Growing Zinnias from Seed

One of the most rewarding experiences for me is the opportunity to grow flowering plants from seed, and it can be for you too. An easy plant to start with is the zinnia, and now is the time to get your seeds for some GREAT summer blooms.
For years, I have used Johnny's Selected Seeds www.johnnyseeds.com/  for my cut flower zinnias. They carry the Benary's Giant Series (the best zinnia for cut flowers), and Johnny's offers them as separate colors as well as a mix of colors.
I purchase seed starting trays from the big box stores such as Lowe's or Home Depot. Many come with potting medium plugs (I take these out and save them for other seeds). I prefer to bagged seed starting mix for my zinnias and this is what I fill the trays with.

Simply pour some of the medium into a bucket. Mix with just enough water to make a crumbly mixture- you don't want it to be soggy wet.

 Fill the seed tray up with the mix, and tamp down a little. I then press a zinnia seed into each cell of the tray and cover with a little of the mixture and water. NOTE: the bottom has no drainage holes so be careful with your watering. You want to keep the mixture moist. You do not want to have the cell tray sitting in water. If this happens, carefully remove the cell tray and dump the water from the lower tray. 

In about three to seven days, you should see the zinnia seedlings starting to emerge.

 I use grow lights and a heat mat for zinnias. With the warmer weather coming you could place the tray in a protected sunny area outside, BUT be sure to bring it in overnight when temperatures drop into the 40's or below.
If you are concerned about forgetting your seedlings outside, you could opt for a sunny window, or delay planting until the temperatures are warmer at night. Zinnias can be planted outside anytime after our frost date of April 15th. I usually do several plantings up through late June.

You will be rewarded with tons of beautiful flowers. Questions- don't hesitate to email me!

Bright Ranunculus, Anemones and Tulips Jordan and Mike's Wedding Day

It so exciting to have that first meeting with a bride to discuss her wedding flowers. And as Jordan described her vision, the excitement just kept building!

This young woman had some wonderful ideas- she wanted springtime flowers in rich, saturated colors...

And yes, springtime flowers do come in rich, saturated colors!!! There were golden yellow and deep orange ranunculus and tulips, salmon-peach snapdragons, chartreuse button mums, fuchsia stock and from the garden beds- vibrant purple, rose and red anemones!

It's definitely a bold color palette!

The table designs consisted of various pieces of milk glass pedestal bowls, and white pitchers and creamers.

The ceremony arrangement was created in a beautiful silver trumpet vase.

And the rich color palette continued in the bridesmaids' bouquets and

for the men in the wedding party boutonnieres created with yellow and orange ranunculus!

I am really looking forward to the photographer's pictures and hope to be able to share some soon.
Jordan and Mike, I'm praying God's blessing for you two as you begin your lives together!!!

Zinnias for Summer Weddings

We're seven weeks from our last frost date, and I'm in the midst of seed planting for summer wedding flowers- Black-eyed Susan, gomphrena, pincushion flowers, feverfew and one of my favorites- Zinnias!

 Zinnias will be playing some type of role in several of my late spring, summer and fall weddings. I'm growing coral colored zinnias for Taylor and Grant's wedding at Snipes Farm in May.

 And yellow zinnias to play a support role in Courtney and Patrick's wedding flowers in June, and a larger role in the flowers for Elizabeth and Chris's late July wedding.

There will even be white ones in September for Hilary and Gordon.

 Zinnias remind me of a cross between dahlias and Gerber daisies. They are such cheerful flowers and are fairly easy to grow. I often use them mixed bouquets and centerpiece work. At Springwell Gardens I grow coral, white, pink, wine and orange, and sometimes red.

The first batch of seedlings is a little over a month old- they should be ready for cutting by mid May.
Next week I will do a quick primer on growing your own zinnias from seed. Once you see how easy they are to grow, they may become one of your favorite flowers too!!!

Late Winter and Springtime Weddings and Daffodils

Daffodils are just perfect for February and March weddings in the South.

  In Raleigh, NC, you can spot some varieties of daffodils blooming as early as January. Ice Follies and February Gold usually make an appearance in February. 

 The picture above features Ice Follies and early trumpet daffodils picked last week just in time for a February snow picture. The picture below (from 2011) also features Ice Follies and early yellow trumpet daffodils with white hydrangea and yellow ranunculus.

March brings on many more daffodil and narcissus blooms. In my gardens I grow the orange cupped Barrett Browning, the cream colored White Lion, the fragrant double flowered Bridal Crown, and  the large trumpet King Alfred.

The bouquets above (from 2012) feature Paperwhite narcissi, Barrett Browning, and King Alfred daffodils. .
Good sources for daffodil and narcissi are Eden Brothers and John Scheepers. Bulbs should be purchased in the fall and planted in November through December.
Why grow your own??? Daffodils and other narcissi are very low maintenance and will come back year after year. You have a wide selection of flowers to choose from. And....
 for your anniversary in the years to come you will be able to enjoy your special flowers again and again!!!

Daffodil and Pansy Bouquet for Winter and Spring

The daffodils have started blooming at Springwell Gardens. Just a scattering for now, but more are on the way.

So here's a bouquet that features Ice Follies Daffodils and an unnamed  yellow trumpet variety along with some beautiful purple and yellow pansies nestled in a white hydrangea.

These flowers are truly the harbingers of spring!!!!

They exude such a lovely fragrance, especially the pansies.

 Vase life for this bouquet is just a few days... just enough time for your wedding day!!!

So how can you have daffodils for your springtime (or winter in the South) wedding... I'll explore that in the next post.

Pansies and Winter Daphne for Winter Centerpiece

Pansies have been delightful this winter.

This week I worked them into a winter centerpiece design with some other garden gatherings such as...

 

 Winter Daphne (wonderful fragrance!!!),  Hellebore, Stonecrop, and a collection of a collection of "Nature" finds gathered while walking our dog.

Perfect for a winter bridal shower or luncheon....

Pansies and Anemones for Winter and Spring Bouquets

 

Pansies are the brilliant jewels of the winter garden.

 

 You'll see them holding up their bright faces throughout December, January and February- anytime there is stretch of several days with temperatures above freezing. And they will keep on blooming and thriving until May.
This year I am especially interested in pansies as wedding flowers. You see, Jordan is getting married in early March, and pansies would fit perfectly with her English garden theme.

So now is the time to practice incorporating them into bouquets and centerpiece designs. Here they are in a dainty bouquet with blue and white anemones, fragrant Winter Daphne, and hellebore.

It's such a lovely combination! I can't wait to try them in Jordan's wedding flowers!