Summer Wedding Flowers- Check Out Feverfew, Part 2

 

Last week's post was about a great garden flower for summer weddings- feverfew! There are several forms of this late spring/ early summer blooming flower. The single flower form (last week's post) looks like camomile. This week will focus on the double flower form.These are frilly blooms are about the size of your tip of your index finger with soft yellow centers.

Feverfew is a short lived perennial. I usually grow the double flower version from stem cuttings that are rooted in late summer.  Last year I had great success with the cuttings that I rooted from a lone plant, so in the spring there were drifts of feverfew in bloom. I cut back about one third of the plants before they ever bloomed and was able to extend the blooming period for a couple of weeks.

The double-flower form looks more refined and is beautiful in wedding bouquets and centerpiece work.

Its bloom season is from mid May through late June. Other garden flowers blooming at Springwell at that time include Queen Ann's Lace, calla lilies, Snow on the Mountain,  zinnias, summer phlox, dianthus and yarrow.

The stem cuttings from this past summer are well rooted and I am looking forward to having plenty of flowers for weddings next May and June!

Summer Wedding Flowers in Plums, Pink and Wine

For a one of a kind summer wedding bouquet, I suggest going with flowers that you don't see everyday. Let me introduce you to Monarda or Bee Balm. This particular variety is called Raspberry Wine.
Last year was my first year of growing this little beauty and I was very pleased. It has rich wine red tubular blooms with a fragrance that is intoxicating! The dark red pairs well with pink and burgundy as in this bouquet that also features hydrangea, gladiolus, and yarrow. The flowers have that wonderful cottage charm, and would look great for a garden or rustic style wedding. In the Raleigh, NC area the blooms will start up by late May and should persist through the end of June. A great source for this flower would be your local Farmer's Market OR Springwell Gardens of course!

Just Give Me Zinnias

This is certainly not the first time I've written about zinnias.

And that's because they are some of my absolute favorite flowers. My fondness for them begin when I first got married (See the post "Zinnias and A Wedding" 11-14-10), and I have always enjoyed them ever since.
Here is a picture of my wedding bouquet and one of the bridesmaid's bouquets- notice her bouquet has little pink zinnias. It was one of the few flowers I was familiar with when I got married. And what's so GREAT about them is that almost anyone can grow them!
I start with seeds usually in March, but sometimes I start them even earlier.
Not only do I enjoy growing them, but I find zinnias also make great wedding flowers! The picture above is a bouquet of mixed summer flowers such as yellow Asiatic lilies, white calla lilies, feverfew, and pink and yellow zinnias.
The summer bouquet below features red zinnias, scented geraniums and a swirling wrap of Love-In-A-Puff vine.
Zinnias come in reds, pinks, purples (more of a fuchsia purple), yellows, oranges, green and white.
I sometimes make bouquets of just zinnias as in the design above, but more often I combine them with other flowers. The white, yellow and blue bouquet below features roses, yarrow, feverfew and hydrangeas.They are the epitome of great summer flowers- bright colors, heat lovers, and they bloom and bloom and bloom.
But they love autumn too, and you can sometimes coax flowers from the plants all the way through frost.
I plan to give a quick primer on sowing the seeds in March, and then you can grow your own zinnias- who knows, you may find that you love them as much as I do!!!

Summer Bouquet in White- Snow-on-the-Mountain

Here in Cary, NC, we have had some pretty hot weather this year. It seems like our temps have been about 10 degrees above normal for weeks. So I was intrigued by the common name for this soft green and white euphorbia- it's called Snow-on-the-Mountain. How refreshing that sounds this time of year, and how refreshing it looks in summer bouquets!
I have grown several different types of euphorbias, but they are spring time bloomers, and by summer they are way past their peak.
This is my first year of growing Euphorbia marginata. And so far I just love it!!! The seeds were sown indoors in early March and the plants started blooming in early June. Next year I plan to do several plantings so that I will have them to add to bouquets and designs for a couple of months.
They mix beautifully with white and cream flowers. In the top bouquet, I used the Snow-on-the-Mountain as a collar around white calla lilies and double feverfew, (all from the garden).
The second and third pictures show it mixed with cream yarrow, white hydrangeas, the single form of feverfew and Akito roses.
Caution should be used when working with euphorbias as they can cause skin irritations for some people. I have had no problems with it myself, but would use care with anyone who has sensitive skin.
I think these beauties are a wonderful addition to the garden and to summer bouquets!

Weddings- Kirsten and Daniel

Yesterday was the wedding day for Kirsten and Daniel.
When I first met with Kirsten, she was thinking of using pinks, yellows and whites for her flowers. But as we looked through photos of some of my bouquet designs, the two that caught her eyes were composed of just pinks, whites and touches of green- so these were the colors that ended up in her wedding bouquet. One of the flowers that she really was drawn to was the light pink Majolica rose. It has that charming cottage rose appeal and a lovely delicate fragrance.
Other flowers included white button mums, hot pink stock, pink lisianthus, raspberry pink scabosia, and from my garden, dark pink hydrangeas. I also added just a few green Love-in-a-Mist (nigella) seed heads. When I brought Kirsten her bouquet, I made sure that she knew she could save these pods and plant the seeds someday in her own garden.
Here are the ceremony arrangements that were later placed in the urns at the church. Each one had touches of soft pink snapdragons, stock and Majolica roses.
The bridesmaids carried bouquets of hot pink Gerber daisies, hot pink and light pink stock, light pink Majolica roses and from my gardens- soft pink yarrow.
There is a newly wedded couple today, and I am praying for God's blessing as Daniel and Kirsten start their lives together!

Spicy Pink Summer Bouquet from the Garden

In all honesty, today's title can be taken Literally AND Figuratively. Here's a fun bouquet from the garden that is filled with spicy fragrance AND spicy pink colors!!! Some of these flowers are Southern favorites such as Bee Balm (monarda) and perilla and are fairly easy to grow. Bee Balm is the flower that looks like fireworks, and perilla is the rich plum colored leaf collar that encircles the bouquet.
These flowers are also edible- now this doesn't mean they really taste good, but they are safe to use around foods as garnishes or decoration. Sometimes perilla is used to flavor teas and vinegar, and the little pink firework blooms from Bee Balm would look sweet sprinkled on top of cupcakes.

Here's a closeup of Bee Balm nestled in with gladiolas florets, pink yarrow and bright pink hydrangeas.

I love all the rich shades of pink that are happening in this bouquet, and many of them will be around the garden for a few more weeks.
Tomorrow I will start to work on the wedding flowers for Kirsten and Daniel. Her colors are pink too, and I know that she likes hydrangeas and the Neon Dianthus. Some of those flowers may find a way into some of her designs...

Summer Bouquet- Zinnias, Nigella, and More...

The nigella (the common name is Love-in-a-Mist) started blooming around early May, and in mid May was followed by zinnias (one of my Favorite flowers-see the post "My Wedding"). Then there were the calla lilies and the Fairy Roses and yarrow and the foxglove. Whew... everyday the garden has been changing. So I wanted to work up some designs that featured late spring/early summer flowers.
These sweet little flowers are called Love-in-a-Mist because of all the fern-like wisps that surround the sky blue petals. Nigella also comes in pinks and whites, but blue has been the one that reseeds in my gardens for years. The green centers of the flowers eventually turn into little fat pods with whiskers. I sometimes cut the whiskers off. And those pods are full of seeds that can be planted in mid to late September, and after that you'll have Love-in-a-Mist come back every year!
These flowers are just made for each other. Pink zinnias, foxglove, yarrow and Fairy Rose mingled with the soft blues of nigella and lavender. I would love it if they would all stay around for the summer, but here in the South, the nigella, lavender and yarrow will soon be gone. The Fairy Rose will bloom slightly during the heat, but will put on a better show in early fall. I am soooo thankful for the zinnias... keep them watered and they will bloom like crazy all summer long.
I guess I'll settle for zinnias for now. Oh yes, and the celosia and hydrangeas and gomphrena and coneflowers and the dahlias. Summer is coming FAST....