And for fragrance- nothing beats the bright green leaves of Scented Geranium. From citrus to cinnamon to old rose- there's a lot to choose from. They make a lovely collar for a summer or fall bouquet.
Here they are combined with some of other late summer garden favorites...
Feathery flower spikes of wheat celosia (pictured above on the left hand side) and African Blue Basil (pictured in the lower right hand corner below).
Pink lisianthus and pink and white zinnias round out this sweet little bouquet.
These flowers are ideal for autumn bouquets as well. As the days grow shorter these plants just continue to churn out the blooms- some of them until frost!
And here's the design that I entered this year. I purchased a wooden box from Michaels and whitewashed the exterior. Next I glued on pressed Larkspur florets to the box. See the DIY Wedding Flowers- Pressed Flowers from April. I also glued Larkspur to the Baby Card as well.
Other flowers from the garden included dainty pale pink dahlias called Chilson's Pride and bright pink Fairy roses, scented geraniums, lamb's ear and Green Spice Heuchera leaves- these are some of the best heucheras in my garden beds!
Other flowers from my wholesaler included ivory Majolica spray roses and something I was thrilled to see- fresh pink Larkspur!
I was also thrilled to receive a Blue Ribbon for my design
We started out hot in June and July with very little rain. But the rains did start up in late July and we only flirted a little with 100 degree temperatures, (my heart goes out to the folks in Texas who suffered through days and days of drought and above 100+ degree heat!)
Other great performers in both the garden beds and containers were several different varieties of scented geranium. The softly marbled leaves in the picture below are from a variety called Snowflake Scented Geranium.
And of course I loved the color palette that she chose for this time of year- creams, oranges, yellows, and greens and just a touch of brown. The flowers that look like mini sunflowers are Viking mums and are some of my favorites for fall bouquets.
Gretchen's bouquet was also designed with soft orange spray roses, orange freesia, feathery tufts of safflowers (another fall favorite), and creamy stock. The garden picks included bright orange and yellow zinnias, Love-In-A-Puff (in bottom picture) and scented geranium leaves.
For the bridesmaid bouquets I added stems of wild grasses and from the garden African Blue basil.
The picture above shows a close-up of the stem wrap of gold organza ribbon swirled with copper aluminum wire.
The toss bouquet was a round posy of zinnias, spray roses, and Viking mums nestled in an antique hydrangea head with a scented geranium leaf collar. The toss bouquet is a little gift for my brides.
This little centerpiece was designed in a cork bark container that I picked up at Garden Supply Company. They always have a great selection of vases, planters and containers!
The tables were decked out in a collection of antique tin votive holders surrounding flower filled Mason jars. These were perfect for the relaxed setting of the reception.
Now it's time for the honeymoon! Gretchen and Jason, I wish you all the best as you begin your married life!!!
These are some of the late summer flowers that are blooming now: zinnias, crested and wheat celosias, Fairy roses, Audray and Fireworks gomphrena, Autumn Joy and Motrona sedums, and chocolate-burgundy perilla.
The dark, ruffly leaves of perilla have been a part of the summer garden since late May. Now they are just starting send out pink flower spikes and in a couple weeks they will cast their seeds and be gone until next year.
I have been so pleased the the new gomphrenas. The flowerheads on Fireworks look like they came from a picture in a Dr. Seuss book. And the Audray gomphrena (the globe pink clover-like flowers) is an excellent flower for drying. I have been gathering stems and hanging them up all over the studio. They will hold their color for about two years!
I love the richness of the play between complimentary colors such as purple and yellow and how well they pair with bright greens and yellow-greens. The asters look just picked and the purple globe gomphrenas and scented geraniums WERE. And what's more cheerful and carefree than yellow Gerber daisies?
Some of these designs would have to fit on long narrow tables. So I created a couple of two tone ribbon bands studded with green button mums that would join petite vases of flowers together.
Two larger cylinder vases were designed for a couple of round tables. These vases sported a ribbon belt with a bright green button mum.
Here are the flowers all ready to go!
And here they are at Cafe Luna in downtown Raleigh ready to welcome Sarah and all her bridesmaids. 
And be a part of the festivities the day before the Wedding!
These are the very bold colors of summer- the burning red zinnias and the molten gold rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susans) and shimmering yellow Mexican tulip poppies.
Keep theses plants watered and they will give you beautiful blooms all summer. For its first year in my garden, the Mexican tulip poppy is holding its own- even in this kind of heat.
These blooms look wonderful nestled in with antique green hydrangeas, spires of African Blue basil and spicy scented geraniums. Perfect for the bride who is daring enough to get married in July or August!
So one of the fun elements that will find its way into the the designs is Love-in-a-Puff. The vines are just starting up and should have plenty of "Puffs" by early September. I plan to share more about this vine later in the week.
Other flowers from the garden will be purple zinnias.
And lots of fragrance such as the scented geranium above, rosemary and spicy African Blue Basil- I just love it!!!
Last week I put together this preview design, and I believe Mikki was quite pleased.
Here's a close-up of Love-in-a-Puff, purple gomphrena and zinnias.
Corsages for the Moms will be designed as dainty nosegays. This one is sporting dried Love-in-a-Mist pods and dried dock, as well as gomphrena, stock, rosemary, black Mondo grass, dusty miller and purple tradescantia leaves. Not your typical corsage!
Boutonnieres will be fun too. Here are two that Mikki liked- one with purple gomphrena, green holly berries, horsetail and a dried poppy pod, and the other has a silky clematis pod, Fireworks gomphrena and African Blue basil stems. I hope to keep the actual groom's bout a surprise until the wedding day.
I know that the thermometer hasn't gotten the hint, but the flowers have--- summer is coming to a close. This has been a good year for zinnias, sedums, scented geraniums, hyacinth bean vine, and more. The crested celosia has been a bit iffy, but there's always next year. Here are a few pics of garden gatherings. Top picture: buddleia, middle: hyacinth bean vine, bottom: mix of gomphrena, crested and wheat celosia, scented geranium and sedum. Notice the yellow buddleia, (butterfly bush). This plant is two years old- next year it should be producing enough blooms to add to summer and fall wedding flower designs.
