Grow For It!
We love the idea of living flowers and greenery at a wedding. Pots of herbs as table markers; glossy ivy tumbling down the walls; tubs of blooms set all about. And after the big day is over, these plants aren’t destined for the dustbin – some can be taken home, some given as presents to special guests.
Living flowers look natural and informal, and they’re economical too – by the time your wedding comes round, those little plants you bought will have doubled or trebled in size and be blooming gorgeous! Maybe you could ask a green-fingered friend or relative to furnish you with planted up pots as an advance wedding present – have fun discussing what you’d like. Or try it yourself – it’s easy. Whether you’re planting snowdrops in vintage flowerpots or creating a daisy-filled apple crate, the basic principles are the same (see below). Pay a visit to your local garden centre well in advance of your wedding day, tell them your date and the effect you wish to create, and follow their advice on when best to buy and after care.
Our Personalised Apples Crates have proved very popular, with a few people asking what flowers we used in ours. We chose mini-marguerites: they’re easy-going chrysanthemums, but they look like pretty little daisies. Inexpensive and readily available from May till August, they’ll last on for an autumn wedding, too. Plant up your personalised crate at least a month before your wedding to give the flowers time to flourish and fill the space. Here's how:
You’ll need about five or six pots of mini-marguerites; we suggest taking the cardboard box that your apple crate was delivered in to the garden centre to check the quantity. You’ll need potting compost and slow-release plant food granules, too.
When you get the mini-marguerites home, water them. Fit the plastic liner into the crate, and half fill it with compost. With one hand round the base of each plant, and the other gripping the pot, ease them out of their pots and arrange them on top of the compost. Scatter over some plant food granules and infill with compost to just over the top of the plants’ soil, then water it all well.
Put your apple crate in the sun, keep it watered, and rotate occasionally to make sure the flowers grow evenly. The secret is to keep dead heading (pinching the dead flower heads off) to have a sumptuous display of full blooms and sweet little buds on your wedding day.
Happy planting!