Colourful Summer Backyard Wedding

This January it was my pleasure to create some flowers for a simple backyard wedding in Hobart.  The weather was warm and the yard had been planted out with lots of colour to create a gorgeous environment for the ceremony.

"Rich native colours" was the request, so I knew I'd be using the Safari Sunset Leucadendrons in the mix.  Their rich burgundy colour in summer is always a great addition to a bouquet.

The focal flowers were rich pink-red Protea Compacta and apricot-orange Leucospermum Fountain.  There were other leucadendrons in the mix - some Leucadendron Pisa with their yellow-green bracts and silvery cones, and some Inca Gold which in summer are a rich jungle green with red tips.  

The yellow flowers are a plant from the daisy family, known commonly as the Curry Bush.  The flowers are long lasting and dry well.  There's some Brunia Albiflora in the bouquet too.  The foliage used is Risdon Peppermint, a native tasmanian eucalyptus.  There is also some wax flower and some myrtle foliage.  

I used some fresh poppy pods in both the bouquet and the boutonniere.  I love the shape and that gorgeous matte green!  

Such a gorgeous colour palette!

For the reception, there were little pots of colour to brighten up the local restaurant, a short walk down the road.  Rich green ceramic pots exploded with summer cheeriness!

You can see wax flower, Leucospermum Fountain, Safari Sunset, curry plant, foliage and brunia.  

Two larger pots sat along the large restaurant windows.

Rich summer colours to celebrate a relaxed summer wedding - perfect!

December Bush Wedding

A simple native bush theme was the brief for this December wedding.  

My first few blooms from Banksia Praemorsa bushes planted only a couple of years ago were the inspiration for the colour scheme.  What a beautiful wine-coloured flower!  I teamed a single Banksia bloom with some Protea Pink Ice as the focal flowers.

Creamy Leucadendron Discolour look great with their pink blushed tips.  I also used some late Berzelia, Pink Kangaroo Paw called Bush Pearl, and some leucadendron cones -  Jubilee Crown are the ruby red ones and Purple Haze are the silvery ones.  There's some wax flower peeping out in places too.   I also used some Hebe that were flowering profusely at the time.  I like the colour and structure they add. Some eucalyptus foliage provides a fresh background for a simple bush bouquet.

The groomsmen's boutonnieres were a simple combination of Berzelia, Wax Flower and Leucadendron Jubilee Crown, with eucalyptus and cyprus in the background.  

The groom's button hole adds a single creamy Leucadendron Discolour.

Table decorations for the reception held at Stewarts Bay Lodge, a fabulous local Tasman Peninsula wedding venue, used vintage preserving jars as the vases.

Leucospermum Scarlet Ribbons teamed with more Hebe, Leucadendron Jubilee Crown Cones, and fresh eucalyptus foliage fill the jars.  

Twisted willow branches create a sculptural effect against the white table cloths for a fresh, pretty bush themed wedding.   

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.