Saving Seeds - Leucadendron Argenteum

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.

Relaxed Native Wedding in Early Summer

K & S Photography

 What a great setting for a relaxed summer wedding - the Coal River Valley is a beautiful part of Tasmania with many fabulous wineries.  Pooley Wines is the setting for this wedding I was privileged to provide flowers for.  

The three bouquets combine pastel summer tones with the textures of native foliage and gum nuts.

In the bouquets you can see Wax Flower, Eucalyptus, Dryandra Formosa, Proteas and a number of different Leucadendrons including Pisa, Safari Goldstrike and Safari Sunset.  There is also some late Berzelia.

K & S Photography

I love the style of this informal, yet well-considered wedding theme.  

Early wax flower, some still in bud, combined with gum nuts, eucalyptus foliage and the soft silvery yellow of the Leucadendron Pisa bracts surrounding silvery cones - simple rustic boutonnieres.

K & S Photography

A beautiful country scene!  And great photography by Kat from K & S Photography.   

K & S Photography

They look so happy!

K & S Photography 

There were so many lovely details included in the celebration.  Floral centrepieces were created in vintage fowlers jars and suited the long table style of seating.  Bunches of flowers were also hung on the doors of the beautiful old stone barn where the wedding was held.  You can see a Leucadendron Silver Tree cone, more gum nuts, Silver Tree foliage, Leucadendrons and Proteas.

Native summer blooms are combined with foliage, gum huts and twisted willow.

The pincushions are Scarlet Ribbons which are early in their season here, and are softly purple and red coloured.  

Little details provide personality to a wedding.  This wedding had loads of personality!  The chair decorations were simple but added soft summery colour to the ceremony seating.  

K & S Photography

Leucadendron Love

Leucadendron Red Gem

It's this time of year that I fall in love with Leucadendrons all over again.  Not that I ever really fall out of love with them.  Its just that as autumn deepens, their new growth matures and their colours really pop.  Maybe I forget over the summer, just how sparkly they can be.

Front: L. Safari Goldstrike,  Middle: L. Jubilee Crown,  Back: L. Safari Sunset

In the foreground, the Leucadendron Safari Goldstrike are still in their growth phase, and too droopy to pick.  But that startling red in the back row is the Safari Sunset, showing off one of the reasons why it's the most widely grown leucadendron.

Front: Leucadendron Maui Sunset, Backgrounds L. Tall Red

Everywhere I look in mid autumn there are leucadendrons showing off.  Some of the Maui Sunsets have just set their flower heads and others are still growing.  Their colour is dusky but fresh.  Behind them is the glow of Leucadendron Tall Red.

Leucadendron Tall Red

The Tall Red are such a great filler.  

Leucadendron Inca Gold

Inca Gold are a fabulous yellow winter flowering Leuco.   Most of their growth has happened by this time of the year and the winter weather brings the colour.  They can be picked green, and often have a bronzy orange tinge as the you get towards the red tips.   

Leucadendron Safari Sunset

Picking Leucos is a pleasure.  It's one of my favourite jobs on the farm.  There's always a feeling of satisfaction at this time of year when they're a fabulous colour, and great length.  

Leucadendron Safari Sunset

And there are also moments when I gasp, and have to whip out the camera to capture the light and colour.

Safari Sunset at Sunset

I love Leucadendrons!

"Rustic Vintage" Native Wedding

Natives are a great choice for a spring wedding because there are so many gorgeous colours and textures available to use.  I was excited to be able to provide flowers for a lovely bride for her November wedding.  Her idea was for a "rustic vintage" look.

A beautiful vintage lace dress with red lipstick and green shoes was the starting point for these bouquets - not too big, and in a simple hand-tied style.  

That gave me the perfect opportunity to use some lovely vintage lace that I've been keeping in my stash.  

All the bouquets and boutonnieres were bound with the lace.  Its so nice when you find the perfect use for that special something you've been keeping!

For the brides bouquet, I used a white waratah surrounded by some Satin Mink Proteas.  You can also see some Safari Sunset leucadendrons providing the darker tones.  Some pink kangaroo paw called Bush Pearl also adds to the pinky red tones.  The creamy leucadendrons are Lemon Spice, a female Discolour leucadendron that is green most of the year but in late spring changes to a this gorgeous cream with pink tips. 

 For the greens, there are eucalyptus buds, peppermint gum, and some thryptomene foliage.  The silver balls are a Leucadendron called Purple Haze.  The foliage has a purple tinge, but these cones produced after flowering are a pretty silvery addition to a bouquet.

Wax flower was also sprinkled throughout the design, seen here in the boutonnieres.  I was also able to use Berzelia.  It is a spring flowering plant that is often used at its green stage, but in late spring the little green balls "flower" and become a gorgeous fluffy white.  They are just perfect for weddings.  

So the "rustic vintage" look came together with a pink, green and cream colour scheme.  

Native Spring Wedding Flowers

October is a brilliant month for native flowers.  A bride is spoilt for choice!  Last October I was privileged to be able to provide flowers for a wedding at MONA in Hobart.  The bride and groom were from Sydney so NSW Waratah's were a perfect choice.  My Telopea Speciosissima hybrids were just bursting with colour.  

The bride was wearing gold, so the red was really a standout colour.  I added Dryandra Formosa flowers to tie in the gold.  They are at their height in early to mid spring.  

The Dryandra leaves also add a  lovely textural quality to the bouquet.  They have a fine, zig-zag shape and fall at nice angles.

For the flower girl's bouquet, I chose some smaller waratahs to keep the size and weight manageable.   The bright pink is added by Boronia which not only creates a burst of colour, but smells divine, making it a pleasure to handle.  I used Leucadendron Lemon Spice, a selection of the female Leucadendron Discolour.  In spring its colour is spectacular, changing from a sage green to a gorgeous creamy ivory with a pink blush.  

Another ingredient I loved using for this wedding was some fresh green eucalyptus pods, immature and not ready to flower until summer.  In their immature state, they are bright green, and the textural quality adds another layer of interest to a bouquet bursting with spring goodness.  

In early October, the Berzelia or Button Bush is just ready to begin picking.  The "buttons" are green and they add another fresh textural layer to the spring native bouquet.  

One of the things I loved about this wedding was that the bride was particular about the boutonnieres.  The groom wanted white.  For the Fathers, I was given pictures of the suits and ties they were wearing, so I could create something that worked well.  It was a great way to work.  

White was a little tricky with so much colour available!  I used both wax flower and thryptomene (another duo that are fabulously perfumed) teamed with Berzelia and an immature Leucadendron Silver Tree cone.

The Silver Tree cone really glows. 

For the Fathers' boutonnieres, I used small waratahs.  I usually cull these smaller flowers, pruning them off the bushes and leaving them.  They are pretty but too small and often at odd angles so no good for selling wholesale.   I decided that they were perfect button holes for this spring wedding though - like a scaled down version of the main bouquet flowers. I like the way the red bracts surrounding the flower sit at interesting angles.

For the other boutonnieres, I used Dryandra.   These Australian Natives have a strong almost citrusy smell that can be a bit overpowering when they are first picked so I pick them a week early and sit them in the cold room till it fades a little.  They are teamed up with Lipstick Boronia and wax flower.  

Such a joyous combination of spring goodness! 

Natives are a vibrant and memorable choice for a spring wedding.