Summer Flowers- Bright Corals and Yellows with a Touch of Blue

The warm hues of summer flowers are cranking up in the garden- There are two varieties of Black-eyed Susan- Indian Summers and Goldilocks, coral and red zinnias, and some late flushes of feverfew.
There are still lateral stems of foxglove and Ammi blooming as well, and a small crop of Mountain Mint. I thought this arrangement looked so cheery, but afterwards I found some Delphinium stems I had meant to include as well...
So here is the same design with punches of blue... it really changes it up a bit, don't you think?
Next year there will be more Mountain Mint. It's a plant that I have loved for years, but lost a few seasons ago. I was thrilled to find it last year at the Farmer's Market in Raleigh. The botanical name is Pycnanthemum spp. To read more about it go: Beautiful Wildlife Garden
I love this soft green filler! It looks beautiful in floral design work and smells wonderful too!

Sunflowers for Katie and David's Wedding

Time... it has this funny habit of rushing and rushing and rushing by... Sometimes I wish I could stop it
or at least slow it down. Yesterdays add up, and before you know it babies grow up, and before you know it, little girls are all grown up and getting married...
I have known Katie all of her life. And now this sweet, bubbly little girl is a young MARRIED woman!!!
I considered it such a privilege to be asked to design the flowers for her and David's wedding day!
Summery flowers- golden yellow roses, yarrow, sunflowers and petite Viking mums were mixed with cream colored stock and splashes of white Queen Ann's Lace and feverfew for the bridesmaid and bridal bouquets.
Boutonnieres for the fathers were created with Viking mums- I love how they look just like mini sunflowers.
The comb for Katie's hair was embellished with white stock, yellow Babe spray roses, ivy and Viking mums.
The ceremony arrangements were also a cheery mix of yellow and white.

The finishing touch for Katie's bouquet was a lovely cascade of English ivy embellished with tendrils of Viking mums. Just loved the look on her face when she saw her flowers, and so thrilled she let me capture this shot of her holding her bouquet!
Praying God's blessing for David and you as you two begin your lives together as husband and wife!!!

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!

Coral Wedding Flowers for Dominique and Javier

Normally I will do a close-up of the Bridal Bouquet as a first picture, but I want to explain this particular bridal bouquet before I show it- so the first picture for this wedding post is a picture of the Toss Bouquet.
Dominique and Javier first dropped by my studio (at my home in Cary) in February, and both were exuberant as they shared  ideas for their late May wedding. Lots of personal touches would be included, and the colors would be bold- bright corals and deep navy and cobalt blue.
My part was to provide flowers for the bridesmaids, Gerber daisies for the wine bottle centerpieces, and some floral accents for the gift table.
And since it was a May wedding, I wanted to introduce them both to some garden flowers that could play a support role to the Gerber daisies and coral spray roses.
So the week after our initial meeting in February, I started seeds for zinnias in bright corals and salmon.
A few weeks before the wedding, Javier and Dominique came by to drop off the cobalt blue wine bottles for the centerpieces. While they were here, we stepped out to the garden, and I was able to show them the bed of zinnias. Dominique also liked the double flowered form of feverfew that blooms this time of year, so some of them were included in the bouquets too.
And speaking of wine bottle centerpieces....
They were perfect for the reception at Cafe Luna in Raleigh. Another personal touch was cloth napkins in bright corals and navy. Dominique's Mom, Debi, stitched up each one!
And  Dominique's Dad, Dominick, put his wine making skills to work in providing small gift bottles of wine for all the guests!
And finally... Remember the Bridal Bouquet? Well I'm not the one who created it... This bouquet was created by Dominique's Mom- a beautiful bouquet designed with silk florals and brooches!

They dropped by several days before the wedding, and I was able to get a few pictures of Dominique holding her wedding bouquet- Just stunning!

What a beautiful and loving keepsake... 

Everything came together beautifully last Saturday. 

Dominique and Javier, I am so happy for you both! Praying God's blessing on your new marriage!!!

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!!!

Yellow Poppies and Blue Nigella for Katie's Bridal Shower

In just three weeks, Katie will be getting married. It's hard to believe!

Another little girl that I have had the privilege of watching grow up into a beautiful young woman. And I am so happy for her as she gets ready for her special day.
so yesterday was her bridal shower...
And the perfect opportunity to put together this springtime centerpiece from the garden. While the color palette for her wedding will have bolder shades, I thought these softer hues would be lovely for her shower- silvery Lamb's Ear and Dusty Miller, Green Spice Heuchera, blue Love-in-a-Mist (Nigella), pale yellow poppies, yarrow, and ivory Foxglove.

And in a few more weeks it will be time to do the wedding flowers!