The fashion world is enjoying a ’70s renaissance of bell bottoms and bohemian blouses, so it only makes sense that wedding season is all about flower power. But who’s to say the décor needs to be in a vase? This year, flowers, foliage and succulents too, are showing up in lots of unexpected places.
Feeling creative? Here’s a wonderful DIY garland blog from Style Me Pretty Living!
Protea aristata (aristata = sharp-tipped leaves), was first collected in 1928 near the town of Ladismith in the Cape Province. Although thought to be common in the Seweweekspoort region, aristata could not be found again until 1953, prior to which it was believed for quite some time that it had become extinct. Aristata, also known as Ladismith sugarbush, Ambassador sugarbush, Small pine sugarbush and Christmas sugarbush, has become one of South Africa's most famous proteas in spite of its relatively late 'discovery'.
Aristrata provides welcome summer blooms – June through August! And, this distinctive protea has unusal pine-needle like foliage which provide a lovely background to its striking large and bright crimson flowers.
Though they are small ‘bouquets’, boutonnieres can add a huge splash of persona, color, and texture to the wedding party’s lapels. So, if a bride is looking for something unique and bursting with personality, you may want to consider skipping the more classic boutonnieres and suggest garnishing the lapels with leucadendron, leucospermum, serruria, waratah, berzelia and even fabulous filler flowers. Here’s a few of our wedding favorites.
Talk about a problem that’s good to have: there are so many creative wedding bloggers who have both impeccable taste and willingness to share their views, that when we find a moment to absorb a little of their wisdom, precious few of us have sufficient time to see them all. Luckily, there’s room right here to show you some of the creative and inspirational ways protea have become a wedding ‘it flower’. From a Mediterranean-Moroccan Wedding to an Organic, Earthy, Market-Style Wedding, see how bloggers are showcasing these amazing flowers:
Grevillea johnsonii is a beautiful, slightly weeping evergreen shrub with long needle-like, dark green leaves. However, there’s no doubt this amazing Grevillea truly ‘comes to life’ when flowering - as it does profusely. The loose clusters of extremely showy spidery pinkish-red flowers produced from late winter through the spring months make a strong but elegant contrast with the foliage.
These showy blossoms are very popular among pollinators such as bees, butterflies and birds - especially the hummingbirds! Another name for Johnsonii should be - Hummingbird Magnet! Herds of hummingbirds happily feast on the sweet nectar! They are beautiful as they dart around from flower to flower and the dance they perform is unlike any other bird. Their bright, shimmering colors, rapid flight and the ability to hover are a few of the traits that make them so unique. Such high-energy movement requires that they feed every ten to fifteen minutes. Hummingbirds are most attracted to flowers in shades of red like Grevillea johnsonii, of course!
One of the best parts of being a flower farmer is obviously - the flowers - and having them available year round makes it even better. First, the protea bloom, then the waxflower, pincushions and leucadendron and soon the fields are overflowing in a rainbow of colors. Not only do I enjoy growing and harvesting flowers, I love seeing them beautifully displayed in trendy and unique ways. So as you can imagine sometimes an ordinary vase just doesn’t cut it when a pickup full of fresh flowers arrives from the fields. It’s fun to create a gorgeous hand-tied bouquet and experiment with a few special containers to see just how they fit. Once you find that perfect combination of beauty along with your personal touch – the display becomes BEyouTIFUL!
Love containers: Here’s a few of my favorites:
Metal Buckets: Nothing says “From the Field to the Vase” like a flowers displayed in an old metal bucket.
Pitchers: The more unique, the better! Pitchers are beautiful, curvy works of art in and of themselves, but adding blooms makes for a colorful piece of art.
Antique Tins: Lucky you if you already have some lying around, but if not you might want to search out your local Thrift Shop.
If you’re looking for thriving organic floral displays in your home or office, you need to ponder beyond just flowers – the foliage is just as important as the blooms you choose. Leaves come in all shapes, sizes and colors and now, Banksia integrifolia is in the limelight. If you are not familiar with integrifolia or sometimes called Coast banksia or white honeysuckle, the foliage is fickle: the younger leaves are usually broad and irregular toothed, while the mature leaves are smooth and spear shaped. They have white undersides that tend to give the leaves a silvery look in the wind.
Integrifolia is the perfect textured foliage for any season – it makes a lush and long lasting base for wreaths, it blends well with just about any flowers and combined with other Australian greens makes a wonderful bouquet!
