Dear Kathy,

Many of us love to both garden and create floral arrangements. What are some flowers we can easily grow in zone 10b that would be long lasting in a floral arrangement? What about greenery? Are there certain ferns we could grow? What flowers and greens should we stick to purchasing that are long lasting?

Dear Gardener,

Every garden design is unique and every floral designer has their own styles and preferences as to design materials. Here is a list of some of my personal favorites that are very successful to grow in the San Diego Mediterranean climate zone. 
1. Bird of Paradise (flowers and leaves are great).
2. Various varieties of Protea such as Pincushion Protea. Yellow and orange. 
3. A variety of geraniums, especially those with interesting variegation of leaves.
4. Sword fern for creating lines in design.  
5. Asparagus (Foxtail) Fern.
6. Agapanthus (Lily of the Nile, in purple and white).
7. Pittosporum in green and variegated for filler.
8. Anthurium (flowers and leaves).
9. Monstera for the large leaves.
10. Sago Palm (the fronds can be trimmed and/or manipulated).
11. Salal ( great leaves).
12. Seeded Eucalyptus.
All tropical flowers are great and long lasting. Annual and Perennial flowers grown in the garden can usually be used in floral design but I actually often use my garden greenery and buy the flowers at Trader Joe’s or Wholesale Flowers on Metro near Old Town. 
I hope this is helpful. There is so much we can grow and use you would need acres but these are just some of my personal favorites. 
Cheers,
Kathy 🌺