April Wedding

April Wedding

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In April 2015 I had the privilege of providing flowers for a beautiful wedding held here on the Tasman Peninsula.  I had such a great time doing these flowers and have been lucky enough to receive some professional photographs to share.  

In my flower shed, the colours came together, using fresh native foliage and silvery greens, with shades of pink.

There were three bridesmaids and a bride's bouquet to do and I was excited to be able to use the first ever picking of my red mini-king proteas in the bouquets.  

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You can see Brunia Albiflora starting to actually flower.  Pink Ice Protea were accompanied by the red King Protea, and some rich pink Kangaroo Paw called Bush Pearl.  I also used a Silver Tree Cone in each bouquet.  Their velvety silver look was complimented by silvery silken foliage from Leucadenron Pisa.  

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This close up shows the colours and textures so well!

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The wedding was held at a local venue called Stuarts Bay Lodge which has cabins dotted throughout a beautiful bayside bush setting.  The bridal party stayed there over the weekend, and the ceremony was held on the lawn overlooking the bay. 

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Such beautiful details!  

I made quite a few corsages for this wedding and had a lot of fun with them.  

The Kangaroo Paw teamed with Pisa foliage and Risdon Peppermint was softened with Wax Flower.

There were quite a few boutonnieres and corsages to be done!

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With so many boutonnieres and corsages, they need to be labelled.  I like this professional photographer's shot of the grooms boutonniere.

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The grooms boutonniere used the silky Leucadenron Pisa foliage, teamed with Risdon Peppermint foliage covered in tiny buds.  

A gum nut from the spectacular flowering gum called Corymbia Ficifolia was the centrepiece of each boutonniere.

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Such a beautiful wedding!

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This box of goodies was packed up ready for decorating the wedding reception tables.  I had a friend from interstate visiting that week who came with me for the set-up. We had fun!

The reception was held at Gabrielles Restaurant, on site at Stewarts Bay Lodge.  Each table was decorated with a group of bottles and jars sitting on top of a sliced log round.

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Little pegs held up cute little table numbers above the flowers.

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In keeping with the theme, there were masses of bud-covered peppermint foliage, proteas and silver tree cones, and to add a sculptural element, some twisted willow branches.  It such a beautiful venue for a wedding!

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I was so happy to be able to provide flowers for this gorgeous wedding.  Thanks to the bride for being so great to work with.  It's such a treat to be able to share some of the professional photos.

Saving Seeds - Leucadendron Argenteum

Saving Seeds - Leucadendron Argenteum

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Leucadendron Argenteum is the proper name for this stunning plant, commonly known as the Silver Tree.  This photo shows the male tree's flower.  The Silver Tree is like other Leucadendrons in that it has male and female plants.  With some, the male and female are quite different and easy to identify, especially when it comes to the flowers.  With the Silver Tree its difficult to tell the male and female apart until they flower.  These gorgeous flowers on the male plant bloom in spring and have a lovely vanilla-like perfume.

The female flower is not as showy, but as it swells, pregnant with seeds, it becomes this stunning silvery cone.  I love using these cones as cut flowers.  They always stand out in a bouquet.  They dry well too, and can keep in a dried arrangement for years. I've written about the Silver Tree cones in more depth previously on the blog if you'd like to see more.

The function of these stunning cones is to produce the seed for the reproduction of the plant.  The cones, unless picked, are persistent on the tree.  The seeds are locked inside the cones.  Sometimes a plant will release the seeds while the cone is still attached, but often they can stay on the tree for a couple of years.  

I thought it might be interesting to show you how I collect these seeds, as it's such a lovely process to watch the cones open and shed their contents.  

I cut the cones, usually selecting ones that are not suitable as cut flowers, and let them sit inside on a windowsill.  Out of water it only takes a few days for the cones to start to open.

Soon, they are unrecognisable - almost feathery.  The cones open to reveal the tip of the silky parachutes that surround the seeds, designed to help with dispersal.

I simply pick up the cone and tip the seeds out.  The cone that is left is a beautiful structure with a central furry white mass.  The outside of the cones is silvery and velvety.

The seeds are quite large and nut-like, and a little bit hairy.

Each is surrounded by a husk with a parachute.  

The parachute/husk easily slides off the seed.

What you're left with is lots of little parcels of potential which, if stored properly, can remain viable for many years.  

If you'd like to try your hand at germinating and growing some of your own Silver Trees, I have some packets of this years freshly collected seeds for sale here at the Swallows Nest Farm online store.

Silver Tree Cones

Silver Tree Cones

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Leucadendron Argenteum, commonly known as the Silver Tree, is grown for its luscious silky foliage. It's really difficult to capture in a photo just how luminous and silky the leaves are.  They are really special.  But my mature Silver Tree specimens have been producing something extra special - these gorgeous silvery orbs!  

Leucadendron Argenteum, like all leucadendrons, are dioecious, meaning that the male and female flowers are borne on separate plants. The male plants produce flowers at the end of the stems or branches that have a gorgeous perfume.  But the female flowers go on to produce these amazing cones.  They are silvery and velvety, but have an almost metallic appearance.  And they are quite large, some larger than tennis balls.    

The Silver Tree Cones are always a real eye catcher when I take them to market.  They glow as the light catches them, but they're tactile too, with their velvety softness. 

The stems are usually covered with the soft silvery foliage, but I prefer the cones on clean stripped stems.  They make a real statement!

In amongst other flowers they add a highlight.

And they dry wonderfully!  If you get a chance to have some of these beautiful cones in a vase, don't throw them out when the arrangement is past its best.  Lay them in the sun for a week or two and you'll have a fantastic red-brown cone on the end of a long stem, with a silvery fur lining.  Inside each segment of the cone is a seed and you may like to try germinating some to grow.  In its native habitat in South Africa, the Silver Tree is listed as rare and endangered so you'll be doing your bit to make these gorgeous and startling plants more widely known.  

The dried cones look great in dried arrangements and last for years.  

I love growing these special plants! Look out for them and snap them up when you see them - they aren't available often.  Not only are they striking and long lasting, but when they're no longer fresh they are still beautiful.  You can't ask more of a cut flower than that!