Rustic Farm Wedding in North West Tasmania

Rustic Farm Wedding in North West Tasmania

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An old machinery shed in the middle of an apple orchard!  Sounds like the perfect place for a Tasmanian wedding in March.   The bride wanted vibrant reds and pinks, and some King Proteas with  foliage and nuts.   

So that's what she got!  Beautiful Compacta Proteas with silky pink outer bracts and a rich red center, along with red mini king proteas were the main flowers used.  I also added some Banksia Occidentalis which are a stunning pinky red colour in March.  

Nothing can compare in richness of colour to the new season growth on a red leucadendron and the Silvan Red Leucos were ready to pick early for this wedding. They added a darker rich red conrast.  Brunia Albiflora were in flower and looked great adding highlights.  They're such unique flowers - one of my favourites.  

For foliage, I used some lovely Eucalyptus Cordata which was heavily in bud, with some of the white fluffy blooms just starting to burst.  I also used silky Silver Tree Leucadendron, which is always wonderful in a bouquet.  It's luxurious foliage adds wonderful glowing highlights.  The other foliage used is Irish Juniper, a blue green foliage with variegated stripe on its fine foliage.

Dried Corymbia Ficifolia gum nuts were added too.  I like the way the colour of the nuts went with textural fibre I used to surround the bouquets.  I like the nest-like quality of the fibrous posy holders.  They add a rustic touch to a bouquet.  

The boutonnieres combined Juniper, Myrtle and E. Cordata foliage with some Cordata gum blossom and a Corymbia Ficifolia nut.  

The groom stood out with a rich Silvan Red leuco added to his.  

The bride and her bridesmaid wore floral hair pieces.  Juniper, Myrtle and some smaller leafed Cordata were the main foliages used.  The Cordata blossom was mixed with a spindling of wax flower, and some rich red Leucos added colour.  

The pieces were built on metal combs to slide into the hair style.

The comb provides a structure to built the hair piece around.  Those gum blossoms are so pretty!

Stunning photo - looks like something out of a fairy tale!  It was a pleasure, as always, to be a part of this couples special day. 

Simple Summer Wedding

Simple Summer Wedding

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Simple Summer Wedding 

"I'm looking for something small and simple, and I love the idea of natives" was the brief for a January wedding held locally on the Tasman Peninsula at the beautiful Tigerbay Retreat.  Greens and whites with a pop of pink and purple were the brides instructions, keeping the bouquets simple. 

Bride's bouquet 

Beautiful silvery green Silver Tree and some lovely Pincushion foliage were the basis of my inspiration for the bouquets.  A few Proteas had braved the dry summer heat to bloom during their usual few weeks of scarcity, so they provided some of the pink.  Local native tea tree flowering en masse provided the white.  

Leucadendron Jubilee Crown with its rosy cones added some darker tones.  There are also some Leucadendron Galpinii with their silvery cones surround by purplish whirls of leaves.  Purple was added by the addition of some Hebe.  

Leucadendron Lemon Spice is a leuco that in late spring and summer has creamy pink tinged bracts.  I used the last few of these for the season in the bouquets and they added a warmth to the colouring that I loved.  

This picture shows how the L. Silver Tree really catches the light in a bouquet.  Its such a beautiful silky addition to a design.

This simple January wedding called for lots of boutonnieres.  More tea tree and Hebe teamed with some Pincushion foliage surrounding a L. Jubilee Crown cone.  

Simple, fresh, summery for a simple January wedding.  

Winter Activity

Winter Activity

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Apart from picking, the main winter activity on the protea farm for us is planting.  Proteas are characterised by a special root system.  They have deep roots that anchor them, like other plants, but they also have a "proteoid" root system that is shallow and renews itself every year.  Proteas are very cyclical plants.  Winter is their root growing season, and this makes winter a good time for planting.  

Last year, we planted around 200 plants.  I'm very excited about the varieties - White Ice - a beautiful white protea with icy white "fur".  Another variety we put in is White King.  It is a type of Protea Cynaroides, the largest flowering protea with a flower the size of a dinner plate!  The white variety we planted should be a stunning flower!  It will be 3 or 4 years before we see the results though - King Proteas are slow to mature.  But it will be worth the wait!

This morning I rang a supplier about ordering some more plants for planting this winter.  I hope I am able to get the variety I'm after!  This time next year, they'll be established, and growing, and I'll hopefully be blogging about them!  I love winter!