Chinese Forget-Me-Nots for Late Spring and Early Summer Wedding Bouquets

The Chinese Forget-Me-Not bloomed and were gone before I hardly had a chance to work with them last year.

2013 was my first year for growing them, and because of poor germination, I only had a few plants. Also the lovely cornflower blue just wasn't in the color palette of any of my  May and June weddings.
But I was smitten with them and did manage to tuck them into a centerpiece design with poppies. 

These are actually Chinese Forget-Me-Nots, or cynoglossum. I first learned of them through Floret Flower Farm, in fact, there is a great blogpost by Erin about growing them from January 25, 2014.

My seeds were started earlier this month, and  the seedlings are emerging. Germination has been better this year, and 

I am hopeful to have them again for May and June. I am growing the blue and white varieties, and will make sure that I work them into a few floral arrangements even if I don't need them for weddings!

They are so enchanting- in the garden and definitely in wedding bouquets and designs!

Black-Eyed Susans for Summer Weddings

January is seed sowing time for Rudbeckia or Black-Eyed Susan. This sunflower look-alike is quite easy to grow,

and will reward you with several months of golden yellow blooms that can really stand up to summer heat.

I grow them for the bride who wants truly garden-inspired designs that feature rich bold colors. My favorite variety is Indian Summer, but I also grow a green-eyed variety called Prairie Sun, (there's a few in the lower right corner of the picture above).

Black-Eyed Susan commands attention in mixed color bouquets such as the one above that also features Foxglove and Zinnias.

 And it also works well in a more analogous color palette as the one above that features golden Sunflowers, Spray Roses and Gerber Daisies.
Seeds can be ordered from Johnny's Selected Seeds.
This January batch should start blooming late May to early June. I will sow seeds again in March for blooms in mid- July. If you keep the flowers cut, plants should continue to bloom for about 2 1/2 to 3 months.

Yellow for Springtime Weddings

There is nothing like the color yellow to brighten up your springtime wedding flowers!

Great flower choices for this rich saturated color are tulips, ranunculus and daffodils...

 And don't forget pansies! Yes, they have short stems, but they can be added at the last minute if given a separate water source. Small plants can be used for centerpiece designs- securely wrap the roots with some of the potting material in plastic wrap and tuck into the design.

These flowers will begin to make an appearance at Springwell Gardens starting in mid February through early April.You can go bold with oranges and hot pinks, or set them off against blues and whites. It's a color that can certainly brighten your special day!

Winter Wedding Flowers from the Garden

In winter in the South, you can still find flowers in the garden- you just have to look a little harder though. One cold weather bloomer at Springwell Gardens is Winter Daphne. It's an evergreen shrub that breaks out into a myriad of  waxy pink blooms in January. Though not very showy, these petite flower clusters are quite charming and VERY FRAGRANT!

They're so lovely tucked into bouquets with other winter bloomers such as hellebore and pansies, and with some frost protection- we can have anemones too.

 

 Winter Daphne is also great for detail work such as corsages, boutonnieres and flower halos.

The shrubs are loaded with tight pink buds and should start blooming in the next week or two- just in time for January weddings!

Rich Aubergine Perilla Adds Lovely Contrast to Summer Bouquets

Let me introduce you to Perilla frutescens. 

It's an interesting plant in the garden beds at Springwell Gardens. But what's really great  is how the leaves of this sultry, dark beauty set off a bouquet or centerpiece design with their delicate shape and subtle licorice fragrance.

 

Perilla frutescens is an annual plant that readily reseeds. In addition to its interesting dark foliage, it also produces delicate pink flower spires in September. If you let these flowers dry on the stems, the seeds will just fall to the ground and  you have plants for years to come.

I have been using it for several years now in my summer and fall floral designs. 

And look forward to adding it again in 2014!

Warm Peaches, Pinks and Yellows for Alex and Ben's December Wedding

I am just loving this color palette for Alex and Ben's  wedding flowers. It's so cheery with its warm apricots, peaches and pinks and rich golden yellow- just perfect for chasing away the cold and gloom of winter.

The flowers included apricot colored stock and peachy-coral Ilse spray roses, pink lisianthus, golden button mums and a deep cherry-pink rose called Cherry-O (which I think is an absolutely stunning color).

Silvery green foliage from the garden included Silver Drop eucalyptus, Centaurea Colchester White, and blue cypress which added a rich texture to the boutonnieres for the guys.

It's hard to believe it's already been a week since the wedding. I am so happy for this newlywed couple. I have known Ben for years, and I am looking forward to getting to know his lovely bride, Alex! Praying God's blessing for you as you begin your lives together as husband and wife!!!

Waiting...

While there is not much blooming in the gardens now, there's a lot to do to get ready for winter.

The greenhouse sheeting is on several of the hoop tunnels, and frost cloth is coming out for the cold nights ahead. The tunnels are great for growing ranunculus, anemones, Chantilly snaps, and other springtime flowers that I want to protect.

 Daffodils, leucojums, tulips, and muscari have been and are being planted, pansies have been potted, and the are lots of anemones and ranunculus pushing up in the garden.
No, there is not much blooming now- this is a time of waiting... But the good news is that the waiting won't be too long. By January there should be some early flowers to offer, then more in February and lots more in March....
So here are a few things that will be showing up SOON at Springwell Gardens-

Yes, soon the waiting will be over and I will be picking these flowers again- Just For You!