Dryandra Formosa

Dryandra Formosa

Comment   

Dryandra Formosa is a beautiful Australian Native Flower that I've begun to grow at Swallows Nest Farm.  It is an unusual flower that is from the Proteaceae family, as are many other well known Australian Native flowers.  As recently as 2007 it has been re-classified at a Banksia, so is now known as Banksia Formosa.  Its common name is Showy Dryandra, and it is!

The flowers are golden and at once furry and bristly - a strange combination which makes sense when you see them begin to open more.  The bristles are very firm, almost plastic-like.   A fibrous golden top, when all clumped together, forms the "furry" look.  It has the appearance of velvet and catches the sunlight in a similar way.   

The colour is difficult to describe too - golden orange, or old gold would be my best words to describe it. 

Another feature of this unusual flower is that the leaves almost become part of the flower.  The leaves grow immediately below the flower and are long and deeply zig-zagged.  They are beautiful to use as a cut foliage.

Like most proteaceae plants, what we call the "flowers" are actually many small individual flowers clumped together.  The diagram above shows that each bristle is an individual flower.

With so many flowers in each flower head, there are many opportunities for seeds.  When you look at the seed heads of the Dryandra Formosa you can see why they've been re-classified as Banksias.  The seed heads are very banksia-like, as are the seeds which are very dark and attached to a papery film, just like banksia seeds.  Showy Dryandra grow well from seed.  

Dryandra or Banksia Formosa are a great flower to use for weddings.  You can see how the leaves are put to good use in the boutonnieres above.  I love the way the leaves sit haphazardly.  

The young flowers really catch the light because of the velvety texture.  They look great in corsages too. Here, the young flowers are teamed with Pimelea Nivea or Bushman's Bootlace, Lipstick Boronia, Berzelia buttons and Grevillea.

The effect is different when the flower is more mature and the velvety texture is replaced with the tips of the bristles.  Still lovely, just different.  In this boutonniere, it is teamed with a Blusing Bride Serruria flower, Berzelia buttons, and flowering gum.  

I really love the colour of this flower!  It's not a "hit you in the eye" colour but it just provides so much depth.  There are times when the colour combinations just sing!  I think the wreath above would be a bit bland without the Showy Dryandra.

Again, in a brides bouquet, the Showy Dryandra really makes the colour palette.  There's nothing else that adds the colour and texture quite like these amazing Australian Native blooms.  

Early Autumn Wedding in the Huon Valley

Early Autumn Wedding in the Huon Valley

Comment   

Photography by Michelle Dupont

 Early March, summer is coming to an end, and the Huon Valley is filled with orchards laden with apples.  The Apple Shed, an old packing shed from earlier days, has been transformed into a cider house with an historical flavour, show casing mementos of the Apple Valley in its hey day and home to Willie Smith Cider.  Its the scene for a wedding that I was thrilled to be involved in.  I was equally thrilled to see the beautiful photographs taken by Michelle Dupont.  

The bride was after an eclectic style with lots of colour.  

Late summer provided plenty of colour choices.  Leucospermum Fountain, the peachy orange Pincushion added warmth to the bouquet.  Three different banksias make an appearance, the creamy Banksia Baxterii or Birdsnest Banksia, The warm yellow Banksia Praemorsa,  and the red Banksia Occidentalis.  

Protea Pink Mink, a Nerifolia with black fringing adds a luxurious touch.  Also making an appearance is a stunning rich red Calla Lily, native to South Africa and a first for me.  I was given some bulbs in a gorgeous range of colours and have been enjoying them in my garden.  

Photography by Michelle Dupont

 Leucadendron Jester, a variegated Leuco is in season in March.  It was sprinkled throughout the floral designs for this wedding.

Photography by Michelle Dupont

The foliage used includes Myrtle Beech, a tasmanian native foliage which grows in the rain forests of western Tasmania.  I also used Irish Juniper foliage, a stunning blue-green that really complimented the colours of the flowers.  For highlights I used some Pittosporum berries.   I like the textural effect they created.    

For the boutonniere I used Myrtle Beech foliage, Irish Juniper and more of the pittosporum berries.

I just the love colour of the Irish Juniper.

Photography by Michelle Dupont

The leucadendrons are Jester, a variegated form of Safari Sunset.  There rich red was great agains the blue of the suits.

Photography by Michelle Dupont

 Each boutonniere had a green Corymbia Ficifolia gum nut.  The green nuts are the previous years fruits.  The trees also retain older fruits but they loose the green colouring and look more woody.  I think the green ones really worked in this instance.

Photography by Michelle Dupont

The Mother of the Bride wore a Gum Nut corsage too, also using Myrtle Beech foliage, more Irish Juniper, pittosporum berries, Sedum, and a sprinkling of yellow fennel flower.  

Photography by Michelle Dupont

 I think the photographs from this wedding are some of the best I've seen.  It's worth checking out the website of this talented photographer. 

Photography by Michelle Dupont

 No Autumn wedding in the Huon Valley would be complete without some orchard shots!  These are just beautiful!

Photography by Michelle Dupont

 The autumnal colours of the bouquet are enhanced in the beautiful afternoon light.

Photography by Michelle Dupont

Love this shot of the groom holding the bouquet!

Photography by Michelle Dupont

Just stunning!

Floral decorations for the Apple Shed reception venue were carefully planned by the bride who collected around 60 glass vases and vessels in all shapes and sizes to create groups of arrangements.

Large vases were grouped with smaller bottles and jars, all will a profusion of late summer colours.  

I loved playing with the rich red and orange tones. The additions of juniper and pittosporum berries, and Brunia added texture.  

Some of the little vases were vintage glass.  This little jug looked lovely with a Banksia Occidentalis, Leucadendron Jester, Brunia Albiflora and some Irish Juniper foliage.

The vases and smaller vessels looked so gorgeous and colourful en masse.  It was a pleasure to work on these.  

For a cake topper, I used a Pincushion Fountain as the central flower, surrounded by Sedum, Fennel, Pittosporum berries, green gum nuts, Funiper, Hebe, and Leucadendron Jester.  

Photography by Michelle Dupont

The bride was keen for the cake topper to reflect the bridal bouquet.  

Photography by Michelle Dupont

Such a stunning looking cake!

Photography by Michelle Dupont

This wedding was a pleasure to be involved with and I think you'll agree that the stunning photos really  capture a special day.  

Natives for a Beach Wedding in March

Natives for a Beach Wedding in March

Comment   

thanks to the lovely bride for sharing this image

Tasmania's beaches are some of the most beautiful in the world.  We are surrounded by sea so our coastline is vast.  There are so many beautiful beaches we are spoilt for choice and when we do visit, we often find that we have the beach to ourselves.  So it's no surprise that beach weddings are popular during the warmer months.

thanks to the lovely bride for sharing this image

  March is early autumn here in Tassie, and can be a brilliant time for weddings.

  This March was warmer than usual and there was plenty of variety to play with to create some native bouquets.  

thanks to the lovely bride for sharing this image

The lovely bride wanted green, orange and cream with gum nuts.  Her attendant was her mum, wearing a salmon coloured dress.  

For the bride I used a late flowering Pincushion variety called "Fountain",   Protea Pink Ice, and Protea Repens in a rich salmony pink.  

Beautiful Birdsnest Banksia or Banksia Baxterii in creamy yellow, and Brunia Albiflora which had started flowering were the other large flowers used.  You can also see some smaller creamy Banksia Marginata, a locally occurring Banksia.  

Flowering Eucalyptus Cordata, a gorgeous Tasmanian blue leafed gum which is usually used as a foliage plant, was budding and blossoming at just the right time to be used as a detail flower.  You can also see Grevillea foliage, Leucadendron Silver Tree foliage, Inca Gold Leucadendrons at their rich bronzy green stage, sprigs of lemon-scented Leptospermum or Tea Tree, and of course the gum nuts that the bride requested.  They are Corymbia Ficifolia nuts, beautiful urn shaped woody fruits that really make a statement in an Australian Native bouquet.

Mum's bouquet was slightly smaller, leaving out the salmon pink Protea Repens.  

thanks to the lovely bride for sharing this image

I love the orange tones against that blue suit!  Great colours for the beach-scape.

thanks to the lovely bride for sharing this image

Beautiful!  They look so happy, and thats what it's all about isn't it!  Such a treat to be involved!

February Wedding at Avalon Coastal Retreat

February Wedding at Avalon Coastal Retreat

Comment   

February is a busy month for weddings here in Tasmania.  The warm weather makes Tasmania's beautiful landscapes and beaches a perfect backdrop for a summer wedding.  This February I was privileged to provide flowers for a wedding held on the Tasmania's East Coast at a special award winning venue called Avalon Coastal Retreat.  

Avalon Coastal Retreat

Right on the edge of the ocean at Swansea, the venue has breathtaking views of the coastline and the Freycinet Peninsula.

Avalon Coastal Retreat

Avalon Coastal Retreat won a gold medal in the Australian Tourism Awards for the best self-contained accommodation.  Its not hard to see why, judging from the photo gallery on their website. 

The colour of the bridesmaid's dresses was a soft pink, with accents in the men's ties of rich pink and orange.  The colour scheme of the flowers came together well, complimenting those colours with lots of native texture.

Pink Ice Protea, Fountain Pincushions and Banksia Occidentalis are the 3 main flowers used.  

The pink, red and orange colours were held together with a burst of soft pink from a gorgeous Corymbia Ficifolia or Flowering Gum.  It really tied the colours together.  Other flowers used were some Leucadendron Silvan Red with its rich new season red, some Leucadenron Gandogeri, Kangaroo Paw in red, Leucadendron Jubilee Crown cones, and some green Corymbia Ficifolia nuts.

The bride's bouquet also featured a small red King Protea.

A bridal hair piece was made by attaching the flowers to a comb which sets well at the back of the head  (also useful above a bun).  I used more of the Corymbia Ficifolia in that gorgeous soft pink, and added some pink wax flower and some local native tea tree that grows in coastal areas here in Tasmania.  It's soft grey leaves and white flowers worked well on the hair piece.

Simple little floral picks were also made for the bridesmaid's hair.  

The floral comb worked beautifully as an alternative to the traditional veil.

The suits were a rich blue with a white shirt that had subtle accent colours through it.  

For boutonnieres I used more of the fabulous Corymbia Ficifolia teamed with Peppermint foliage, Leucadendron Silvan Red and a L. Jubilee Crown cone.  

All the bouquets and boutonnieres were bound with jute twine for a rustic, earthy feel.

The grooms boutonniere had added wax flower and a small green gum nut.  

Wholesale flowers for decorating the venue where Protea Pink Ice, Banksia Occidentalis, Leucospermum Fountain, Leucadendron Silvan Red and Risdon Peppermint foliage.  

It's always such a treat to see a photo of the bridal party, showing all the effort come to fruition.  It was a pleasure to provide flowers for this wedding.  I really enjoyed the colour combinations of the pinks, reds and touches of orange.