Impromptu Autumn Wedding

Some people plan their weddings months, even years in advance.  This autumn I did some flowers for a wedding planned in only a few weeks. It was a small flower order with just a bouquet for the bride and a boutonniere for the groom, but it an experience I thoroughly enjoyed.  

My inspiration came from seasonal colours.  I love the pink of the peppercorns in autumn.  They are like little pink pearls and I love the way they fall softly.  The leaves are lovely too.

The Sugarbush or Protea Repens, being autumn flowering plants, were just beginning to really pop and their pink blush matched perfectly with the peppercorns.  The Leucadendrons you can see with a purplish pink blush are a Leucadendron Discolour called Lemon Spice.

I love the orange Banksia Ericifolia too, so they blended in well with the pinks and soft greens and yellows of the leucadendron varieties.  You can also see Protea Pink Ice.  Risdon Peppermint foliage covered in tiny buds, added a highlight of silvery blue-green.  Colour, structure, texture - the peppermint is a great foliage for weddings.

The boutonniere used peppercorns too, and a silvery grey gum nut, a mature seed pod from Corymbia Ficifolia, the spectacular flowering gum.  Foliage includes Leucadendron Pisa, Leucadendron Salignum, Risdon Peppermint and some early buds of Thryptomene.

Congratulations Karina and Corey from Red Brick Road Cider House in Launceston.  It was a pleasure to be a small part of your big day!

Hello Snow!

After a cooler, wetter summer than usual, we are now experiencing a colder winter than usual.  Last Monday most of Tasmania woke to a blanket of snow.  It snowed in the capital city Hobart for the first time since 1986. With snow down to sea level in some areas, this was a newsworthy weather event.  

It's always a magical experience to wake up to a white winter wonderland and it doesn't happen very often here in, at least in the more inhabited parts of our state.  Even school was cancelled, and the kids went out to play in the snow.

Last time we had snow at Swallows Nest Farm was mid-September 2013.  The snow was beautiful but it did damage some of the early spring flowers that were just starting to bloom.  I lost a lot of my waratah crop that year as the early ones had all begun to unfold.  The snow left burn marks on their bracts and petals.  I was keen to check this years plants to make sure they were ok.  The Berzelia crop is coming along and I'm hoping theres no damage. 

Leucadendrons catch the snow in their bracts.  Most Leucadendrons, once established, are quite frost hardy.

The Leucadendron Tall Red is about to flower, but hasn't begun to open yet.  I hope they'll be ok! 

Safari Goldstrike captured the snow all along their stems.  In our last snow event, many of our larger Leucadendron plants lost limbs because the weight of the snow weighed them down and they snapped. This time, it seems to have been a gentler fall.  You can see in this picture just how extensive the snow fall was.  We are quite elevated but the hills across the valley in the picture are just over 100m above sea level.  

Leucadendron Safari Sunset look so "Christmassy" covered in snow!

The open flowers acted like cups for the snow.  These Leucadendrons are quite tough, and seem to have coped well with the unusual weather.

I was surprised at how much snow cover the Leucadendron Jubilee Crown had.  It completely transformed the look of the plant.  

The familiar intense winter colour of the Leucadendrons was softened with the white of the snow.  Such a pretty sight.

Richea Dracophylla are used to snowy conditions, being endemic to the higher, wet slopes of Tasmania's mountains.  You can see them growing on the slopes of Mt Wellington which are no strangers to snowfall, even in the warmer months at times.   

The other plants on the farm that are no strangers to snowy conditions are the Myrtle Beech trees.  They looked so pretty covered in snow.  This tree is one of the dominant species in the temperate rain forests of western Tasmania.  

Some of the Leucadendron Red Gem had already started to flower.  Their bracts were wide open and caught lots of snow.  I think the majority have yet to open, so I hope they'll be ok too. They're such pretty winter flower.

Of all the plants that worried me, these were the ones I was most keen to check.  They are some new Leucadendron Laureolum that had only been planted a week before the snow.  This is  the reason that we choose to use planting guards to give the baby plants a little bit of extra protection in case of extreme weather.  I'm hopeful these little babies will survive and thrive.  

A day or so after the big freeze, I had to fly to the mainland and saw the snow coverage across the state.  Tasmania looked white from above.  Amazing!  I wonder what spring has in store. 

April Wedding

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In April 2015 I had the privilege of providing flowers for a beautiful wedding held here on the Tasman Peninsula.  I had such a great time doing these flowers and have been lucky enough to receive some professional photographs to share.  

In my flower shed, the colours came together, using fresh native foliage and silvery greens, with shades of pink.

There were three bridesmaids and a bride's bouquet to do and I was excited to be able to use the first ever picking of my red mini-king proteas in the bouquets.  

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You can see Brunia Albiflora starting to actually flower.  Pink Ice Protea were accompanied by the red King Protea, and some rich pink Kangaroo Paw called Bush Pearl.  I also used a Silver Tree Cone in each bouquet.  Their velvety silver look was complimented by silvery silken foliage from Leucadenron Pisa.  

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This close up shows the colours and textures so well!

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The wedding was held at a local venue called Stuarts Bay Lodge which has cabins dotted throughout a beautiful bayside bush setting.  The bridal party stayed there over the weekend, and the ceremony was held on the lawn overlooking the bay. 

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Such beautiful details!  

I made quite a few corsages for this wedding and had a lot of fun with them.  

The Kangaroo Paw teamed with Pisa foliage and Risdon Peppermint was softened with Wax Flower.

There were quite a few boutonnieres and corsages to be done!

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With so many boutonnieres and corsages, they need to be labelled.  I like this professional photographer's shot of the grooms boutonniere.

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The grooms boutonniere used the silky Leucadenron Pisa foliage, teamed with Risdon Peppermint foliage covered in tiny buds.  

A gum nut from the spectacular flowering gum called Corymbia Ficifolia was the centrepiece of each boutonniere.

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Such a beautiful wedding!

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This box of goodies was packed up ready for decorating the wedding reception tables.  I had a friend from interstate visiting that week who came with me for the set-up. We had fun!

The reception was held at Gabrielles Restaurant, on site at Stewarts Bay Lodge.  Each table was decorated with a group of bottles and jars sitting on top of a sliced log round.

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Little pegs held up cute little table numbers above the flowers.

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In keeping with the theme, there were masses of bud-covered peppermint foliage, proteas and silver tree cones, and to add a sculptural element, some twisted willow branches.  It such a beautiful venue for a wedding!

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I was so happy to be able to provide flowers for this gorgeous wedding.  Thanks to the bride for being so great to work with.  It's such a treat to be able to share some of the professional photos.

Winter around the Farm

The road up to the farm on a misty day

 Winter is beautiful season in Tasmania.  Each season has its own characteristics, its own activities and its own beauty.  Misty wintery days can be magical.  And the dark days make you really appreciate the blue-sky days when they come.  The Wedgetailed eagles that live in the tree tops on the slopes behind our farm seem to be more common companions in winter.  Maybe they need to work harder for their winter meals.

Wedgetailed Eagle

I am often asked if winter is a quiet time around the farm … I guess in a temperate climate the main growing times are the warmer months.  But with natives, there is always something flowering.  Always!
And it's not just the harvesting that we're busy with in winter.  There are plenty of other activities going on.

This year, we've been clearing and there are lots of piles of rubbish needing to be burned.  A clear winters day with a slight breeze is a brilliant time for a burn off. 

We are working our way through piles large and small, looking forward to having some new fences and more areas for planting soon.

New Protea Varieties

Planting is another common winter activity for us.  We have planted something new every year since we have been here at Swallows Nest Farm.  This year is our 7th planting season.  Proteas and plants from the protea family prefer to be planted out in winter, providing they can be given a little shelter from the harsher winds and frosts.  Having planted in both summer and winter, I am convinced that winter planting gives the plants a better start in life.  Our summer plantings required much more irrigation and have taken much longer to establish.  

Brunia Stokoeii

This year we have 2 new varieties of proteas, and 3 new varieties of Leucadendron going in.  We also have a new variety of Brunia and more Berzelia being planted.  

Brunia Stokoeii

The new variety of Brunia is Stokoeii.  I had planted some a few years ago but we lost them all (except  2) during the summer of 2012-13 when we had bush fires.  I was so excited about having this gorgeous pink flowering variety of Brunia and really disappointed to have lost them.  So we're giving them another go.  We bag each plant as we go, to protect from Rabbits, wind and harsh frost.  It seems to work well for us here, until the plants are bigger and can fend for themselves.

The newly cleared areas have really opened up our possibilities for planting.  It's a challenge figuring out straight rows with all the hills though!

Leucadendrons Jubilee Crown and Safari Goldstrike

And of course, there are the winter flowering plants that make winter a colourful and satisfying harvest season too.  The Safari Goldstrike that we planted in our first year at Swallows Nest are now mature and productive.  They have a rich golden green flower head in July and then bright intense yellow in August. 

Phylica Plumosa and Leucadendron Inca Gold

The Phylica Plumosa are almost ready to flower.  They seem to be straining towards the sun at this time of year.  Behind them, the lime green of the Inca Gold Leucadendron is rapidly changing into its colourful winter yellow.

Leucadendron Galpinii

Leucadenron Galpinii is commonly called Purple Haze.  It winter, you can see why.  It is delicate and softly purple with leaves that spiral around the stem.  Our Galpinii plants have taken a long time to establish but we are starting to see some harvestable stems this year which is exciting.

Banksia Brownii

A few years ago I planted a handful of Banksia Brownii which has beautiful feathery leaves that are a joy to use as cut foliage.  But this year, they are flowering too!  A delicate creamy yellow, they aren't the most attention-seeking flowers but they are beautiful in their own way.

Berzelia Lanuguinosa

The Berzelia or Button Bush is getting ready to flower, making lots of little clusters of flowers heads.  I sometimes cut it at this early stage to use in arrangements.

Protea Repens

Protea Repens start flowering in late Autumn here and carry on throughout the winter months. 

Protea Pink Ice

Winter is also a great time for Protea Pink Ice.  We have Pink Ice in good supply almost all year round.

Leucdendron Safari Sunset

Safari Sunset have a long harvest time from autumn, through winter and spring and into the early part of summer.   It's only at the end of summer that they are scarce.  When I think winter, I think Leucadendrons.  They really are the winter stars here.

Leucadendron Red Gem

 The Red Gem have gone through their glowing red phase and are starting to get a yellow tinge.  In a few weeks I'll be harvesting creamy yellow and apricot flowers by the trailer load!

So no, winter is not the quiet season on a protea and native flower farm.  Winter encompasses the full range of activities from clearing, to planting to harvesting.  There's always something to do and something to enjoy.  And then of course, there's spring to look forward to.