Spring in the Tasmanian Botanical Gardens! That was the ceremony venue for this November wedding. The Botanical Gardens are not just a collection of beautifully designed garden spaces but also a living collection of plants, so in order to protect the collection there are some restrictions placed on the types of plant matter that can be brought in. With a wedding, this extends to the bouquets and boutonnieres. Currently, there is a restriction on bringing any plants from the Myrtaceae family into the Gardens, due to the Myrtaceae Rust disease being found in parts of Tasmania. This family of plants includes all the Eucalyptus, Myrtle and many other native Australian plants including those used for cut foliage.
I really enjoyed the challenge though, as a grower of "natives" to make sure that I steered clear of the Myrtaceae family. The bridesmaids were wearing navy so I went for colour!
Spring flowering protea called Pink Cream which has warm pink bracts and a creamy central mass, were the main flower I used. I teamed it with an early flowering Pincushion in a pinky orange. The bride's bouquet also had a creamy white Protea.
There were lots of little spring natives to use for extra colour. I love the purple coneflowers or Isopogons. And in the background, you can see the hot pink Boronia which has a wonderful fragrance.
Both of these natives were used in the boutonnieres. I added a creamy leucadendron Lemon Spice, some little yellow Leucadendron Fireworks, and the foliage used was pittosporum and cyprus.
I love making boutonnieres!
Carrying on with the same colours, I made table decorations for the reception, which was held at Rydges Hobart. More of the Pink Cream Proteas teamed with pincushions, and lots of other spring colour. There are so many leucadendrons that are looking spectacular in spring. One the I love to use is Pisa, which has bright yellow bracts surrounding a pearlescent silver cone. As spring turns into summer the cones swell and the yellow fades to lime green.
Foliage was the main issue with the Myrtaceae restrictions, so I used cyprus, and a couple of varieties of pittosporum.
More colour was added with purple Isopogons, creamy white Berzelia, and Leucadendron Lemon Spice which is cream with pink tips. The last of the hot pink Boronia was added, as well as some green leucos - Maui Sunset and Goldstrike. The blue is Sea Holly.
A bridal table garland full of colour and texture was made to sit along the front of the table.
And to top off the celebration, flowers for the cake, made by Carter's Cakes.
I really enjoyed the challenge with this Botanical Gardens wedding and had such fun playing with beautiful spring colours. I hope the lovely couple enjoyed every minute of their day!
