Garden Wedding Flowers in Peach

Peach colored flowers make a lovely statement for spring, summer and fall weddings.

Here around Raleigh, NC, in July and August,  the "go-to" flowers for that rich peach color are zinnias and dahlias. This year, I have also added a lovely peach colored celosia. The color combines well with blues and whites as in the design above that also features peach foxglove, blue forget-me-not, white cosmos and feverfew.

The design above is a monochromatic color palette of peach and orange zinnias, dahlias, celosia, and crocosmia, accented with chocolate colored perilla, and silvery leaves of Colchester White Centaurea.

And the bouquet above has peach zinnias and celosia nestled among white dahlias, pincushion flowers, cosmos and phlox. Burnished nandina leaves add a nice accent to the design. 

I am looking forward to using these blooms in wedding designs for the next couple of months!

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Sweet Centerpiece Designs for Spring and Summer

I am always on the lookout for something a little different to add to wedding flower designs...

whether it's a unique flower to try in the garden, a new way to present bouquets for delivery, or new centerpiece containers. So here's the latest item to catch my eye- sundae dishes.
These make lovely vases for casual, eclectic reception designs. They work with a variety of flowers and would be charming for spring and summer time weddings. The image above shows them filled with springtime bloomers such as anemones, Spanish Bluebells, muscari, viburnum and pansies. The next design features late spring flowers such as peonies, nigella, yarrow and penstemon, and old fashion Fairy shrub roses.

The designs below show them with late summer flowers such as dahlias, zinnias, African Blue Basil, crested celosia and fragrant herbs.

It's such a refreshing way to welcome guests to your reception!

Can't wait to share this idea with my brides!

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Summer Dahlias and Zinnias

We have had the summer rains this year, so there are lots of summer flowers. Here's some of the flowers blooming now at Springwell Gardens: Audray Pink Gomphrena, Burgundy Crested Celosia, Queen Red Lime Zinnias, Karma Dahlias, and Centaurea Colchester White

And here they are in a summery bouquet. Other flowers include Fireworks Gomphrena, Mountain Mint, Blue Ageratum, Smilax Vine, Summer Phlox and Love-in-a-Puff.

Most of these flowers will continue to bloom until frost. I have some autumn weddings that

will feature several of these beauties. Cafe Au Lait and Chilson Pride Dahlias are starting

to crank up which will be great for my brides that want a softer color palette.

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Pink Zinnias and Gomphrena for Summer Weddings

Zinnias are one of my favorite summertime wedding flowers, so I am thrilled when the brides that I meet with like them too!  The color for this summer has been pink.

I had the chance to use them last week for Kitty and Lofton's wedding, and will be using them again this weekend for Valerie and Matt.

Here they are in a bouquet from earlier in the season other flowers from the garden- Queen Ann's Lace, pink gomphrena, blue ageratum, bunny tails and mountain mint. Can't wait to show them paired up with dahlias next week!

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Chantilly Snapdragons and Zinnia Bouquet for Early Summer Weddings

The garden beds continue to change as the summer season moves forward. It's time to say goodbye to Chantilly Snapdragons (for awhile)

They starting blooming in April and continued for a solid two months. This fall I will do two plantings about four weeks apart to see if I can get some later blooms.

They looked great with spring blooms like ranunculus and anemones, but they also work well with summer flowers.
The bouquet below features a pastel palette of Chantilly snapdragons with zinnias, feverfew, and laceflower (orlaya), and yarrow.

It's great to have flowers that transition from one season to another. I have several brides who are looking forward to seeing these blooms in their spring and summer wedding designs!

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Summertime is Zinnia Time!

They're here!!! The zinnias that is. I am growing Queen Red Lime, Bright Pink and Salmon Rose

The pictures with this post feature Queen Red Lime. It's a real beauty. The flowers range in color from a soft green with pink undertones to shades of antique pink and rose.

It really makes a statement on its own or in bouquets. It's paired below with the mature stems of cushion spurge or euphorbia.

It will be blooming from summer through fall. I plan to show it to Kitty who is getting married in August.

She just may want to add a few stems of Queen Red Lime to some of her centerpiece designs- we'll see....

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Amaranthus for Summer and Fall Weddings

Amaranthus caudatus adds a lovely cottage charm to summer and fall wedding bouquets and designs.

I have grown the long draping ropes commonly known as Love-Lies-Bleeding for a few years, but have settled on a more compact hybrid offered by Johnny's Selected Seeds called Opopeo.

The shorter drape of the flower spikes make a lovely statement in wedding bouquets as shown in these two images by Erica Serrano Photography.

Seeds will be sown in March, and the flowers will start making their appearance from July through October. It looks great with other traditional summer flowers such as zinnias and dahlias.

I like to pinch out the topmost flower as this will produce more lateral flower stems. I am planning to use these beauties for a mid October wedding and hopefully one in August too!

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Pink Zinninas and Roses for a Late Summer Bouquet

September is here and longer shadows are being cast on the garden. Zinnias are slowing down a little, but the flowers are still beautiful. Time for a late summer bouquet.

This bouquet features lots of lovely shades of pink with a sprinkling of white. There's a new spray rose I am trying called Blush Star. No, they are not from the garden (I wish!!!)- these come from my wholesaler.

Flowers that are from the garden include feather celosia, pink and white zinnias, blush pink heads of Autumn Joy sedum, pink yarrow and lacy white flowers of garlic chive.

I love it when Judy is around and willing to hold the bouquets- makes it so much easier to envision how something like this would look as a bridal or bridesmaid bouquet....

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Zinnia and Dahlia Centerpiece In Jewel Tones

The zinnias continue to crank out. One of my all time favorites is this little beauty called Queen Red Lime. Had trouble finding seeds earlier in the season, so I don't have many  plants this year.

But I did find seed later, so there should be plenty of plants next year. .

This design, created with flowers from the garden, features zinnias in pink and wine, white and lavender summer phlox, Mountain Mint, Karma Chocolate Dahlias, wheat and crested celosia and a petite dahlia called Jitterbug.

Just add some foliage such as glossy ternstromia, lamb's ear and wisps of Love-in-a-Puff vine, and you have one very elegant centerpiece!

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Summery Yellows for Sara and Christopher's mid July Wedding

If I could color the months, I would color July yellow. It's smack in the middle of summertime. Yellow like lemonade and fireflies and of course- lovely flowers.

Sara must have thought so too... Or maybe she chose yellow because it would look stunning against the royal blue of her bridesmaids' dresses.
We met in April and over the next few weeks exchanged emails about flower choices, and while some of the details for her flowers changed a little- the color never did!

 For her bridal bouquet, Sara wanted to mix in white with the yellow. She decided on white lisianthus and larkspur... And feverfew, if it was still blooming.  The whites played well against yellow spray roses, freesia and calla lilies, and yellow zinnias from the garden.

Bridesmaids carried bouquets that featured frothy clusters of bupleurum with yellow spray roses and Gerber daisies.

Boutonnieres for the men were twined wrapped Billy Balls,

And the mothers carried posies filled with white larkspur, lisianthus and white and yellow spray roses accented with fragrant leaves from mountain mint and scented geraniums.
Can't wait to see the incredible pictures I'm sure that Cole Gorman of Blest Photography has coming up!!!

Sara and Christopher, praying God's blessing as you begin your lives together as husband and wife....

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Karma Dahlias for Summer and Fall Bouquets

There's a new dahlia at Springwell Gardens- "Karma Chocolate". It's a rich dark red with a chocolate-red center. And it's absolutely stunning.

It's featured in this bouquet with lavender and white summer phlox, pink zinnias and lisianthus, lavender and white foxglove, Black Knight scabiosa, and a burgundy-black collar of perilla leaves.

Karma Dahlias have been bred especially for cut flower use, and they come in an array of beautiful colors. One good source for the tubers is: Eden Brothers.
There has been plenty of rain this summer, so the plants have been performing very well.

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Vase life for these beautiful dahlias has been about 5-6 days. I am really looking forward to the fall bloom season- they should look stunning for Kelsey and Eddie's early October wedding!

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Zinnia Bouquets in Peach and Coral and Lavender and Plum

Spring lingered a little longer than usual this year, but with the typical humidity of the Deep South streaming in over these last couple of weeks, I think it has finally given way to summer.

This is a transition time in the flower garden. Snapdragons, Feverfew, Yarrow and Queen Ann's Lace are some late spring bloomers that will persist through June. Zinnias, gomphrena, and celosia are just starting up and will crank out blooms through frost. Dahlias are also starting up as well, but won't hit their stride until fall.

So as the weather heats up, I thought it would be a great time to work up some bouquets with summer offerings.

Open-face Chantilly snapdragons and zinnias in soft yellows, peach, salmon and pink are paired with white feverfew and Queen Ann's Lace. It's a very popular color palette this year!

The next bouquet features hydrangea, clematis, zinnia, marble arch salvia, chocolate cosmos and catmint in lavender, purple, plum, and pink with touches of white double flowered feverfew.

The best part of all is having my daughter, Judy, agree to help me out, and hold the bouquets for me. I tell her it's good practice...

She just laughs!

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