Pansies for Springtime Weddings

I have always been enamored with the idea of adding pansies to wedding designs. One of the main reasons is because they are so unexpected, yet so lovely for garden-inspired designs. They are some of the first heralds of spring in our area, and always seem so cheery. There's nothing like picking a few and breathing in their delicate fragrance! Last year I met a bride who was also enamored by pansies. Kate wanted garden flowers in rich violets, purples, and lavender-blue. So included with the Chinese Forget Me Not, the hellebore, euphorbia, and spikes of catmint were... pansies.

Just as their sweet faces can light up the garden, so they can also light up garden-inspired wedding designs!

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Daffodils, Tulips and Hellebore for Spring Weddings

As August draws to a close and summer wanes, it's time to thinks about flowers for next spring.  

 Catalogs of spring flowering bulbs are enticing us with all sorts of beauty- tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths.

I have been pouring over them,  trying to figure out how much I can squeeze in for next year. These will be used for my springtime brides and couples. And some will  go to other area floral designers who also enjoy working with local sourced flowers.
Check back to see what will be going in the beds at Springwell Gardens for next year.
By the way the bouquets above are from previous springtime gatherings. The top bouquet features White Parrot Tulips, white hydrangeas, and green hellebore. The lower bouquet is a gathering of Bridal Crown Narcissi. Tulips will be available next year for March and April weddings, and the daffodils (narcissi) will be available from mid February through early April.

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Blue Anemones, Hellebore and Muscari for Allison and Kevin

 Spring is here and it's a joy to watch all of nature wake up from winter!

The cooler temperatures in March have made this one of the most beautiful springs in years! Really!!! And I am so happy for couples like Allison and Kevin who chose this time of year to get married!

My first meeting with Allison was January. She wanted a rich color palette for their wedding day- deep purples and plums and brightly hued greens punctuated with soft lavenders.

As April approached, it was exciting to see the garden flowers cooperating! Plum colored hellebore, dark purple muscari and blue-purple anemones, peacock blue-green cerinthe tipped with purple bells, and bright chartreuse euphorbia. These garden flowers were paired with lavender Ocean Song roses and violet stock.

The centerpiece designs made a lovely statement at Caffe Luna. Other flowers included green Jade roses, purple larkspur and lisianthus, and various shades of purple and lavender Florigene carnations with such names as Moonvista and Moonshade,

It's been a little over a week since their wedding day... and now come the days of being newlyweds!

Praying God's blessing for you two as you begin your lives together!

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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....

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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!

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Springtime Bouquets- Think Ranunculus!!!

Summer is chugging away, and autumn is fast approaching, and that makes me think of getting ready for SPRING FLOWERS!!!
One of my absolute favorites is Ranunculus. These are some of the most beautiful springtime flowers for weddings in March and April. These sweet lovelies are grown from thumb size tubers that are planted in late October and November. The colors are glorious- pink, white, apricot, yellow, rose, lavender, scarlet and more. Below is a picture of a gathering from the hoophouse last spring.
They look stunning as in this mixed bouquet of ranunculus, hellebore, pussy willow and tulips.

And when the bouquet is filled with masses of ranunculus... just breathtaking!

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Pink and White Ranunculus and Hellebore Wedding Flowers

This spring the garden beds offered up a wealth of blooms in stunning pinks...

from softest blush to rich hot hues. I loved pairing them with some hot pink spray roses and a few stems of stock that I picked up from the store. Here are a couple of wedding designs that I put together a few weeks ago for Career Day at West Cary Middle School.

The flowers from the garden included pink and white ranunculus, green florets of Snowball Viburnum, Pink Impressions Tulips, Hellebore, small  flowering branches of  Bridal Wreath Spirea and Pink Flowering Almond.
The roses and stock from a local supplier filled out the designs beautifully.
Hard to believe that these flowers have already come and gone. Now I am waiting for the pause in the gardens to fill in with nigella, feverfew, yarrow and Fairy Roses.

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Spring Wedding Flowers- Pink Ranunculus!

I cannot believe that we are just about finished with March! And weatherwise- what an unusual March it has been!
This year I grew ranunculus... oodles of them. Trouble is Ranunculus DO NOT LIKE HEAT!!!
So as March comes to an end so do my beautiful beds of ranunculus. But while they were here, I sure enjoyed designing with them.
Today's post features some of the pink ranunculus. I grew a variety called Amandine that I purchased from Fred C. Gloeckner. Big beautiful plants with strong stems and brilliant pink blooms.
The centerpiece design features both pink and white ranunculus, hellebore, leucojum, viburnum and pieris. These are all spring bloomers. The variegated leaves are from Green Spice Heuchera.
Pink ranunculus are just stunning massed in a simple rounded bouquet. These flowers just shout SPRING... They are at the top of my list for March and April weddings!
Next post will feature some more designs with ranunculus and other spring bloomers.

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