Blue and Purple Muscari for Springtime Weddings

Muscari or grape hyacinths begin showing up at Springwell Gardens usually by mid March. This year they came on a little later.

They are short stemmed fragrant flowers that come in shades of purple, blue and also white.

I purchase my bulbs in the late summer-early fall from John Scheepers. They have a great selection to choose from, (as well as lots of other springtime flowering bulbs). Muscari go into the ground in early November and usually bloom for about 3-4 weeks in the spring. Which makes  these great flowers to use for mid March through mid April weddings.

This year I added Valerie Finnis, a soft pale blue, and White Magic to the traditional purple flowers. I also added another interesting variety not pictured called Saffier, (more about these later).

Because of their short stems they need a separate water source when used in bouquet work, or they may be wired into the design. Oh but they are worth the effort!
Here they are in a bouquet with white ranunculus, black-eyed anemones and white fringe tulips- just beautiful.

Another great feature about muscari is that they multiply in the garden every year. So once you plant them  you will be rewarded with more and more as the years go by!

Jewel Tone Anemone and Pansy Centerpiece and Bouquet

The garden beds are starting to crank out some real beauties! It's so exciting to watch tall stems of white and purple anemones unfurl to show off dark velvety centers. .Hellebores are starting to mellow to a mint green, and bridal wreath spirea and flowering almonds have reached their peak.  These are just some of the flowers of spring!

Here are a couple of designs that take advantage of these lovely flowers as well as others such as ranunculus,  hyacinth, viburnum, pansies and muscari.

 Muscari and pansies are delightful flowers, but they have short stems, so they had to be given a separate water source to use in both of these designs.

The ethereal beauty of these flowers makes them a joy for springtime weddings!

Purple and Blue Pansies and Muscari for Springtime Weddings

The pansies had a rough time this year with all the cold, but they are finally starting to shine. Muscari was slow to start by a couple of weeks, but they too are now taking off..  

These blooms just shout "Spring!" and look great  in floral designs, but because of their short stems, you have to be creative. One way is to utilize the plants as well as the flowers. This short squared container lends itself well to a design in which individual plants and flower stems can be used.  

I have arranged two small pansy plants diagonally across from each other and two sedum plants along with some "hens and chicks" (sempervivum) in the other diagonal corners, then filled in with blooms from hyacinth, hellebore, anemones and muscari. The short stems of the flowers have their own water source while the plants were wrapped separately and tucked in. The container looks best when set on the table on the diagonal and offers a different view from all sides.

Another nice feature about this design is that it can be taken apart and the plants reused.  The pansies can be potted up and enjoyed for several more weeks before we really get hot (they can't take our summer heat), and the sedums can go right  into the garden bed or another container.