Chinese Forget-Me-Nots for Late Spring and Early Summer Wedding Bouquets

The Chinese Forget-Me-Not bloomed and were gone before I hardly had a chance to work with them last year.

2013 was my first year for growing them, and because of poor germination, I only had a few plants. Also the lovely cornflower blue just wasn't in the color palette of any of my  May and June weddings.
But I was smitten with them and did manage to tuck them into a centerpiece design with poppies. 

These are actually Chinese Forget-Me-Nots, or cynoglossum. I first learned of them through Floret Flower Farm, in fact, there is a great blogpost by Erin about growing them from January 25, 2014.

My seeds were started earlier this month, and  the seedlings are emerging. Germination has been better this year, and 

I am hopeful to have them again for May and June. I am growing the blue and white varieties, and will make sure that I work them into a few floral arrangements even if I don't need them for weddings!

They are so enchanting- in the garden and definitely in wedding bouquets and designs!

Black-Eyed Susans for Summer Weddings

January is seed sowing time for Rudbeckia or Black-Eyed Susan. This sunflower look-alike is quite easy to grow,

and will reward you with several months of golden yellow blooms that can really stand up to summer heat.

I grow them for the bride who wants truly garden-inspired designs that feature rich bold colors. My favorite variety is Indian Summer, but I also grow a green-eyed variety called Prairie Sun, (there's a few in the lower right corner of the picture above).

Black-Eyed Susan commands attention in mixed color bouquets such as the one above that also features Foxglove and Zinnias.

 And it also works well in a more analogous color palette as the one above that features golden Sunflowers, Spray Roses and Gerber Daisies.
Seeds can be ordered from Johnny's Selected Seeds.
This January batch should start blooming late May to early June. I will sow seeds again in March for blooms in mid- July. If you keep the flowers cut, plants should continue to bloom for about 2 1/2 to 3 months.

Yellow for Springtime Weddings

There is nothing like the color yellow to brighten up your springtime wedding flowers!

Great flower choices for this rich saturated color are tulips, ranunculus and daffodils...

 And don't forget pansies! Yes, they have short stems, but they can be added at the last minute if given a separate water source. Small plants can be used for centerpiece designs- securely wrap the roots with some of the potting material in plastic wrap and tuck into the design.

These flowers will begin to make an appearance at Springwell Gardens starting in mid February through early April.You can go bold with oranges and hot pinks, or set them off against blues and whites. It's a color that can certainly brighten your special day!