Summertime is Zinnia Time!

They're here!!! The zinnias that is. I am growing Queen Red Lime, Bright Pink and Salmon Rose

The pictures with this post feature Queen Red Lime. It's a real beauty. The flowers range in color from a soft green with pink undertones to shades of antique pink and rose.

It really makes a statement on its own or in bouquets. It's paired below with the mature stems of cushion spurge or euphorbia.

It will be blooming from summer through fall. I plan to show it to Kitty who is getting married in August.

She just may want to add a few stems of Queen Red Lime to some of her centerpiece designs- we'll see....

Blue Flowers for Late Spring and Early Summer Weddings

Spring always slips into summer a little too quickly... It's part of living in the South I guess. While I love summer flowers, I hate to see spring flowers go.
Yesterday I pulled the Chinese Forget-Me-Not out of the garden beds. It was hard, but I need that space for other flowers. This is the second year of growing these incredibly blue flowers. I love everything about them, except they can't take the heat!

Chinese Forget-Me-Not (cynoglossum) add a vivid touch of blue to wedding flowers which looks amazing with yellows like these roses, poppies and ranunculus above. It can also make a statement with a softer color palette as in the bouquet below that include white anemones, Sahara roses, silvery lamb's ear and lavender stock

 And it's lovely nestled in with pinks and peaches too.

Seed should be started in the fall, (I was late), and plants can be overwintered in the garden beds.

This fall I plan to get it started on time, and I will make sure that I have a nice area in the garden beds too. Kate is getting married next May, and she just might want to use it in her bouquet!