Are these flowers any good for picking?

[WPG]

As I'm going on holiday soon, I'd like to pick a bunch of calendulas from my plot and give them away as cut flowers. I've never picked them before - do they last in vases, or would they just wilt too quickly? Is there anything I need to do to the stems, or anything I could add into the water, to make them last longer?

The other flowers I could pick are nigella and cornflowers - again, are they worth picking as cut flowers, or would they wilt too soon?

[veggiechicken]

They make good cut flowers according to Ben Calendula Offinialis | Higgledy Garden

[WPG]

Thanks veggiechicken - that's a very amusing website - think I'll order next years flower seeds from them.

[veggiechicken]

Mr Higgledy always makes me laugh and his seeds are good too