February Wedding at Steeles Island

February Wedding at Steeles Island

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February is a busy month for weddings in Tasmania and the dates book out early.   The bride for this February Wedding was super organised and had planned everything well ahead.   But a last minute change to the bridesmaid dresses changed the flower colours and we ended up with the combination of peach and plum.  

Pincushion Fountain was the main flower that I used.  Grouped together the orange makes a bold statement.  The bridesmaid dresses were covered in a very large floral print in orange, purple and green - so a bold statement was called for.  

Acacia Bailyana, or Cootamundra Wattle, is a gorgeous native foliage that is wonderful to use in bouquets.  It comes in two colours, a beautiful eucalyptusy blue-green, and a purple.  I was able to use the purple foliage for these bouquets which give a wonderful misty purple texture. 

The brides bouquet included some Protea Pink Ice.  I love the way the purple centres of the Pink Ice are brought out with the purple surrounding them. 

Poppy pods peep out from amongst the flowers.  I love them!

Other foliage used is the Leucadendron Silver Tree.  Each bouquet also had Brunia Albiflora and some large native fern leaves.  

The brides bouquet also included some clusters of berries.  Such a beautiful colour!

The lovely bride was so organised she had purchased her vases almost a year before the wedding.  The copper colour of the geometric vases went well with the orange, purple and silvery blue green of the flowers.  

I grow Brunia Albiflora sourced from two different nurseries here at Swallows Nest Farm, and have ended up with 2 slightly different colours.  For this wedding, I used the more browny purple Brunia.  

More native ferns, purple Acacia Bailyana, Pincushion Fountains, some rosy Jubilee Crown Leucadendron cones, Silver Tree foliage, Risdon Peppermint foliage, and light purple Caspia.

For the cake 'topper' this arrangement was to sit against the base of the larger bottom tier of the cake.  I love the fern leaf in this design.  

This little mini-bouquet was laid on the top tier of the cake.

It was a pleasure to play with such beautiful bold colours and to be involved in this couple's happy day.   

I wish them all the best for their future together. 

January Beach Wedding

January Beach Wedding

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Summer is perfect for a beach wedding!  And there are so many wonderful beaches in Tasmania. For this January wedding the bride wanted colourful flowers.  

Warm neutral coloured dresses meant that I could play with as much colour in the bouquets as I liked!  

Red and orange Banksias (B. Ericifolia and Occidentalis) teamed up with red and orange Leucospermums (L. Scarlet Ribbons and Fountain). Pink Ice Proteas and Brunia Albiflora were also used.  I added pops of yellow with Helichrysm, and pops of purple with Hebe.  Leucadendron Pisa with lime green bracts and silvery cones, were great to add too.

The bride's bouquet had a wonderful orange Calla lily as a focal point and lots of Tasmanian Myrtle beech foliage.  

Bright and beautiful on the beach.

The bridesmaids bouquets each had a rich yellow Calla lily.

I loved playing with the bright colours. 

Calla Lilies are such beautiful summer flowers.

And always such a treat to see some photos of the bouquet where it was made to be! 

Corsages for the mums had yellow Helichrysm, purple Hebe, and the pearly white cones of the Pisa Leucadendron, backed with Myrtle Beech foliage.  

A similar recipe for the groom included some blue Risdon Peppermint foliage.

The colourful bouquets stand out in the natural beauty of the beach location.  It was lovely to be involved, as always.  

Stonefield Wedding in Autumn

Stonefield Wedding in Autumn

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The colour theme for this mid-March wedding at Stonefield in Brighton, was neutrals.  The bride loved lots of interesting texture without the strong colour so I began collecting my ideas for this wedding by selecting the foliages.   Foliage is such an important part of a bouquet.  It can make such a difference to a design.  I began with a palette of blue-green foliages in different shapes and sizes.  In Autumn, the Eucalyptus Cordata, a beautiful spicy-fragranced blue leafed gum, was budding and just beginning to flower so it was a must.  I also used Tasmanian myrtle beech foliage - small glossy deep green leaves sitting prettily on stems that fan out.   I also used Irish Juniper - a beautiful variegated fine-leafed Juniper that is a tad prickly.  I forgive it because I love the blue green colour and texture it adds.  And finally for foliage, I used a beautiful blue-green cyprus that has a lovely bend to its branches.  

Each bouquet also contained Protea Pink Ice, and Protea White Ice as focal flowers.  Some garden grown hydrangeas in subtle whites and green with little flecks of pink added to the foliagy effect.  Some Leucadendron Gandogerii in its green, pre-flowering phase were also used.  It had lovely bronzey-pink tips 

  Among other ingredients I used, were pittosporum berries in a green and white variegated form and  some gorgeous green gum nuts from Corymbia Ficifolia.  At the back on the right, you can also see a Silver Tree cone, the fruit from the female Silver Tree, which is a Leucadendron often grown for its magnificent foliage.  The cones are stunning silvery velvety balls ranging from golf-ball to base-ball size.  The are a beautiful and unusual addition to a bouquet.

Another textural ingredient was Brunia Albiflora which is often seen before it flowers with its beautiful silvery grey balls.  In March it is flowering, so there are lots of tiny white flowers covering each of the balls opening from the outside-in and forming a fluffy white ring around each one.

Even though there is colour involved, the overall blend has a neutral look and the emphasis is on the texture of the bouquets.  

For the boutonnieres, I used green gum nuts.  I love using gum nuts in wedding flowers and they are quite versatile because you can use them at so many stages of their growth from flower right through to mature, dried woody nut.  These green ones are last years fruit that haven't yet aged to a woody exterior.  They're not always available, depending on the time of year.  

The gum nuts were teamed with a leaf from their mother tree, the Corymbia Ficifolia.  It has large leathery gum leaves that work well for the back of a boutonniere.  I also added some Irish Juniper and some pittosporum berries.  The groom stood out with the addition of some E. Cordata blooms in creamy white.

Stonefield - beautiful photography by Fred and Hannah

Stonefield is a beautiful venue!  The bride and groom opted for doing their own table decorations and paid for a selection of flowers that worked with their theme.

It's always lovely to pack a boot full of flowers!  Lots of Protea Pink Ice, at their best in Autumn, Eucalyptus, Myrtle Beech,  flowering Brunia, Leucadendron Silver Tree and some of the other bits and pieces from the bouquets - all ready to play with.

Stonefield - beautiful photography by Fred and Hannah

The reception Venue at Stonefield has an abundance of glass, making the most of the gorgeous gardens.

Stonefield, Brighton Tasmania

It's always nice to see pictures of how it all turned out!

I really loved the opportunity of creating these texture-rich bouquets.  It was a privilege, as always, to be involved in such a special day.  

Christmas Time!

Christmas Time!

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Christmas is fast approaching and I've started the annual Christmas Wreath making, one of my favourite Christmas activities.  I have a number of different styles planned which I'm looking forward to making.  There is so much variety in colour and texture at this time of year, which makes it a joy to get creative with flowers.

This year, I've decided to streamline the ordering process and use my Swallows Nest Farm online shop to handle the payments.  This way if you're a Hobart local, you can order and pay with credit card or paypal.
Here's a link to the listing.

There are three different styles you can choose from this year.  "Traditional" is your typical Christmas colouring - red and green with added holly.

Christmassy and full of fresh native goodness!

The second style is "Citrus" - yellows, oranges, and greens in a celebration of our Australian summery Christmas.

The third style is "Surprise Me!", where you give me permission to get creative with colour and come up with a unique design for your wreath.  So far, its proving to be the favourite style which has made me happy!

I love the opportunities for endless combinations of colour, texture and pattern that floral wreaths give.  Playing with flowers is a beautiful job to have.

I hope you have a wonderful, joy filled Christmas and that you have time to enjoy the beauty of the season wherever you find yourself.  

April wedding at Frogmore Creek Winery

April wedding at Frogmore Creek Winery

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Picture by Kristy L Photography

Autumn in Tasmania is so pretty!  I might go so far as to say its my favourite season… The autumn showers bring green to the sun-tired landscape and the colours of the autumn leaves are so beautiful.  I think its a great time for a wedding.  And I think you'd have to agree that the gorgeous pictures by Kristy L Photography capture an Autumn wedding so perfectly.  In April, I was lucky to be involved in this beautiful Autumn wedding at Frogmore Creek Winery

Burgundy was the colour theme of the wedding, so I used some new season Silvan Red Leucadendrons, which are a lovely rich deep-red colour in April.  

The bride loved the King Proteas so they became the focal flower.  

The Red King Proteas were teamed up with some pink Protea Repens and Brunia Albiflora in flower.  I also used gum buds, white flowering tea tree, and some fine leucadendrons in green with a bronze blush on the tips.  

The bouquets were bound with a rustic chocolate coloured twine, which I think really enhanced the burgundy colouring.

Cootamundra Wattle in bud was the foliage I used mostly.  It is a beautiful wattle foliage that comes in both a silvery blue green and a purple.  The frilly fern-like leaves of the green variety shown here, are covered in a silvery bloom which gives that blue-green, eucalyptus look.  And those buds, frilly and wonderful, create a cloud of soft texture around the bouquets.  

Boutonnieres made a feature of the new season Silvan Red leucos.  They were teamed up with white flowering tea tree, Cootamundra Wattle, deconstructed Brunia, and the fine bronze-green leucos.  

I loved using the flowering Brunia.  Brunia Albiflora (meaning "white flower") grow a cluster of balls which are covered in tiny flower heads.  By deconstructing them, I've been able to use the individual balls in these boutonniere.  

The beautiful bride wanted a floral crown.  I used plenty of foliage and texture, for a rustic look.  The tea tree, gum buds, eucalyptus, and Cootamundra wattle all make an appearance.  But the richly coloured Silvan Red Leucos were the focal point.

There were a number of little wrist corsages too, continuing with the overall theme.  

They look so cute, all in a row!

Picture by Kristy L Photography

I just love this beautiful photo by Kristy L Photography.  Stunning!  So happy to be involved in such a gorgeous wedding.