Sunflowers for September

I recently received a card from a client, with a beautiful watercolour of sunflowers on the front. It instantly made me feel happy, and I thought that I must include these delightful flowers on my blog. This is guaranteed to bring a smile to your face....a bouquet of sunflowers. Such simple flowers, so bright with their large yellow petals and chocolate brown centres, you have to love them.
I have seen them growing in France by the fieldful....not for cut flowers,but to be turned into sunflower oil. Les Tournesols they call them, as they turn their faces to the sun as it moves across the sky. Fabulous.

For a late summer or  autumn countrystyle wedding they would look fantastic. They are so large that you don't need too many of them. 7 will make a super hand-tied bouquet for a bride, with maybe somethng matching and smaller for the bridesmaids. For a very informal country look use raffia to tie, or maybe gingham ribbon.

Sunflowers, and indeed any daisies need to be paired with a wedding dress of equal simplicity, maybe something short or ballerina length and in simple broderie anglais or cotton.

Trending- Blue and green

Lime green and blue make an interesting contrast.
Cool and elegant 

Lime green chrysanthemum shamrock with blue delphiniums and blue eryngium thistles.

Elegant Arum Lillies

Zantadescia, better know to you as arum lillies or calla lilies are a stunning wedding flowers. If your dress is a long elegant column style, then an over- arm bouquet of arums will work perfectly. Simple, stylish,elegant. And, not too expensive as you don't need too many of these flowers to make an impact.

I love the pure white beauty of them, the contrast of cool pure white with the golden yellow callyx.

I would build a whole theme around them with Hollywood style glamour as the trend.

They make the perfect flower in a church, as the have impact in a large space.


In the reception area, maybe large tall vases with white arums and bear grass.

Arums do come in many colours, the white is my favourite, but I do like the green variety. If you want to be really different , and if you dare,there is a very unusual brownish velventy one. Interesting.

They also coming in varying sizes, so the small ones aew ideal as Buttonholes.

Just a few of these elegsant blooms makes a simple bouquet for a bridesmaid Simply tied with a ribbon in colour of your choice.

Summer Weddings- Fragrant Lillies

Vase of pink stargazer lillies



White oriental lillies are perfect for a summer wedding.



White Lillies

Roses and Lillies- perfect for summer.

White oriental lillies

The other Royal Wedding

 Royal Weddings are a lot like buses, you wait for ages and then two come together. So, after the fabulous Kate.....and the equally fabulous Pippa (that is a hard act to follow)...we have Zara. 


Zara looked lovely on her wedding day, and the flowers she carried were unusual. A bouquet of white arums and thistles. Very nice. Her Matron of Honour carried a similar matching bouquet.




I expect thistles, otherwise known as eryngiums, to be very popular. They are always the obvious choice for anyone with a Scottish connection. 

Daisy Daisy.

The focus is on Daisies.They are not for everyone!  If you re looking for elegance and sophistication...don't go there. If your theme is exotic, again dasies are a No. But if you are aiming for something young and simple, fresh and summery, it has to be Daisies. The look is very informal, very natural.  A little bit Hippy Chick.Think the  Engish countryside in Summer.

Daisies come in lots of different sizes, and of course colours. But I am thinking here, white with the sunshine yellow centres. They say Happiness. 

Very on trend at the moment. I have just seen the photos of Kate Moss on her wedding day, and the daisies are all over.

The young bridesmaids look very cute with their daisy-chain circlets.

Lovely dress, Kate. Fabulous! My personal opinion is just think that the scale of bouquet for the bride is not quite right. It doesnt give enough impact. And the way she is carrying it doesnt help.

Wedding Flowers on a Budget-Cheap and Chic.

I know that in today's economic climate many brides are working to tight budgets. I am often asked if I have any ideas for flowers for a budget conscious bride. Is it possible to economise on flower costs whilst not economising on style and elegance? Yes of course!

Firstly keep it simple. Maybe sticking to one flower type which is inexpensive, but using lots!
How about Gypsophila or Baby's Breath? It looks awful when mixed with other flowers as an afterthought or filler in.You may have seen it in the mixed bunches of flowers from the Supermarket. But used en mass it looks stunning. And costs next to nothing for bunches of the stuff! Very pretty!

If you want to make your money go further, then always use flowers in season.They are at their most plentiful and therefore cheapest.

Why not do your own reception flowers? Or get your friends/bridesmaids to help? Again keep it very simple.
Maybe using a goldfish bowl with just a few flowers. Anyone can do this. Really.

Or use simple glass vases or plant pots to keep costs down.

You don't need to use a lot of flowers, just one will be enough in a small glass vase.Floating candles are really effective.

How about using Gerberas, not too expensive, and they come in bright colours which really make an impact.
A very simple idea of a bridesmaid's bouquet.

I run courses on Wedding Flowers where I can show you lots of ideas including:
~how to make a hand-tied bouquet for bride and bridesmaids,
~how to make button holes and corsages
~Inspiration for table centre decorations 
Courses are run from our design studio in Derbyshire.
Call 07879040081 or email designinflowers@yahoo.com for details of the course dates and prices.

Midsummer Flowers- Roses



Summer roses


Roses are the flower for this month. June brides often choose roses for their bouquet, perfect.


A great look is for vintage shades of dusky pink and faded mauve, as a fabulous hand tied bouquet. Timeless elegance. Very romantic.







In my garden the roses are looking just fabulous. The scent is wonderful. I grow the old varieties and the David Austin English roses, because to me a rose without perfume is missing something important.
My favourites:
Albertine -a climbing rose in peachy pink, beautifully scented.
Constance Spry- goblet shaped blooms of rich pink.
New Dawn- pale baby pink flowers.
Penelope- creamy pink multiple flowers
Cornelia- Pink scented flowers
Winchester Cathedral- pure white
Golden Celebrations- yellow

Hand-tied small bouquet of deep pink roses

Peach roses in simple mirror cube- Table arrangement

Of course many of the roses which I use for weddings are without scent, but slowly the growers and wholesale flower markets are bringing in new varieties grown specifically for their perfume.

I have to tell you of the best rose scented Perfume, and believe me I have researched this one.... The best is Jo Malone Red Roses.

This brings me to my second favourite summer scented flower, orange blossom, the mock orange or Philadelphus smells amazing. And guess what, Jo Malone do the most exquisite Orange Blossom cologne too. My all time favourite.

Royal Wedding Flowers

So now we have seen the beautiful bride, the spectacular dress, and of course, most important for me- the bridal bouquet.

 I loved the choices.

Seasonal flowers-check.

British grown-check.

Fragrant- check.

Elegant-check.

Perfect!

So romantic and elegant, perfect for a princess. Truly regal.

The small bouquet consisted mainly of lily-of- the-valley (which just happens to be my favourite flower and the one I had in my own wedding bouquet.) The intense fragrance from such small bell like flowers is unbeleivable. I love it. Incidentally Princess Grace of Monaco also carried a bouquet of lily-of-the-valley on her wedding day. Her dress was also quite similar in style to Kate Middleton's- except I think the neckline of the new princess's was nicer.
How touching that Kate also included her husbands namesake- Sweet Williams, in white in her bouquet. Not a very attractive flower, but again very fragrant, very British,very traditional- and so she had to include them didn't she.
I also spotted some fragrant white hyacinth flowers, all individually wired.
Also included was a sprig of myrtle- traditional in Roayl wedding flowers since Queen Victoria.
The whole thing looked exquisite and must have had a fabuous perfume too.

My wedding bouquet, similar?

Red Roses Day

Yes it is February and the big day is 14th- Valentine's Day. Don't tell me you had forgotten!
I call it Red Roses Day, because, admit it... everyone wants to give and receive them.

Nothing says romance like fabulous red roses. Simple yet stunning in their velvety richness.