When love blooms
Getting married? You can grow your own wedding flowers, says Leigh Bramwell
THE FIRST TIME I got married I didn’t have a bouquet. I didn’t have a dress or a veil either. However, my witness, who arrived at the registry office on her bicycle, thoughtfully brought me a bunch of daises.
Unfortunately, it was a windy day and most of their heads had blown off but, hey, it’s the thought that counts. And the simplicity of the daises, headless or otherwise, worked perfectly with my wedding attire of a T shirt, shorts and bare feet — wannabe hippie that I was.
The second time I got married I still didn’t have a bouquet but, thanks to my landscaper partner, our garden was bursting with flowers — vireyas, Mexican orange blossoms, camellias, gardenias, hibiscus, brugmansia, marigolds, magnolias, azaleas, anemones and more.
I could have clambered down our stream bank and picked a bouquet of my favourite arum lilies but, by the time I’d thought of it, my favourite champagne was calling.
Growing your own wedding flowers is a great idea, but it requires organisation, contingency planning and perfect timing.
Depending on which flowers you want, you’ll need to start at least one year ahead of the big day, and probably two or three. This much time is necessary for flowering shrubs and perennials to mature and provide you with all the blooms you need.
If you’re the impatient type, there are flowers that will respond in one growing season. Annuals like sunflowers and zinnias and plenty more will produce blooms in one growing season provided you get the dates right. Read the packet to make sure you know how long it takes to get your seeds from planting to full bloom.
Most perennials – lilies, asters, peonies and others – take a couple of years to get established so plant them two or three years in advance of your wedding date and hope you don’t change your mind about the flowers or the groom. Hydrangeas, forsythias, lilacs and other shrubs will also take their time to get established, so if you’re a bride in a hurry, you will probably have to make do with whatever is already growing in your or your friends’ gardens. Failing that, you could buy extra-large plants and ply them with compost and fertiliser to get the best growth.
And don’t forget foliage. You probably won’t have to plant anything specifically for your wedding – foraging in friends and relations’ gardens should give you a wide choice. Many varieties of evergreen magnolias have attractive, long-lasting foliage; smaller varieties of flax will anchor your celebration firmly in NZ; you can borrow eucalyptus and grevillea from Australia; and, to take a leaf out of Kate Middleton’s book, use sprigs of myrtle.
If you’re the adventurous type who likes to make a statement, the big leaved plants that have become popular in the past couple of years will set your floral displays apart. Monstera, alocasia and fiddle leaf fig will provide drama, along with hosta, globe artichoke and strelizia.
TRENDS FOR 2021
Haven’t a clue where to start? Check out some of this advice from wedding planners and floral designers world-wide.
Big is beautiful, but so is small. Tiny blooms are in the spotlight and the petite bouquet with its effortless, refined style is a leading trend. As one designer says: “We’ve all been carrying heavier things from the year behind us. Don’t let your bouquet be one of them!”
Dusky pinks and mauves are taking a back seat to the more earthy shades of copper, terra cottas, rusty oranges, burnt browns and golden honey tones.
And on the flip side, you could try a monochromatic approach. “2019 had wildflowers, 2020 had gradients, and 2021 is all about the monochromatic bouquet. The key is to work within subtle shades of the same colour.”
Texture has become a big player too, and not just in flowers and foliage. Woven flax, bark, sacking, driftwood, pumice and dried materials are being added to the mix for a natural, earthy look.
Best advice: Just in case your plants let you down, invest in a selection of high quality silk flowers. They’ll mix and match with whatever foliage you have on hand, and will live to shine another day, and another, and another…..