Floral Crowns and Flowers for Hair

Floral Crowns and Flowers for Hair

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Wearing flowers in your hair is not a new idea - its probably been around as long as there have been flowers, and people to enjoy them!  But the "flower crown" has become a very popular addition to wedding flower orders over recent years, so I thought I'd do a little collection of some of them.  They can be tricky to make, but when they work, they're fabulous!  The crown above was made for a gorgeous bride who wanted red, white and blue, with the flowers heavier at the back.  The red was provided by some early autumn Silvan Red Leucadendrons, and some smaller Banksia Occidentalis.  Blue came from the blue of the Eucalyptus Cordata leaves, and some deconstructed blue hydrangea.  Flowering gum in white, and a sprinkling of Wax Flowers added touches of white.  

Photography by Inside the Frame

It worked!

Photography by Inside the Frame

The heavier flowers at the back weren't attached to the actual crown, but were pinned in so that they would sit at the right angle.

An asymmetrical crown is really flattering, with the flowers being heavier on one side than the other.  This crown was made with silvery leafed tea tree in flower.  

Added to the left hand side was some Eucalyptus Crenulata foliage, pink Kangaroo Paw, pink flowering gum and a gum nut, to tie in with the bouquet.

Photography by Sarah Williams

I think it worked beautifully.

For a brightly coloured summer wedding in January, the bride wanted a crown to match her bouquet with pink and orange tones.

Flowering gum in a rich orange, pink kangaroo paw, myrtle beech foliage and geraldton wax flower were combined into her crown.

Photography by Looks Like This

With the gorgeous brunette hair, the colours looked wonderful.

For an autumn wedding at Port Arthur, the bride wanted something leafy with yellow tones to match the grooms yellow tie. 

Photography by Fred and Hannah

The bride looked amazing!

For this early April wedding the colour theme was burgundy.  I added rich red leucadendrons to the front of the crown, mixed in with Cootamundra wattle foliage in bud, peppermint gum foliage, and some lemon-scented tea tree which made the whole thing smell delicious.

Picture by Kristy L Photography

Such a stunning wedding!

Flower crowns are often chosen for flower girls or children.  For this little crown, worn by a little girl for her first birthday photo shoot, I wove thryptomene, myrtle beech foliage and little sprigs of Berzelia. 

The ribbon is mostly for show.  I make crowns to be slightly adjustable so they fit the head perfectly, but adding a ribbon is usually just for the effect.

I love the way the textures and colours combine in a crown.  This one had to be petite, for such a sweet little head.

Photograph by Astrid Simone Photography

What a little cutie!

You can see the difference in texture depending on the ingredients used.  For the one in the above photo, made for a flower girl, I added berries and wattle buds to flowering tea tree foliage.  

Photography by Love Jennifer

For the same wedding, the bride wore a half crown.  Half crowns can be a great way to work some flowers into a hairstyle that doesn't suit a full crown.  They can either be made on a hair comb/slide, or they can simply be a wired piece that is attached with pins.

For this bride, the berries were a particular request and we blended them with some interesting foliage and textured elements.  This half-crown was a simple wire piece, pinned into the hair style.

Photography by Love Jennifer

It looked gorgeous!

Another half crown made on a hair comb combined silvery blue-green foliages, white and red.  This half crown used a comb to anchor it to the hair, so all the foliage and flowers were attached to the comb. 

I find that metal combs make the best bases for floral combs.  They are bendable if they need to be, and are less fragile.  This cute comb was embellished with pale pink flowering gum, tea tree and wax flower.

Its always so lovely to see how it sits in the hair.  

Hair combs can be more flamboyant and asymetrical too.  This one for a February wedding with pinks and lots of foliage used coral fern, gum leaves, gum buds and bright pink flowering gum.  

I also used some deconstructed Brunia Albiflora to match the bouquets.

Island 26 Photography

It was great to get photos of the hair dresser doing his thing!  

Island 26 Photography

And the flowers sitting so well in that hairstyle - gorgeous!

Another comb, this time for the back of the hair.  The pink and red tones mirrored the bride's bouquet,  using banksia, hydrangea, hebe, pittosporum and wax flower.  

Great contrast with that luscious dark hair!

A silvery, leafy comb with peppermint gum, brunia albiflora, flowering gum and buds, wax flower and leucadenron cones.

Photography by Acoma

It was worn by the mother of the bride, instead of a corsage.  What a great idea!

Another comb, using wax flwoer, leucadendron pisa, cedar, peppermint gum and echinops, for a symetrical design,

I loved the beautiful colours in this spring flower comb.  The main flower is a Tasmanian Waratah, surrounded by purple Isopogon, creamy Leucadendron Discolour, peppermint gum foliage, leucadendron cones and Berzelia.

This simple comb has a row of Leucadendron Jubilee Crown cones topped with tea tree and rice flower.

The simplest of all are some small picks of flowers on wires, which can be woven into a hairstyle for a scattered effect. 

There are so many possibilities for hair flowers - I hope these have sparked your imagination.

Waratah!

Waratah!

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Spring means Waratahs, the irrepressible native flower that's bold and impossible to ignore!  Waratahs are native to Australia and are part of the proteaceae family of plants.  The name Waratah is an aboriginal word meaning 'red flowering tree'.  The botanical name is Telopea which means 'seen from afar'.  There are a small number of Telopea species, only 5, with the biggest and most showy being Telopea Speciosissima from New South Wales.  It is that states floral emblem.  At Swallows Nest Farm we grow a number of types of waratahs including the Tasmanian Waratah, Telopea Truncata.  First to flower are the Shady Lady - they are a rich cool red.  "Shady Lady" is a hybrid form of Waratah, a cross between the T. Speciosissima and T. Oreades.

Waratah buds form at the end of long stems which grow mainly over the spring and early summer months.  The buds swell over winter and in early spring, start to become a brighter red. 

Usually sometime in September, the buds start to unfold to reveal the many small flowers inside that will become the centre of the waratah. 

The unfolding process can take some time, and I think the flowers are really beautiful during this stage.

Once the outer bracts have unfolded, the central mass of individual flowers begin to bend and spread out, giving the waratah its well known shape.  

We still don't pick at this stage.  The flowers are prone to develop a blue tinge if picked too early.  They don't maintain their intense colour and won't open properly.

It's best to pick as the first few styles emerge from the individual flowers.  You can see in the picture above that the styles have begun to emerge on the back of this flower - facing north.  At the front edge you can just see the styles beginning to poke their way through.  The petal will fold as they emerge. 

  In the picture, almost all the styles have emerged. You can see the difference in the overall texture of the flower with the curled petals and the upright styles.

My Telopea Speciosissima are next to flower and they continue to flower up until December, depending on where they are planted.  I have some beautiful ones including this special one that is rosy pink, with white styles.  Its currently my favourite!

Such a gorgeous flower!  I love the colour, the white styles, and the rounded shape of this flower.  I hope to do some propagating, to see if I can reproduce more of them.

A close-up of the freshly emerged styles of this flower reveal the way waratahs present their pollen.  On the inside tip of the white styles you can see the rich red pollen.   It can be messy if the flower is handled a lot.  The bees love it!

I have really enjoyed using waratahs in some weddings recently.  Such a gorgeous colour!

And creating cheery arrangements is fun.  Spring means there's so much to choose from to team up with that stunning rich red.

Waratahs are deservedly one of the most prized Australian native cut flowers.  I love growing them!