laurustinus, Japanese spindle or even cotoneaster can also be incorporated into bouquets.

Let’s also mention bushes with decorative wood, such as the beautiful contorted hazel or the corkscrew willow, whose unusual branches add graphic appeal to bouquets.

Eucalyptus works wonders in white bouquets

Ornamental fruiting bushes for bouquets

Another ornamental asset of certain bushes: their fruiting, often in the form of small, shiny, colourful berries. Among these decorative fruit bushes, we must of course mention the holly, essential in winter bouquets. The beautyberry will also brighten up bouquets with its clusters of often purple berries. The same goes for the snowberry and its tangy fruits.

The berries, here from Cotoneaster, add a lovely colour to this bouquet

Bushes for Fragrant Bouquets

If you also want your bouquets to exude a pleasant fragrance, consider choosing:

• Highly fragrant roses;
• Mimosa;
• Mahonia;
• Winter viburnum;
• Lilac;
• Sarcococca;
• Winter honeysuckle.

Mimosa in a vase, solo, in yellow duo or paired, always creates a vibrant picture