If you’re planning a wedding – congratulations! – you probably have a lot on your plate right now. There’s the venue(s), the guests, the food, the clothes, the transport, and – of course – the flowers. If you’re planning ahead, and you’ve got the time and space to grow your own – either for yourself or a loved one – a DIY bouquet or floral arrangement can be a lovely idea. But where do you even start?
Tips for Growing Your Own Wedding Flowers
Choose your flowers
If you’re planning on growing your own wedding flowers you need to take a number of factors into consideration:
- When you’re going to get married – Flowers obviously grow seasonally. So, you’ll need to look for blooms that are easy to cultivate at the intended time of your wedding. You might have your heart set on snowdrops, for instance, but you’re never going to get them to flower in July. You’ll need to plan accordingly.
- Your colour scheme – Knowing what colour flowers you want, and what time of year you need them, will help you narrow down your potential choices.
- Your budget – Some flowers are considerably more economical to grow than others. A £3.00 packet of sweet peas, for example, could give you enough flowers for a full bouquet and all of your buttonholes. Three or four packets could take care of simple table arrangements too. But if you’ve got your heart set on a room bedecked with peonies, your budget will need to stretch a whole lot further.
- Your garden space – Some plants need more room to grow than others. And if you’re hoping for a variety of blooms to include in your bouquet, you’re going to need the space to grow them. Especially if you’re looking for more rounded arrangements that also include foliage plants for contrast.
- Your time – Gardening is a wonderful hobby. And growing your own flowers can be incredibly rewarding. But if you’re growing in quantity for a particular deadline, you need to be able to dedicate the time to grow them well. Some flowers need staking and supporting. Some need more water than others. And some need specialist treatment – feeding, protection from the weather. So, make sure you have the time to do everything you need to, to ensure that your efforts pay off.
Plan and prepare your growing space
Cut flower gardens are quite different to your standard garden border. In fact, it’s often a good idea to treat your cut flower garden more like a vegetable allotment. So, you need to work out where and how you’re going to grow, and organise the space accordingly. Prepare the soil. Plant in grids for maximum production. And choose the right plants for the conditions you can offer.
Look after your blooms
Growing your own bouquet is all very well, but do you know how to care for your flowers once they’re ready to pick?
- It’s a good idea to pick your flowers the day before your wedding.
- Cut them cleanly with a sharp knife or secateurs.
- Place them in water as you cut them to prevent any wilting or loss of petals.
- If you’re not going to arrange your flowers straight away, place them in your fridge until you are ready – and return them to the fridge once your bouquet is complete. Making sure to remove all fresh fruit first, to avoid the risk of ethylene decaying your blooms.
- And don’t forget to think ahead, so you have all relevant accessories – wire, ribbons, stem strippers, and foam – ready when you need them.
Have a back-up plan
Making your own wedding bouquet can be really wonderful. But the great British weather doesn’t always play ball. And with slugs and other pests to munch your lovingly tended blooms, gardening isn’t always a predictable science. So, while you’re planning for the best, it’s always sensible to prepare for the worst.
At Blue Florist, we can help you to put together the wedding flowers of your dreams. With our bespoke design service, we can work with you to create your bouquet, buttonholes, and large-scale arrangements that will transform your venues into a floral spectacular! So, whether you want us to manage the whole floral shebang on your behalf, or have a chat about what we can do in the ‘just in case’, get in touch. We’d be delighted to hear from you!
Growing your own wedding flowers can be a really lovely way to add an extra personal touch to your big day. But the real secret of success is to enjoy the process. If you don’t, it just turns your flowers into one more wedding planning chore. You’ve already got more than enough of those to deal with!
If you’d like to find out more about Blur Florist wedding flowers, please give us a call.