Lavender Pansies and Blue Muscari Add a Special Touch for Springtime Wedding Flowers

What happened to spring!!! Last week I was picking anemones, pansies and muscari and this week we're hitting 90's!!! Not the best weather for flowers that like it cool...

Well back to muscari and pansies. Both of these flowers have been featured several times this year on the blog in some springtime designs. A few weeks back I wrote about adding three new types of muscari (also known as grape hyacinth) to the garden borders. Well this is the last of the three- Saffier. It is taller than the other varieties that I am presently growing. Some stems are about 9 inches in length, and French blue with pale green overtones is very striking. You can find these bulbs at John Scheepers .

 As the season warms up the pansies began to stretch, and by May they are also providing longer stems, so I thought this would be a good time to work them up in a design.

This elegant centerpiece also features Spanish bluebells, white and purple anemones, white ranunculus and soft green viburnum heads. 

Look for these flowers from Springwell Gardens from late March through early May!

Peach and Coral Ranunculus and Poppies

The season for ranunculus has been a little shorter than last year. They are almost finished, and it will soon be time to replace them with zinnias.

There has been an overlap of the ranunculus bloom time with the Icelandic poppies which were started earlier this year than the year before. Something I will definitely do again!

These flowers really do complement each other! Poppies come in rich coral, yellow and orange as well as soft peach, yellow and cream. And the ranunculus are in the warm sunset colors.
Other flowers in this design include Chantilly snapdragons, hellebore, bleeding heart and pansies. The foliage from bleeding heart and spirea is a glowing yellow green!

It has been such a treat to work with these flowers this year. I am very thankful that the ranunculus made it through the COLD winter- I just wish they would stick around longer!!!

Blue and Purple Muscari for Springtime Weddings

Muscari or grape hyacinths begin showing up at Springwell Gardens usually by mid March. This year they came on a little later.

They are short stemmed fragrant flowers that come in shades of purple, blue and also white.

I purchase my bulbs in the late summer-early fall from John Scheepers. They have a great selection to choose from, (as well as lots of other springtime flowering bulbs). Muscari go into the ground in early November and usually bloom for about 3-4 weeks in the spring. Which makes  these great flowers to use for mid March through mid April weddings.

This year I added Valerie Finnis, a soft pale blue, and White Magic to the traditional purple flowers. I also added another interesting variety not pictured called Saffier, (more about these later).

Because of their short stems they need a separate water source when used in bouquet work, or they may be wired into the design. Oh but they are worth the effort!
Here they are in a bouquet with white ranunculus, black-eyed anemones and white fringe tulips- just beautiful.

Another great feature about muscari is that they multiply in the garden every year. So once you plant them  you will be rewarded with more and more as the years go by!

Jewel Tone Anemone and Pansy Centerpiece and Bouquet

The garden beds are starting to crank out some real beauties! It's so exciting to watch tall stems of white and purple anemones unfurl to show off dark velvety centers. .Hellebores are starting to mellow to a mint green, and bridal wreath spirea and flowering almonds have reached their peak.  These are just some of the flowers of spring!

Here are a couple of designs that take advantage of these lovely flowers as well as others such as ranunculus,  hyacinth, viburnum, pansies and muscari.

 Muscari and pansies are delightful flowers, but they have short stems, so they had to be given a separate water source to use in both of these designs.

The ethereal beauty of these flowers makes them a joy for springtime weddings!

Purple and Blue Pansies and Muscari for Springtime Weddings

The pansies had a rough time this year with all the cold, but they are finally starting to shine. Muscari was slow to start by a couple of weeks, but they too are now taking off..  

These blooms just shout "Spring!" and look great  in floral designs, but because of their short stems, you have to be creative. One way is to utilize the plants as well as the flowers. This short squared container lends itself well to a design in which individual plants and flower stems can be used.  

I have arranged two small pansy plants diagonally across from each other and two sedum plants along with some "hens and chicks" (sempervivum) in the other diagonal corners, then filled in with blooms from hyacinth, hellebore, anemones and muscari. The short stems of the flowers have their own water source while the plants were wrapped separately and tucked in. The container looks best when set on the table on the diagonal and offers a different view from all sides.

Another nice feature about this design is that it can be taken apart and the plants reused.  The pansies can be potted up and enjoyed for several more weeks before we really get hot (they can't take our summer heat), and the sedums can go right  into the garden bed or another container.

Peach Garden Roses and Silver Brunia Berries for Hilary and Gordon

I am so excited to share some beautiful images of Hilary's and Gordon's wedding captured by the talented husband and wife team- Brett & Jessica.

This mid-September wedding took place in a sweet rustic setting right outside Raleigh called The Little Herb House. It's such a charming venue- lovely open meadows for outdoor ceremonies, a formal herb garden, and a HUGE BARN that is just perfect for all sorts of celebrating!

Hilary's colors palette included soft peaches and corals and ivories with touches of dusty grays and silvery green. Her flowers included Juliet Garden roses, blush Sahara roses, Brunia Berries and sedum.

The bridesmaids carried bouquets of whites hydrangeas and lisianthus with seeded eucalyptus and a bright pop of raspberry pink alstromeria.
Jessica's bouquet was wrapped in burlap and lace.

Moms carried posies of Majolica spray roses, lisianthus and fragrant leaves of scented geranium.

Gordon's boutonniere featured white Majolica spray roses, brunia berries, sedum and Dusty Miller.

Their wedding was featured in a January post on Bridal Musings. Be sure to check it out to see all the great details of a very sweet wedding!

Coming Soon- Dahlias for Summer and Fall Weddings!

The first shipment of dahlia tubers came last week!

This year there will be several new varieties of Karma Dahlias as well as others that should do well with NC summertime temperatures. Because space is limited I will only be growing them in three of the garden beds.

You can expect to see rich chocolate red, fuchsia, deep pink, peach, coral and soft creamy blush.  These lush blooms look stunning in garden-styled bouquets as well as the more formal rounded bouquet, and are great in centerpiece designs!

Bloom time should start in mid June, but I am hopeful that the Karma Prospero Dahlias (which are a lovely pink) will be blooming in time for a late May wedding... It's a wait and see.

Last year the Karma dahlias kept cranking out wonderful blooms throughout the summer, but most of the others took a break during the July and early August. Dahlias really shine in the garden from mid September through late October- just in time for autumn weddings!