The Must-Have Yellow Flower For DIY Arrangements That Stay Fresh Longer

For flower lovers, there's nothing more magical than heading out to the yard early in the morning with a basket and some snips to see what beauties you can gather for today's DIY arrangement to decorate your home with flowers. While admiring all the colorful blooms and getting distracted by the bees happily buzzing around, your eyes suddenly land on a small yellow ball perched on top of a long, slender stem. As you gaze at this unusual yellow flower, you can't quite remember what you planted in that spot. What you're looking at is a billy button (Pycnosorus globosus), a pretty little plant, formerly known as Craspedia globosa, that hails from Australia and is much coveted by the florist industry due to its long vase life and its curious form. This is one of those plants with yellow flowers you'll love in your flower garden.

Billy buttons are in the Asteraceae family, and their crowning glory is their small, yellow, perfectly round flowers that look very much like miniature golf balls. These 1-inch-wide blooms tower above the silvery-gray foliage on long stems that can be up to 2 feet tall. What's even more amazing about this unique plant is that it's extremely easy to grow, and the flowers are the perfect, must-have addition to any of the DIY floral arrangements you care to create, as they stay fresh longer than you might expect. They can also be dried so they can brighten up even the dullest winter day with their cheery presence.

As a perennial, billy buttons can be grown in USDA hardiness zones 8 through 11, or you can plant them as annuals elsewhere. Although the plant is frost-tolerant, it most likely won't survive in the colder zones. Billy buttons can be easily grown from seed, either in the garden or by starting them indoors in flats. Seeds should be scattered on the surface of the soil and only very lightly covered. They'll germinate within 14 to 21 days as long as the mix is kept moist and the soil temperature is around 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

When your seedlings are 2 to 4 inches tall, they can be transplanted into the garden. Choose a sunny spot with moist but well-drained soil. Although these flowers are drought-tolerant, they will perform better when given adequate moisture during the growing season. Be sure to cut the blooms often so more will grow and give you a continuous supply of flowers in spring and summer. You'll find that the fresh blooms can last up to two weeks in a floral arrangement, but these flowers really come into their own when dried. They hold their color well and can look great for several years. Drying them is easy — you just cut some stems, tie them into bunches, and hang them upside down in a warm and dry spot for around a month. These would be a great addition to your summer wreaths that will make you think of warmer days.