Summer Wedding Flowers

With such beautiful weather and very little chance of rain, summer is the most popular time of year to get married.  If you are considering getting married in the months of June, July or August the following are some of my favorite local flowers available. All these flowers can be grown here in Victoria in your garden if you have a green thumb. But for us florists when larger quantities are needed for weddings many of these flowers can be ordered from the main land where there are some fabulous greenhouse growers.

JUNE -  delphiniums, peonies and lady's mantle

JULY - sweet peas, peony, dusty miller

AUGUST - dahlias and roses

Alstroemeria - available 12 months of the year in a variety of colors


How important is "supporting local growers" in your wedding planning?

 

Amy Merrick and Floret Farm Workshop 2013

A short while ago I went on a small adventure down to Washington to spend the weekend with a bunch of flower loving women! Two of my favorite bloggers Amy Merrick and Erin Benzakein were co-hosting a weekend floral workshop and it turns out I was just one beautiful ferry ride away.

Seeing Erin's farm in real life was really cool! I have been drooling over all her flower farming photos for years and just to actually see the whole operation and how it runs was fantastic. She is amazing with what she pumps out on 2 acres!

The coveted Cafe au Lait dahlia....

We spent the first morning cutting buckets and buckets of flowers which we then later turned into beautiful hand tied bouquets. A friend of Erin's was generous enough to let us use her beautiful 1906 barn for the workshop. The setting was idyllic. 

(Tara McHugh Flora)

(Amy Merrick)

(Student work)

I absolutely love Amy's loose style of flower arranging. It is much harder than it looks and it was a real treat to be able to just watch her in action! She really wanted us to be thoughtful with flower placement and to give each flower enough space.  

(Tara McHugh Flora)

(Tara McHugh Flora)

(Tara McHugh Flora)

(Student work)

(Student work)

It was truly a memorable weekend. The food, wine, location, company were perfect. For our final night we spent the afternoon dressing the barn for the most magnificent salmon dinner. Linen runners, tree branches, hop vines, the table flooded in candle light and fruit. And of course lets not forget all the beautiful guests adorned in our flower crown creations. I will post a link to some professional photos once I receive them. My photos would not do it justice!!

Garden Themed Bridal Shower

I was recently part of a group effort to throw my best friend a "garden themed" bridal shower. She is a new home owner and loves gardening so I thought, forget lingerie, lets do plants and flowers!

Her mother in law hosted the event and was more than happy to bring out her heirloom silver and dishes, we all pitched in for food and of course I brought over a few flowers to finish it off. 

Gorgeous bunting made by a girlfriend, check out her other creations here Finch and Delilah

Peony and lichen branches

Oh yes, and lets not forget the drink of the evening was prosecco! I wrapped a few glass bottles in wrapping paper and filled them with various juices as an option to mix with the sparkling wine.

I opted out of buying a plant or flower so instead I contacted a local artist Laura Lavender. I gave her a quote and asked her to do a painting using lily of the valley and roses, and this was what she came up with. I put it in a simple Ikea frame and I think it turned out really sweet.

K & K's beautiful garden wedding is happening in a couple of weeks, I'm getting excited!! Can't wait to use garden roses and sweet peas!

Party Flowers - carnations and peonies

I recently was hired to provide flowers for a Campus Infinity car dealership party. The dealership is quite modern so I went with a bold palette of colors. I was very excited to use the orange buddleia (also known as butterfly bush) from my neighbours garden as it's an unusual flower not readily available as a cut flower.

Other flowers used were peonies, green spider mums, hydrangea, carnations in three shades of purple, green dianthus and some maple tree foliage.

Indoor weddings at Butchart Gardens

Victoria is home to one of the most famous gardens in the world, Butchart Gardens.

I just found out recently, you can actually have an indoor garden wedding and reception at Butchart Gardens between January 15th and March 31st. The garden recently hosted some of us wedding vendors and gave us a tour and information about hosting weddings at their venue.

The wedding ceremonies happen in the "spring prelude garden" which is a lush indoor garden full of beautiful fragrance and spring blossoms. The number of guests allowed is 60, so it's perfect for an intimate wedding, or vow renewal. Once the ceremony is over receptions are held in the historic dining room of the original Butchart family home.

Another beautiful room that just blew me away was the "breakfast room". I think it would be perfect for a bridal shower, with the tables full of pink peonies!

My visit there was in prime daffodil season. And believe it or not, some lucky person's job is to pick flowers from the "cutting garden" and arrange them using the garden's collection of beautiful vases. Could be one of my dream jobs I think!

Butchart gardens would make a lovely venue for an early spring wedding. All the benefits of an outdoor garden wedding except for the rain of course!

Yummy flower left overs!

This year at my daughter's new school I have volunteered to take over the current garden club. There wasn't a whole lot in the garden club budget so I pulled together a couple flower sales as a way to raise more money. These beautiful dahlias were donated, (thanks J.M) and a major hit after school selling at $5.00 a bunch.

At our last sale I ended up coming home with 4 left over bunches which I just shoved into a vase on my dining room table. 

Dahlias are one of my favorite flowers!! Such variety in form and color.

Pretty good for left overs I would say!

Fall leaves - Witch-hazel

A beautiful shrub to have in your garden for fall leaves is Witch-hazel. I absolutely love the leaves at this time of year as they look as though they have been dipped in yellow and red paint.

Autumn is my least favorite time of year for flowers. Way too many orange mums and fake plastic wreaths around. I prefer to enjoy interesting grasses, berries, leaves and branches. I do love the earthiness of autumn floral designs though.

And if you do decide to plant a Witch-hazel in your garden for some fall color, a bonus is the fragrant yellow flowers in late winter and early spring.

Zinnias

I am so excited to have picked my first bouquet of zinnias from the garden the other day! My mother-in-law has generously let me use some space in her raised beds to try growing some flowers. I planted poppies, cosmos, dahlias and zinnias. 

I was hoping to see more pinks than oranges but am still happy with the varieties so far. If one had the space, these would be a fun flower to grow for a colorful August wedding.

Want to try growing your own flowers? This website has some great info. 

http://www.reneesgarden.com/articles/zinnias.html

Clematis Flowers

Last year I planted my first clematis vine. I am patiently waiting for it to grow. I am envious of all the mature vines around town as my vine looks so small in comparison. But, in the mean time I have lovely friends who will generously share flowers from their yards with me. These are a few pale purple clematis blooms I came home with this week.

White Parrot Tulips

Parrot tulips are very dramatic, with their feathered, twisted and curled petals! I am in love with this white variety in particular. With a hint of green on the petal, they pair nicely with a green hellebore from my garden. Very fun to photograph too!

Spring Garden Flowers

I have been so inspired lately by some very talented florists in New York City. Amy Merrick and the girls at Saipua in Brooklyn have such a beautifully romantic style of flower arranging. For me when I look at their work I just want to run out into my garden and start picking. And that's what I did today.........

(Rhododendrons, azaleas, frittilaria, hellebores, plum blossoms)