Anemone and Ranunculus Centerpiece Designs for Spring

Anemones and ranunculus are probably the two favorite springtime bloomers at Springwell Gardens.

Anemones will actually start up during the winter months and slowly gain momentum through April. By mid March the ranunculus are joining in.
The bold faces of anemones with their dark eye and the full flounced ruffles of ranunculus are a nice contrast in floral designs.

I love to use them for wedding bouquets, but they are also stunning in centerpiece work as well. In  March they may be paired with other locally grown flowers such as Bridal Wreath spirea, Winter Daphne, pussy willow and hellebore.

And as springtime moves into April they are joined by leucojum, snapdragons and viburnum and the slightly fragrant buds of Spice Bush. In May they .

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Lily of the Valley for April Weddings

So many springtime flowers make a delightful appearance that lasts for only days, and then we must wait until again next year.

One of those flowers is Lily of the Valley. I have been watching for it since the end of March, even though I know it won't come until April.  Those delicate white bells finally started unfurling earlier this week and they were a joy to see.

  Lily of the Valley is a short stemmed flower that works well for petite designs, or it may be wired and added to larger bouquets. Another option is to provide a hidden water source

Then it can be worked into a larger design such as a centerpiece arrangement. Here it is featured with white anemones, pink, blush and white ranunculucs, hellebore, pieris and bleeding heart.

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White Flowers from the Garden For Spring Weddings

The white anemones, ranunculus and leucojum are blooming at Springwell Gardens.

Each one is a favorite for springtime weddings.

Below they are gathered together in a charming bouquet with blooms from some springtime flowering shrubs such as Korean Spice Bush and Pieris!

It has been so nice to see spring flowers again after such a cold winter. Their beauty is fleeting though- these flowers love cool springtime weather. With the temperatures flirting with upper 70's and low 80's I am afraid their season will be short!

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Spring Flowers at Springwell Gardens

Spring is here, and the spring flowers are putting on their show. This year at Springwell Gardens

there are white, magenta and blue anemones, blue and white muscari, white and pastel ranunculus, leucojum, daffodils, and pussy willow just to name a few.

Spring is a short season in the South, which makes these flowers extra special. The bloom period for many of these is just two to four weeks.

Some like the anemones and ranunculus will bloom a little longer. I suggest that brides who are interested in using locally grown flowers, especially in the spring, learn ahead of time what is blooming around their wedding date.

Are you interested in daffodils or a special color of ranunculus, maybe something blue? If you plan ahead (late summer to early fall), and you're working with a designer who grows flowers you may be able to have her grow some- just for you!

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Ranunculus and Anemones for Spring Weddings

This will be a busy month! In a addition to some upcoming, lovely weddings, there are of course, garden chores.

Yesterday my shipment of ranunculus and anemone corms came in. These flowers are breathtakingly lovely, and are a favorite of brides! I plan to get the first batch of corms into the garden beds later in the month. I hope to have some Carmel white anemones with dark eyes ready for Kaitlin's December wedding.

The plantings will be staggered a bit. Most of the corms should be in by mid October, but I am still experimenting with putting in a small batch for later springtime blooms. Anemones will start blooming as early as December, and will continue slowly through January. The pace will begin to pick up by late February and continue to gain speed through April.
If the temperatures for winter are normal in 2015, I expect to see the ranunculus blooming by early March.

There will also be other lovely flowers to join them- Hellebore, Winter Honeysuckle and Winter Daphne will begin to bloom in January. And I plan to set aside some protected garden space for lots of pansies. All of these flowers are absolutely fabulous for winter and early springtime bouquets.

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Coral and Blush Poppies for Weddings in April and May

I can't think of  more cheerful and bubbly flowers than POPPIES. They started showing their faces in mid April which worked out perfectly for pairing them with ranunculus, another April bloomer. Their bloom times overlapped for almost three weeks.

Below they are shown together in a bright and playful design of corals, hot pinks and yellows that includes Chantilly Snapdragons, sweet peas, pale green hellebore, and chartreuse euphoribia.

The softer peach and cream colors of poppies take on a more refined air as in this design that also features

blush colored garden roses, black eyed anemones and Dusty Miller.

 Poppies don't like the heat though! They are already starting to slow down. I was hoping to push them into June, but I think that I may have to shoot for earlier bloom times rather than later. Which means I will try to have them blooming in time for some mid to late March weddings next year!

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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!!!

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Growing Ranunculus in Dreamy Colors for Springtime Weddings

 So far this has been a VERY COLD winter for Raleigh, NC. 

The last time that the temps got down to 7 degrees in Raleigh was in 2000.  Needless to say the drops in temperatures to below 10 degrees have been very unnerving- I just wasn't sure if the hoop tunnels and the frost cloth would be enough to protect all those ranunculus and anemones that are growing here at Springwell Gardens.  But the plants did GREAT!!! They came through those VERY COLD nights and are on target to start blooming in the next few weeks.
Here is the stage that the plants are at now:

 

And below is what I am looking forward to by early to mid March!

Which will be put to use in bouquets like these...

in those lovely dreamy colors that ranunculus are known for!

It's so exciting to know that spring is just around the corner, and so are LOTS of beautiful ranunculus and other spring bloomers!

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Ranunculus and Anemones for Spring Weddings

Planting time for anemones and ranunculus is here. The summer and fall annuals have been cleared, and beds are being prepped for a whole new batch corms.
Some of the corms that I saved from last year were actually planted out in early October, and there are a few anemones that are starting to bloom.

This will be the third year of growing ranunculus and anemones at Springwell Gardens. Last year's crop was great, and I am hopeful that there will be plenty of blooms for my March and April 2014 brides.
These plants need some protection so I will be adding plastic coverings and frost cloth to the beds once the corms are in place.

    

I hope to have anemones blooming by mid December (well- with the ones blooming now, I can check that one done!)

And ranunculus should start up by mid February. The big challenge will be keeping the beds protected! We have had some mild winters lately.... But this year may be a bit colder- we'll have to wait and see. I will keep you posted on how things come along as the season progresses.

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More Pictures from Katey and Matt's Wedding

Just wanted to share a little peak of some of the wonderful images taken by Rebecca of Rebecca Ames Photography from Katey and Matt's wedding last month at The Umstead.

To see the rest of her beautiful work that captures this sweet and intimate wedding check out her blog at: Katey & Matt: Married!!!

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Cerinthe- An Intriguing Flower for Springtime Weddings!

I love following flower blogs... One of my favorites is Erin Benzakein's Floret Flower Farm. Last spring she  featured a lovely flower that was new to me- Cerinthe. It's an interesting plant in the garden with its arching succulent-like stems that hold pendulous purple bells. The coloring on the leaves is striking too with overtones of peacock blue and green.

 I searched for the seeds- found them through Renee's Garden. And I am so glad that I did! So I started the seeds last fall, moved seedlings to some of my mini hoops for the winter, and started harvesting flowers last month for wedding work.
They made their first appearance in Allison's lavender, purple and plum bouquet....

And here they are featured with Angelique Tulips, wood hyacinth, white and pink ranunculus,

 rose and white anemones, and Solomon's Seal

They have definitely found a new home in my gardens. So looking forward to using them for spring time weddings next year!!!

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Peach and Coral Ranunculus and Bleeding Hearts for Katey and Matt

Some of the most beautiful flowers for springtime weddings are grown here at Springwell Gardens. Ranunculus, leucojum, tulips, bleeding heart, and more have been making an appearance in the garden beds since late February.
And that is just what Katey and Matt wanted for their April wedding- flowers from the garden.

When we first met last March, I showed Katey and Matt some designs that featured ranunculus in an array of beautiful colors peaches, corals, pinks and yellows... they decided these would be the perfect flowers for their wedding designs.

 

 They also liked the idea of trying to use some of the other seasonal flowers from the garden such as Angelique tulips, leucojum and bleeding heart.....

Here's Katey's bouquet filled with a colorful array of ranunculus, leucomjum, Angelique tulips and bleeding heart from the Gardens, along with coral spray roses and creamy stock.

 Matt's boutonniere featured two plump ranunculus buds and a single bleeding heart floret.

Posies for the aisle chairs were created with apricot colored snapdragons, coral spray roses and peach and coral ranunculus.

Centerpiece elements featured pussy willow, curly willow and ranunculus from the Garden in sleek cube and rectangular vases for the reception at The Umstead Hotel and Spa.

Loved having the chance to work with this sweet couple. And since they live near, I would be more than happy to help give them pointers for a flower garden of their own!

 Wishing you all the best, Katey and Matt, as you begin your lives together.

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