Autumn Wedding at Joseph Chromy Vineyard

Photography by Fiona Vail

It was such a treat to be involved in this stunning Autumn wedding at Joseph Chromy Wines just south of Launceston.  The bride wanted natives and something soft and pretty, with pinks, white and soft greens.
    

Protea Repens is an autumn flowering protea and this soft pink variety was the focal flower I used for all the bouquets.  There were quite a few, with 5 bridesmaids and 4 little flower girls.  

The attendants bouquets were made in a simple posy style with soft foliage. 

For the little flower girls, a single Repens Protea with some Jester Leucadendrons, which are a variegated variety that are at their most colourful in Autumn. 

Pink Mountain Berry is native to Tasmania and is a startling hot pink colour.  It is prickly but the colour more than makes up for it.  I use a rose de-thorner to remove the prickly leaves. It was great to be able to sprinkle these through these bouquets.  

Foliages used were flowering lemon-scented Tea Tree, variegated Pittosporum, and Agonis Flexuosa.

For the bride, a cascading style bouquet with lots of the tumbling lemon scented Tea Tree foliage with the focus on those autumn flowering Protea Repens.

I added some sweet apricot garden roses, pale peach hypericum berries, more of the Mountain Berry, and some flowering Brunia 'buttons' as well as some Hebe and Leucadendron Jester.

Photography by Fiona Vail

 Jester Leucadendrons in rich pink/red were sprinkled through all the arrangements.  They're such a gorgeous colour in autumn and are some of the first Leucadendrons of the season that are ready to pick.

For the groom, hypericum berries, a Jester Leuco, and a dainty apricot garden rose.  

Little splashes of Tea Tree foliage which had the added bonus of the fresh lemon scent, and pittosporum were the foliages used in the boutonnieres.  

Boutonnieres for other members of the family ... they're always so cute lined up for a photo!

For the reception venue, there were a couple of large wine barrel arrangements - always a good idea at a winery!

 

The Protea Repens are really the stars of the show here.  There were lots of little posies for the tables too, all with the same ingredients.  

Photography by Fiona Vail

This was a truly stunning wedding.  And the photography by Fiona Vail just captured it to perfection. 

Photography by Fiona Vail

This photo really captured the beautiful autumn light we get in Tasmania.  I'm not biased at all (!), but I do think that the quality of light in Tassie is sublime.  

Photography by Fiona Vail

All the beautiful details were captured from the ceremony to the reception.  I really think having a great photographer is worth splashing out on.  Capturing those images that will help remember all the details of the day is worth every cent.

Photography by Fiona Vail

I was honoured to be involved in this special wedding.  

Autumn Elopement at Cradle Mountain

This elopement style wedding in autumn was held at Lemonthyme Wilderness Retreat near beautiful Cradle Mountain in Tasmania's world heritage wilderness.  The bride wanted something romantic and woodsy so I found some soft romantic colours to blend together for the bouquets and personal flowers. 

Perfect Pink Ice proteas in their autumn flush were teamed up with White Protea Repens.  Banksia Brownii and soft green Hydraneas were also used.  The wonderful colours in the autumn Leucadendrons was really important to the design - green with bronze tips from Inca Gold, and rich pinky red with a stripe from Jester.   

Foliage from Leucadendron Silver Tree was added to some budded Cootamundra Wattle foliage, and lemonscented Tea Tree.  I also used some Risdon Peppermint foliage.  

I added little blue highlights with Love in a Mist, from the garden.  A few Corymbia gum nuts completed the list of ingredients.  

I love to add twiggy textural elements, and I think it really added to the woodsy, romantic feel of these bouquets.  The flower girl's bouquet was smaller, but with the same ingredients.   

Of course, no romantic woodsy wedding would be complete without a floral crown or two!  There were crowns for both the bride and the flower girl, made with plenty of budded Cootamundra Wattle (Acacia Baileyana) and leucadendron Jester as focal flowers.  

I love the softness that this combination of colours and textures created.  I hope the day was full of happy memories!

September Wedding at Barilla Bay

September weddings are a treat!  There are so many gorgeous flowers to play with.  For this wedding, held at Barilla Bay Oysters blue and orange was the colour theme.  The bridesmaid's were in navy and the bride in ivory.  

 The main flowers used were creamy white Protea Repens, and orange Banksia Ericifolia.  

Berzelia is a spring texture plant also sometimes called Button Bush.  It has lots of little green balls at this time of year and is a wonderful addition to a native bouquet.  

There were plenty of leucadendrons to use in their late summer, early spring colouring. Safari Sunset was in its "sunset" phase where it turns to yellow, orange and pinky red.  Another leuco that I was excited to use is Tall Red, which for most of the year is a burgundy foliage leuco.  In August and September is colours up into yellows and bright reds, with yellow central cones.  Its such a pretty, fine Leucadendron with a gorgeous range of colour.  Maui Sunset was another leuco I used,  which can turn completely white/cream at the end of winter, and often with pink tips.  Lastly, I used plenty of beautiful fresh Leucadendron Silver Tree with its blue green shimmery foliage.

The bride's bouquet also has a Protea White Ice, and a beauiful Banksia Brownii, which I initially started growing for foliage, but have since fallen in love with the delicate colouring of its flowers.  

The Banksia Brownii is a soft orange with pinkish styles and a lovely soft shape.  

Other ingredients I used were Thryptomene and Peppermint foliage and to add a touch of blue, Sea Holly.

The men wore boutonnieres made with Thryptomene, leucadendron and Sea Holly. 

For an arch decoration I used more orange Banksia Ericifolia, proteas in whites and pins, lots of different leucadendrons, Thryptomene and SIlver Tree, which shimmers in a blue-green.

Its always a joy to create a piece using fresh seasonal ingredients.  

Red Zebra Photography

It was a delight to be involved in this couples special day.   

Red Zebra Photography

I love this dramatic shot by Red Zebra Photography, showing just how spoilt we are for natural beauty in Tasmania.   

Stonefield Wedding in March

For a March wedding at Stonefield, just north of Hobart, the bridal party were in shades of steel grey and black.  The bride and groom had a love of natives and the outdoors and wanted their flowers to reflect that, especially using juvenile eucalyptus foliage with its gorgeous blue grey colouring. 

Steel grey, black and red are always a stunning combination so I teamed up the requested foliage with some proteas and banksias in rich reds and pinks.  

The main flowers were a rich pinky red Protea Repens, and red Banksia Occidentalis.  The bride's bouquet also had a Protea Compacta in pink and red, and a Protea White Ice.  

Other flowers include flowering Brunia Albiflora, Leucadendron Discolour, and some Safari Sunset Leucos.  

The beautiful silky Leucadendron Silver Tree was one of the mix of foliages I used.  Eucalyptus Crenulata has a gorgeous silvery grey colour and it was the main foliage ingredient.  Juvenlie Risdon Pepperment foliage was also sprinkled through.  

For the floral comb, I used a mix of foliages and some smaller flowers in colours matching the proteas of the bouquets.  I love to use Pittosporum berries and these are a light sage green and come from a variegated leaf Pittosporum. 

The boutonnieres were all in greys, and were all slightly different.  Brunia, both flowering and not flowering, gum nuts, and the purple-tinged Leucadendron Discolour. 

They always look so lovely all lined up!

The groom had a bit of colour to his boutonniere, with the addition of a Leucadendron Safari Sunset.  The new season's growth is always such a fresh, rich colour.

I loved playing with muted greys, greens and reds for this wedding.  I always enjoy the challenge of creating something completely unique for each couple who I work with, and this was no exception.  

April Flowers

What is flowering in April?  I'm glad you asked!  There is a misconception that as the autumn months arrive, flower production decreases.  But with natives, there are plenty of plants that flower in autumn and into winter, making proteas and natives available all year round.   The following gives an idea of what you can expect in the month of April (southern hemisphere).  This is a guide only, as we have to allow for fluctuations in weather which can hasten or delay flower production.  

Protea Varieties blooming in April

This selection of proteas were all picked in April.  Starting from the back middle, we have Protea Pink Ice, then clockwise to the right a mini red King Protea, then the soft pink bracts and red central mass of the Protea Compacta.  The next is a waxy hot pink Protea Repens, followed by a soft velvety white Protea Donna with a soft purple centre.  Next is a warm pink with a cream central cone.  To the left is a waxy creamy-white Protea Repens.  In the centre is a Protea White Ice.  The leucadendron on the bottom-left is Jester, a variegated pinky red with a green stripe.  

Brunia Albiflora and Grevillea foliage

Brunia Albiflora is a wonderful "flower" that is picked over summer here in Tasmania.  I usually don't start picking it until after Christmas but it can continue to be picked until early April.  Depending on the weather conditions, Brunia will begin to flower in March and into April.  

Flowering Brunia Albiflora

When it is flowering, Brunia is much lighter than in its "berry" form.  The little rings of tiny white flowers with creamy stamens create a textural effect in warm white.   

The bouquet above features a flowering Brunia.   I made this bouquet for a gorgeous April wedding held on a rural property in a sheep shearing shed.  Natives are perfect for a rustic, farm wedding.

Protea Repens in red, pink and cream

Protea Repens are a Protea that flowers prolifically in Autumn.  Here at Swallows Nest Farm, they can continue to flower most of the year in much smaller numbers.  But the main flowering time is autumn.  They are picked in large quantities in April and look fresh and gorgeous.

Protea Repens Pink

Protea Repens come in a range of colour forms.  The one above is light pink, with each tall outer bract tinged in pink and the central mass light.  Deep pink ones often have a central mass tinged with pink.  There is also a creamy white variety.

You can see the Protea Repens used in the bouquet above.  The lighter pink variety is used, blending well with the pink peppercorn berries.  (more of this wedding)

Banksia Ericifolia

Also used in the bouquet pictured above is an orange Banksia Ericifolia which are flowering abundantly from Autumn and into the winter months.  

Banksia Occidentalis

Another banksia available in April is the red Banksia Occidentalis.  This beautiful pinky red banksia flowers from February through to April.  

You can see the Banksia Occidentalis in this bridal bouquet from April.  Rich red, orange and pink flowers with masses of textural foliage made this a bright and memorable bouquet.  You can see the dark pink Portea Repens, and the very last of the orange Fountain Pincushions.  These Foutains begin flowering in January and usually continue through until March, with only a few left flowering in April.  The weather conditions really dictate their availability in April.  

Acacia Baileyana in bud in April, with flowering Brunia Albiflora and flowering Wattle

Some of the great textural foliages I used in this bouquet are pictured here.  Acacia Bailyana is a favourite wattle of mine.  It comes in two colour forms, a silvery blue foliage and a purple foliage, both with a silvery bloom on the young leaves.  It is a winter flowering wattle but in April, when it is in bud, it makes a stunning textural addition to a bouquet.  

Also pictured above are some flowering wattle (possibly Acacia Retinodes) which grow wild around my local area and are often in flower over April.  Some Banksia foliage in a light green with bronze tips can be seen at the top of the picture.  It is Banksia Brownii foliage, which has finely zig-zagged leaves which are lovely to use.  Flowering Brunia can be seen at the bottom left of the picture. 

For the same wedding, this arch decoration used more of the Protea Repens, some Fountain Pincushions, flowering Brunia, Acacia Baileyana, Grevillea foliage, varieties of red and green leucadendrons, and long branches of Acacia Retinodes coming into flower.

The wreath above is made using the light pink Protea Repens, red Banksia Occidentalis, Leucadendron Safari Sunset, Leucadendron Goldstrike, Acacia Baileyana foliage in bud, and some Lemon Scented Tea Tree.

Protea Compacta

This beautiful rich pink Protea with a wine-red central mass is a variety of Compacta which flowers in the autumn months and is available in April.  

You can see the Protea Compacta used in this April bride's bouquet.  You can also see a red Banksia Occidentalis, rich pink Protea Repens, and some warm golden Banksia Brownii.  Leucadendron Jester, a red and green variegated form is also used, as well as silvery green Leucadendron Pisa foliae, budded Acacia Baileyana foliage and flowering tea tree or Leptospermum. 

Another April bouquet, including Banksia Brownii, and Banksia Baxterii.  The Baxterii, or Birdsnest Banksia, is a late summer or Autumn flower here at Swallows Nest Farm, flowering from February until April.  Also in this bouquet are the beautiful Protea White Ice, and a creamy white Protea Repens.  The wonderful foliages available in April are here too, with the budded Acacia Baileyana, Lemon-scented Tea Tree, and including a beautiful velvety brown backed Magnolia foliage.  Such autumny goodness!  Also included are some wonderfully warm-brown dried leucadendron cones. 

Protea Pink Ice in plentiful supply in April

Protea Pink Ice are in plentiful supply in April.  They love the cooler weather and flower abundantly over the cooler months with clean clear colour.

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In this April wedding, Protea Pink Ice teamed up with other pink, green and silver colours to create a simple colour scheme rich in textural interest.  

You can see beautiful Red King Proteas, Brunia Albiflora (some beginning to flower), Leucadendron Silver Tree cones, pink Kangaroo Paw and beautiful foliages including Leucadendron Pisa foliage, Silver Tree foliage and budded peppermint eucalyptus foliage.    (more of this wedding)

Eucalyptus Risdonnii  - budded Peppermint foliage

Protea Repens, red King Proteas and flowering Brunia feature again in this bridal bouquet from April.  Foliages used are budded Acacia Baileyana, flowering tea tree and eucalyptus buds.  (more of this wedding)

These are just some of the proteas and native flowers you can expect to be available in April in southern Tasmania.   If you need more specific information,  feel free to use the contact form on the right side bar of the blog.