Hydrangea - Flower of the Month - August

Hydrangea - Flower of the Month - August

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The Hydrangea - in the Flower agenda thoughout August

We're firmly hanging onto that summer feeling with the hydrangea. This natural mood booster can bring the sunshine inside, all year round. With its robust appearance, the hydrangea is like a holiday in a vase. 

Consumers can read all about this seasonal beauty in the Flower Agenda courtesy of our friends at The Flower Council of Holland, find more information on their consumer website Funnyhowflowersdothat.co.uk.

Origin of the hydrangea

The no-nonsense hydrangea’s name comes from ‘hydro' (water) and ‘angeion’ (pitcher) because the hydrangea’s shape is reminiscent of an old water pitcher… although you need quite a lot of imagination to see it! The flower, which originates from Asia and South America, came to Europe on the first Dutch East Indies Company ships.

The hydrangea’s colours and shapes

In the first half of the year you see red, pink, purple, white, green and blue hydrangeas, as well as hydrangeas which combine several colours. In the second half of the year there are the ‘colour-changed’ flowers. These hydrangeas have a green/dark red/brown tone and are good for drying. These are actually flowers that the grower has left to develop in the greenhouse. There’s also plenty of choice when it comes to shape. You can choose single or double flowered varieties, globe-shaped hydrangeas, hydrangeas with small flowers in the middle and large petals on the edge (edge bloomers) or hydrangeas with a plume shape.

Care tips for customers

•    Select a clean vase and fill it with tap water at room temperature.
•    Add cut flower food to the water for a longer vase life.
•    Cut or trim the stems diagonally by 3 to 5 cm with a sharp and clean knife or secateurs.
•    Make sure there are no leaves hanging in the water.
•    Do not place hydrangeas in a draught, in full sun or near central heating.
•    Regularly top the vase up with tap water; hydrangea flowers drink a lot because they have thin leaves and thin petals, as a result of which they evaporate a lot of moisture.
•    Don’t place hydrangeas near a fruit bowl. Fruit emits ethylene gas which will cause the flowers to age more rapidly.

A fabulous bouquet with hydrangeas

Bouquet recipe with hydrangeas The hydrangea is a flower you can’t get enough of. Its globe shape, the tiny flowers that all bloom idiosyncratically, the sometimes almost unnatural colours that vary with the seasons: the hydrangea keeps us under its spell. Combined with the right colours and supporting cast it creates a wonderful spectacle that looks like it’s come straight from a fairy story. 

You will need:

• Hydrangea
• Delphinium
• Rose
• Carnation
• Dahlia

Hydrangea symbolism

Alongside the flower’s magnificence, there’s another good reason to buy hydrangeas: they symbolise gratitude, grace and beauty. They also project abundance because of the lavish number of flowers and the generous round shape. The hydrangea’s colours symbolise love, harmony and peace so it’s perfect for use in floral work for weddings, funerals or birthdays.

Inspiration and information

Inspiring images of every flower in the Flower Agenda have been produced in line with the Horticulture Sector Trends 2017 (Groenbranche Trends 2017). These trends are a translation of what our consumers are interested in at the moment and are specifically aimed at the horticulture sector for use both indoors and outdoors.

If you would like to find out more about the Flower Agenda click here.

Hydrangeas are fabulous flowers for weddings!! They may be expensive per head but boy do those heads go a long way. Whether thats as a single head with sprigs of gyp for a bridesmaid bouquet

As smaller sections to go into a fabulous flower crown

To fill these gorgeous candelabra table centrepieces

Or to fill out a large design fit for a stunning mantlepiece

or to frame your ceremony space.

We love working with hydrangea and can work with all colours as and when available. 

If you want to include this stunning flower in your designs come and speak to us about your dreams and style and we can make that happen

Sandra X

February Wedding at Woodbridge Hill Hideaway

February Wedding at Woodbridge Hill Hideaway

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February is one of the most popular months for weddings in Tasmania, with summer being in full swing.  I am mostly booked out for February every year but with this wedding, the lovely bride was super organised.   She booked almost 2 years in advance and we had plenty of time to plan and look forward to the big day!

Woodbridge Hill Hideaway

The wedding was held at Woodbridge Hill Hideaway,  high up in the hills behind Woodbridge to the south of Hobart.  The venue has spectacular views, and on a clear day you can see for hundreds of kilometres towards the east.  

The bride was after pink, green and cream with a rustic feel.  February can be a changeable month with flowers, depending on how long the summer lingers for.  This season, I had plenty of lovely rich pinks and reds to choose from.

For the brides bouquet, a rich wine-coloured Banksia Praemorsa was the central flower.  Each bouquet had a Pink Ice Protea, some rich pinky red Banksia Occidentalis, and some gorgeous green and red Hydrangea.

I added Brunia Albiflora to each bouquet too.  It's purplish brown-grey tones were lovely peeping out from amongst all the colour.  Some newly planted green leucadendrons called Orientale were added too.  They are a great soft green with burgundy tips and tinge.  

I also added some sedum, echinacea, and hebe.  The foliage used was Risdon Peppermint and Pittosportum, with some Hebe seed heads which I love to use in bouquets.  

Such beautiful rich pinks!  

Hair comb for the bride

A fresh flower hair slide for the bride used more Hyrdrangea, Sedum, Pittosporum and Peppermint, with a Banksia Occindentalis, Brunia, Hebe and wax flower.

  Beautiful on that gorgeous dark hair.  

For table decorations, there were lots of little wooden boxed arrangements.  

Each centrepiece had a Protea Pink Ice, Brunia, Banksia Occidentalis, Silver Tree and lots of leucadendrons, foliage and texture.  

So pretty and fresh!

Larger boxed arrangements to decorate the venue had more Hyrdangea, Banksia Praemorsa, Protea Pink Ice, Banksia Occidentalis, Brunia, some dried Silver Tree cones and some summer grasses.  

I really enjoyed the colour and texture combinations in these boxed arrangements and centrepieces.

I love the dusky pink of the Banksai Praemorsa in this one.  Rustic, pink, and pretty.

Corsages for the mums.

For the mums and grandmas, there were sweet little corsages.

The men's boutonnieres

And for the men, boutonniere using Brunia and a range of foliages.  

Woodbridge Hill Hideaway

It was such a treat to be involved in the wedding of this lovely couple.  I wish them all the best for their future together.