Cafe Au Lait Dahlias and Pink Majolica Spray Roses

Some things are worth the wait! That is what I think about these Cafe Au Lait Dahlias. They are starting to bloom now at Springwell Gardens.

This is my second year of growing them. Last year I received dahlia tubers that were supposed to be Cafe Au Lait, but they were not!

Here they featured in a bouquet with pink Majolica spray roses, coral pink Jitterbug and white Bride-To-Be Dahlias, with a collar of seeded eucalyptus, Dusty Miller and Centaurea "Colchester White".

 I am looking forward to using them this fall for a few special brides!

Cafe Au Lait Dahlias and Amnesia Roses for Mary and Brad's Wedding

They're coming home tonight from their honeymoon- home to a new way of life- my daughter, Mary, and her husband, Brad, are now newlyweds!

So many folks were involved in helping pull things together for their wedding- friends, brothers, aunts and uncles...
 Brad's Mom, Terry, put together a WONDERFUL dessert table with 500 individual, homemade, very yummy little cheesecakes- they were incredible!!!
Wilson was the behind the scenes man, setting up the arbor for the ceremony and making OODLES of wooden boxes for centerpiece designs.
 I even had boutonniere help from Mary's sister, Natalie, and of course my friend, Sandy, came over to help with the flowers as well.
The flowers.. Mary would send me a link or put images on Pinterest to give me ideas of what she and Brad liked. Soft muted colors, her favorite flower- Amnesia roses, and to humor me- something from my gardens. I joked with her last April... "I'm planting these Cafe Au Lait Dahlias just for your bouquet..."
I was so excited the Lord gave me some beautiful blooms to pick from !

 Brad and Mary wanted to use succulents for the boutonnieres. Here are a couple of images of Natalie's creations.

We used Wilson's wooden boxes for many of the centerpiece designs.

And filled them with Amnesia roses, eucalyptus, Majolica spray roses, hydrangeas and wax flowers.
A great "do ahead" were some of the small wooden boxes filled with succulents.

Hopefully some of these babies will keep on growing in their new potted homes.
All in all it was a crazy, wonderful time.

 And now the new chapter is about to begin... Brad and Mary, I am praying God's blessing for you as you begin your wedded life... Love, Mom

Soft Coral Garden Rose and Pink Dahlia Bouquet

Sunset hues of peach and pink and yellow make for a stunning color combination.
They are colors that resonate well with summertime- soft yet vibrant.
The flowers in this lush bouquet are gorgeous peachy-coral cabbage roses called Romantic Antike and soft pink Majolica spray roses with some lovely picks from the garden-
Annabelle Hydrangea, Indigo Spires Salvia, Gabrielle Marie Dahlias, and fragrant Tuberose. Check back next week to see a version of this with a splash of aubergine perilla!

Green Button Mums and Queen Ann's Lace for Susan and Gary

Nothing like a green and white color palette for your wedding flowers when the temperatures are soaring outside. It's such a refreshing look for these hot summer days!

June 30th was the second day in a flush of 100 plus degree days, but I am sure that Gary and Susan hardly noticed! This was a day to celebrate with friends as they joined their lives together as husband and wife.

I met with Susan and her friend, Christa, to discuss this great color palette. Flowers for the bouquets included white Akito roses, green button mums, buplerum, lisianthus and Majolica spray roses. Susan wanted something that would complement the navy blue bridesmaids' dresses. I think she nailed it perfectly!
Ceremony arrangements also showcased the bright greens, creams and soft whites.
It was great having some flowers to gather from the garden beds such as some white spires of foxglove,  Queen Ann's Lace, summer phlox and double feverfew.
Susan did not need a toss bouquet, but loved having a posy to give away to a special friend.

Well, it's been a week and a day since this sweet couple said "I do!" Praying God's blessing for you two as you begin your married lives!!!

Pink Gerber Daisies for Susan and David

May has been such a pleasant month for weddings! I know we've had some extra warm days here and there and some very rainy days, but overall, this skies have been blue, the air has been refreshing and everything stills looks so fresh- almost glowing.
So I can see why couples choose this time of year for weddings. And today was the DAY that David and Susan chose for their Wedding Day!
Susan loves pink- bright, hot pink with touches of soft pink. Some of her favorite flowers are Gerber Daisies, but she's fond of lots of others too!
So of course the color palette was full of hot pinks- cerise, fuchsia, raspberry and soft apple blosssom pink. Other flowers included stock, carnations and daisy mums,  and I think she agreed with me that soft pink Majolica spray roses would look lovely too.
For the men- the boutonnieres were designed with white roses and and a sprig of freesia for David.
All the flowers looked perfect when I picked them up from the wholesaler, and it was great to have gatherings from the garden too- such as pink hydrangeas, creamy foxglove, pink larkspur and yarrow, and dainty white feverfew.
So glad I was able to see Susan briefly and know that she was delighted with her flowers.
And so begins the new chapter of husband and wife- Praying God's blessing for Susan and David as they start their married life!!!

Weddings- Megan and Kyle

Yesterday was such a special day for a very special couple- a day to get married. And that's just what Megan and Kyle did just a few hours ago!
This day has been a long time in coming... The first time I met Megan and Kyle was last April at the Southern Bridal Show & Expo in Raleigh. They stopped by my booth and then they both came for the floral consultation a few weeks later.
Megan's primary color was purple, and though the flower choices changed a little, I think that she was quite happy with the final outcome. It was great showing her this bouquet for her wedding day.
Jewel tone purple lisianthus and stock, plum colored hellebore and tulips, and lavender freesia and were nestled among apple green viburnum and lisianthus buds with stems of fragrant rosemary. It was a sweet nod to the coming of spring.

The Maid of Honor bouquet featured white Akito roses, ivory Majolica spray roses, waxflowers, hydrangea and button mums.

And the Toss Bouquet was a lovely mixture of jewel colors, ivories and whites.
And because I had a little extra time, I wanted to make sure that I got Kyle's boutonniere just right!
So here are the three that Megan chose from:

1) A plum colored hellebore from the garden with a single lisianthus bud

2) A stem of lavender freesia with a ruffle of stock, and

3) A rich purple lisianthus flower with a stem of fresh Rosemary

And that one is the one that Megan chose.

I am so happy for you two... it's been almost twelve hours since you said "I do!"
Praying God's blessing for you as you begin your lives together!

Weddings- Mikki & Hector... The Real Pictures

I call them the Real Pictures, because 1) they are taken by truly gifted photographers and 2) they show the Real People who have just gotten married!
And I am so excited to show off these two! Mikki and Hector make the sweetest couple and they had the most wonderful wedding in September.
And Jamie Blow of J&J Photography did an outstanding job of capturing all the wonderful details of their special day.

The color palette that Mikki and Hector chose was absolutely gorgeous- rich plum and purple, lavender, antique green and ivory.
And I loved combining beautiful flowers from my garden with the beautiful flowers from the market.
Cinda of Cinda's Creative Cakes created a fantastic wedding cake with cool leaves and branches embellished with fresh flowers and a cute bird nest!
The round oak slabs are Mikki's Dad's handiwork. They were perfect for the woodsy garden theme.

It is music to my ears when I hear from my couples how perfect their wedding day was, and I am so excited for them as they begin their lives together as husband and wife.


Mikki and Hector, I wish you all the BEST as these newly wedded days slip into weeks....then months... then years..... many, many years!!!

Blue Ribbon at the NC State Fair!!!

NC State Fair means one thing to me- floral design competition! Well actually I do like to check out the other exhibits too: beautiful garden designs, bonsai "treelets", the cows and goats and chickens-- especially the chickens-- I love them, (too bad the town of Cary does not allow chickens in the town limits). And of course the food- I am not brave enough to try the Fried Oreos, but I really can chow down on the funnel cakes.
Well back to the Floral Designs- thanks to Erv Evans (who does an INCREDIBLE Job with the Flower & Garden Show) and Cleveland Plant & Flower Co., professional florists in Wake County have the opportunity to showcase their stuff just for the fun of it!
One of this year's categories was "Surprise- something special for the new mom and baby". I still have a "fair" amount of pink in the garden so of course I wanted to do something to welcome a new baby girl.
And here's the design that I entered this year. I purchased a wooden box from Michaels and whitewashed the exterior. Next I glued on pressed Larkspur florets to the box. See the DIY Wedding Flowers- Pressed Flowers from April. I also glued Larkspur to the Baby Card as well.
I grow larkspur each year from seed. NOW is the time to plant larkspur seeds for next year's blooms. I plan to put up a post next week about how to plant it.
Other flowers from the garden included dainty pale pink dahlias called Chilson's Pride and bright pink Fairy roses, scented geraniums, lamb's ear and Green Spice Heuchera leaves- these are some of the best heucheras in my garden beds!
Other flowers from my wholesaler included ivory Majolica spray roses and something I was thrilled to see- fresh pink Larkspur!
I was also thrilled to receive a Blue Ribbon for my design