Summer Wedding Flowers- Check Out Feverfew, Part 1

As the garden beds wind down for the season, I thought I would take a look back and write a little about some of my favorite garden picks that LOVE to play the supporting role in bouquets and centerpiece designs. And one of the best for summer weddings is Feverfew.

 There are two forms that I grow- the double flowers as in the picture above, and the single daisy-like flowers as in the picture below.

 The post is going to focus on the single flower form.
Once you have this plant in your garden, it's pretty easy to keep it. I have found feverfew to be a short lived perennial, but it reseeds so easily that I usually have plenty in the garden. The plants stay low throughout the winter and then start to shoot up in March and April. The bloom time is from mid April through late May or early June. Leave some of the flower heads on the plant until they have died to ensure they reseed. Afterwards I suggest cutting the plants back to keep the clumps neat.
Check out a few bouquets that feature this Oh-so-sweet-flower!

Katie's yellow bouquet from last June was also designed with yellow Babe spray roses, brown-eyed Viking mums, sunflowers, Queen Anne's Lace and English ivy.

Coral and white zinnias, white calla lilies, blue Chinese delphinium  look great with clusters of feverfew...

And so does this bouquet of Snow on the Mountain Euphorbia, yarrow and white roses.

Two good sources for seeds are Select Seeds and Johnny's Selected Seeds

Summertime at Springwell Gardens

Well here it comes! Summer that is... I hear that we will be hitting the 90's tomorrow. I am trying to be upbeat about it since we have had such a mild start.
The garden beds have been doing very well. It has been so much easier with the new raised beds. I have been very pleased, and I am hopeful that the flowers will continue to perform well, even with the added heat.
Camelot Foxglove (see picture below) is still providing some lovely lateral spires. I have a wedding next weekend and would love to add these to the ceremony designs.
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia) is starting to crank up- see picture below. Next year, I am just going to put a few plants into the mixed borders instead of one of the beds. They offer loads of flowers, but I could use more purples, plums and pinks and less golds and yellows.
One of several new additions to the garden has been Queen Ann's Lace (Ammi- See picture below). I am hoping this one keeps going for at least another week or so. We'll see- since I understand it likes the cooler weather.
Another newbie is Chinese Delphinium- Wow! just love the color. I believe this one will also melt with the warmer temperature, but I sure have enjoyed it, and plan to have more next year!

Needless to say, it's all about the flowers for me, but we also have a small patch for veggies too. Wilson is growing cucumbers, squash and tomatoes. We both have our eyes on these big boys, and plan to invite them to supper SOON!

Summer Bouquet in Warm Coral and Cobalt Blue

I have loved how gently summer has ushered in, and I am loving the rain too!
The garden is just brimming over with some beautiful flowers. Coral and Salmon Rose Zinnias, Feverfew, Calla Lilies (just a few), beautiful cobalt blue Chinese Delphiniums, and Ammi (or False Queen Anne's Lace), along with many others.
This bouquet features some of these wonderful flowers. New to the garden are the Chinese Delphinium and the Queen Ann's Lace (Ammi). These have been vigorous flowering plants, and are a great addition for the late spring early summer garden.
Another sweet little flower that will really take off with the summer heat is Strawberry Fields Gomphrena. It is such a vibrant red, and really likes the heat. Be sure to look for these bedding plants at Campbell Road Nursery. If planted now, they should give you blooms through the rest of the summer and into fall!

Springtime Wedding Flowers- White Ranunculus

One of the most beautiful flowers for springtime weddings is white ranunculus.

It's perfect for the bride who desires an all white bouquet, but would like a mixture of flowers such as this bouquet above that features white ranunculus, calla lilies, freesia,  and from the garden- paperwhites and lily of the valley.
Or a touch of green with white as in the bouquet below designed with white ranunculus, freesia, Akito roses, lisianthus and baby green hydrangeas.
It also looks charming with blue flowers as well as in this bouquet with blue delphinium florets.
Ranunculus are delicate looking flowers with multiple layers of tissue-like petals. These layers and layers often open up to reveal golden (or dark) stamen centers. The flowers come in other colors as well- pink, salmon, red, orange, yellow and more. The flowers are usually available from mid to late February through late April in our area. This year I am growing them in a hoop house (more about that later), and hope to have them blooming by late February.
As soon as I do I will add them to more wonderful springtime designs!

Weddings- Megan & Paul

Winter weddings often evoke the more subtle images of beauty. Bare branched trees and evergreens, chilly sunshine and blue, blue skies, or blankets of soft gray clouds and mist, drizzle or cold rain.
For Megan and Paul there were indeed the blankets of clouds and drizzle last Saturday, but we were all thinking how appropriate for a couple who will be calling England home. And the joy of a wedding is never dampened by clouds or rain!
I have known Megan for years... Her Mom, Terry, is a very good friend of mine.
Megan is a dear, young lady with a heart for the Lord, and when she felt His call to go to England and serve in a small church there, she had NO IDEA she would find the man she would spend the rest of her life with in that place... But God did.
And last Saturday was their wedding day!
I know their story from a distance, but the parts I know are very touching. And I was delighted to join with so many others to witness this couple exchange their vows and hear Paul speak in his sweet Irish accent of "My wife..."
And of course I had a wonderful time designing the flowers that would be a part of this special day.
Megan's color palette included ivories, whites and blues. She also wanted textures and elements that would tie in with the season, yet also look forward to spring. Blue delphinium, thistle-like flowers of eryngium, pink centered waxflowers, hydrangeas, roses and seeded eucalyptus were a few of the flowers chosen for the bridesmaids' bouquets.
Boutonnieres were designed blue delphinium florets and seeded eucalyptus. Paul's boutonniere also sported a black-eyed ornithogalum floret.
Corsages were white spray roses, seeded eucalyptus and waxflower buds.
Megan's bouquet was filled with large ivory roses called Snow Blaze, ivory Majolica spray roses, blue delphinium,blue hydrangea, green hypericum berries, white stock, black-eyed ornithogalum, and seeded eucalyptus.
These flowers were also used in the ceremony designs as well as the tight pink buds of viburnum, and tall branches of fresh pussy willow stems. The centerpiece design for the refreshment table included a wonderfully twisted branch called Harry Lauder's Walking Stick (Corylus avellana 'contorta'. These branches are so interesting in the winter landscape. The trees a VERY slow growing, and the branches are not very easy to come by- so it was great to be able to cut this beauty from Megan's parents' yard.
I am so very happy for Megan and Paul. Praying for God's blessing for them as they begin their lives together!!!

Wedding Flowers- Katie's bouquet in blue and white

I just wanted to post some pictures of the lovely bouquet that I designed for Katie who was married to Erik last Sunday. She wanted to go with a classic design of white flowers with just a touch of blue. I took a few shots of her bouquet before I added bound stems of dried baby's breath, thinking I would have time later to take more pictures of her bouquet as well as the bridesmaids' bouquets- I am sorry that I didn't have a chance to pull the camera out again.
Her bouquet was a dreamy cloud of white ranunculus, roses, lisianthus, stock and hydrangeas with soft blue delphinium florets peaking out. Katie and Erik had a beautiful day for their wedding, and I know that this sweet couple is so happy to be husband and wife!!!