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There is a really good book out called ‘Grow your own cut flowers’ by Sarah Raven published by BBC Worldwide which could prove helpful. (Amazon are brilliant at getting books from overseas) She suggests flowers such as sweet peas, scabious and snapdragons, dahlias and zinnias but you will need to concentrate on annuals and make sure no biennials creep in as they will not flower in time.

The lovely sweetpea colours, with the lilac-blue of the scabious and the lipstick pink of the zinnias would look fantastic, you could even pop a few florist bought freesias and roses in just for good measure. But if can get hold of this book, it will be of help I’m sure.

You

may consider making a tied wedding bouquet, where the flowers are all kept on their natural stems and not wired. These are very popular at the moment and the beauty of these are they can be transported in a small pot of water and just taken out before the ceremony (make sure you take something to wipe the stems with)If you do decide to wire the stems, then make sure you spray them well with water and then cover them in a tent of cellophane and keep somewhere cool.

You will have to condition the flowers you cut from your garden very well. The night before, when it has cooled down and then stand in cold water overnight before using.

There are many different methods of conditioning flowers depending on whether they are soft stemmed, woody, hollow etc. so you may be advised to get a book from the library, as the success of your bouquet will be down to the conditioning of the flowers and foliages used. Try out certain flowers the week before to see how long they last once cut and conditioned. It’s best to know this before the big day.

Most florists work from a design book that is generally provided by the relay organisation they belong to e.g Interflora, Teleflower etc. This ensures that the customer knows exactly what she/he has ordered and by rights the florist should work from that design book/manual and send

out an exact replica. Relay organisations regularily test their members by sending them false orders and checking them for design, flower quality and value.

There are so many different styles nowadays and they are usually divided into; gift flowers (Bouquets, Hand tied bouquets, baskets, posies, planted baskets, Pot-et-fleur) function/wedding flowers; (pedestals, altar displays, garlands, pew ends, table centres, long low displays, candle displays) Then the bridal flowers; (Bride’s bouquet, Bridesmaid’s Posies, Baskets, garlands, hoops, corsages, buttonholes) Flowers for new born babies; (Cradles, ceramic containers usually in the shapes of prams and trains etc, filled with flowers) Then, sadly funeral flowers; (Sprays, sheaves, massed heart, cushion, pillow, crosses, open wreath, based wreath.)

I have probably omitted some but as you can

see there are a very wide range of items that a florist should be able to produce for his/her client.Have you tried searching for Interflora on the web, they are bound to have plenty of pictures and ideas to help bulk out your project. Maybe a single white rose bud (thorns removed) with a small blue or pink ribbon tied right up under the rose head.

This always looks special. You could do the same with a gerbera or a carnation. Keep them in water and hand out just as the party finishes. Or a little pot of pansies with tissue paper wrapped around the pot. These will last a lot longer and can be planted in the garden afterwards.

Fresh tulips are wonderful in a wedding bouquet. If you have them assembled as a hand tied,you can place the stems in water until you need to use them (make sure you dry the ends well)and they should be alright for a few hours out of water. Then you could have a small vase ready, maybe on the cake table, that you can place the tulips for the rest of the day. This will only really work with a posy style hand tied and if the flowers are quite tightly packed and firmly tied, they should behave themselves.

I know that in Holland (where alot of our flowers come from in the U.K.) they do seem to have extended the

season for lilac, especially the white variety so maybe a florist where you are could make some enquiries. I have been searching for alternatives for you and can suggest the following; White and lilac mop headed hydrangeas (will give you a lovely cluster)

Delphiniums come in some lovely shades of lilac and blue and also white and used in little sprays could look a little like lilac. I have in a vase at home some wonderful artificial stems of lilac which have been admired by so many people. Maybe combined with some fresh foliage and maybe another flower variety, this could be an alternative… so have a look round and ask about for silk lilac, but make sure it’s really

good. How far you insert the stems will depend on the size of the bouquet holders you choose to use. You should leave the stems as long as possible without making them poke through the other side. One inch is the very shortest.

I would highly recommend that you try to get your hands on some FloraLock. This is an adhesive that comes with a nozzle that you spray directly onto the floral foam and around the stems after the arrangements are finished. But be sure you’re in love with the arrangement before you glue! You cannot make any changes to the arrangement once FloraLock has dried. Also, you don’t need much of it. Use it sparingly until you get

the hang of it, or you’ll have it dripping down the handle of the bouquet holder. I don’t know if FloraLock is available at any craft stores - a florist may need to order it for you.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for [http://www.sendflowers4.info/] http://www.SendFlowers4.info/. SendFlowers4.info is a great place to shop for flowers, gift baskets, and plants when you are looking for a special gift. Start here to search by Special Occasion: [http://www.sendflowers4.info/category/occasions.html] http://www.SendFlowers4.info/category/occasions.html.