Late Spring Flowers? (to grow)

dearsweetie

So we're aiming on having a late spring wedding (date not hammered down) and it's mostly DIY, I would love to plant a garden of flowers to use and was wanting some suggetions! The colors are mixed pastels, so anythi airy and springy! So far I know I would love baby's breath (I don't know if it will bloom early enough though) and lavender

EDIT: we're located in Ohio 

ernursej

I think there are a few things to consider:

1) Are you an expert gardener? Many flowers can be tricky to grow into the beautiful blooms that you would get with a florist.

2) Do you live in a climate that would support the flowers you are interested in?

3) Do you have the tools/ability/space to create the arrangements you would like?

4) How would you practice ... would there be enough flowers?

5) Do you have a back up plan should you get a storm that damages your flowers or they don't grow as you expect?

6) Do you have the time to spend on the creation of the arrangements? They would have to be created the day of or the day before in order to have the freshest looking arrangements.

Most people on here would encourage you to be cautious with creating your own live bouquet as there are so many variables and issues to consider.

dearsweetie

My grandmother owes a flower shop and I worked there for quite a few years when I was younger, so I'd like to think I'd be able to grow some healthy flowers. I know it's probably not recommended but florists are so expensive and our wedding is low budget as we're both college students and it's coming out of our pockets. So I'd like to DIY what we can. 

ernursej

dearsweetie said:

So we're aiming on having a late spring wedding (date not hammered down) and it's mostly DIY, I would love to plant a garden of flowers to use and was wanting some suggetions! The colors are mixed pastels, so anythi airy and springy! So far I know I would love baby's breath (I don't know if it will bloom early enough though) and lavender

dearsweetie said:

My grandmother owes a flower shop and I worked there for quite a few years when I was younger, so I'd like to think I'd be able to grow some healthy flowers. I know it's probably not recommended but florists are so expensive and our wedding is low budget as we're both college students and it's coming out of our pockets. So I'd like to DIY what we can. 

Sounds like you've at least had some experience, although most flower shops work with flowers grown by others. Do you have the same conditions to work with? I would continue to caution this DIY as there are so many variables but have you priced out simple flowers from a florist, silks from Hobby Lobby and even bulk real flowers that you would assemble? The growing is the part that concerns me the most.

Edited for clarity.

CMGragain

dearsweetie said:

So we're aiming on having a late spring wedding (date not hammered down) and it's mostly DIY, I would love to plant a garden of flowers to use and was wanting some suggetions! The colors are mixed pastels, so anythi airy and springy! So far I know I would love baby's breath (I don't know if it will bloom early enough though) and lavender

There is a huge difference between late spring in Minnesota and late spring in Florida.  What garden zone are you in?  What date?

Tulips and daffodils are about finished here in western Colorado, and my roses will bloom in early May if the deer don't eat them first.  Phlox is in bloom.  My lavender won't bloom until June, and it takes a while to get established if you are planting it now.  Snap dragons do well in many climates.  Pansies can be planted in spring and will last until summer heat.

MesmrEwe

Let me explain the cost of bulbs...  That's not even thinking about trying to get them to bloom on demand which can vary Greatly unless you're using a professional greenhouse with access to growers equipment (timers, thermostats, etc.)...  Growing your own spring wedding flowers borders on "Penny wise and pound foolish"... 

For $20 you can get all the spring flowers you need from the grocery store with leftovers.  Florists aren't "expensive" compared to what it costs to grow your own flowers.  Heck, even FTD is a viable option for spring flowers... or Sam's, Costco, BJ's, etc.

MesmrEwe

CMGragain said:

dearsweetie said:

So we're aiming on having a late spring wedding (date not hammered down) and it's mostly DIY, I would love to plant a garden of flowers to use and was wanting some suggetions! The colors are mixed pastels, so anythi airy and springy! So far I know I would love baby's breath (I don't know if it will bloom early enough though) and lavender

There is a huge difference between late spring in Minnesota and late spring in Florida.  What garden zone are you in?  What date?

Tulips and daffodils are about finished here in western Colorado, and my roses will bloom in early May if the deer don't eat them first.  Phlox is in bloom.  My lavender won't bloom until June, and it takes a while to get established if you are planting it now.  Snap dragons do well in many climates.  Pansies can be planted in spring and will last until summer heat.

I'm still waiting on my Lilac bushes I planted in 2008 to bloom when they're suppose to.  I swear those things are bipolar!!!  Same goes for the Bridal Wreath Spirea... 

dearsweetie

I really appreciate all the concern, our wedding isn't until 2018, and so I was going to try and establish the flowers now for the garden. I plan on thinking of a backup resource for the flowers in case something (a storm of whatnot) happens during that time, but the goal is to try and grow them. I'm still not sure what to use for a backup. How would I get all the flowers I need from the grocery story though? Is there a way to by their leftovers? One bunch of flowers there is a good $20. 

Tyvm

Have you considered dried flowers? Etsy has a bunch of sellers (especially if you like lavender), and they're decently reasonably priced. Plus, as they're not fresh cut flowers, they won't smell like death!

I sent my bridesmaids each a dried flower bouquet when asking them, and they all said the bouquets smell like chamomile tea. 'paulajeansgarden' was who I used, and she has lovely selection, much of which she grows herself. Bouquets cost $20-$30 each, and you can probably get a bit of a discount just by asking for loose stems (and doing the arrangements yourself).

OurWildKingdom

dearsweetie said:

I really appreciate all the concern, our wedding isn't until 2018, and so I was going to try and establish the flowers now for the garden. I plan on thinking of a backup resource for the flowers in case something (a storm of whatnot) happens during that time, but the goal is to try and grow them. I'm still not sure what to use for a backup. How would I get all the flowers I need from the grocery story though? Is there a way to by their leftovers? One bunch of flowers there is a good $20. 

No advice for backup, but I have the Burpee Garden Planner app on my phone. It's free, and it might help you with knowing what to plant and when.

bleve0821

I love gardening. Flowers make me so happy, especially tulips. I buy hundreds of bulbs from Breck's every year, and I plant the tulips, daffodils, etc in the fall, and the glads, irises, certain lily species, etc in the spring.  The bulbs are excellent, but expensive, and when I moved, I dug up a lot of the bulbs and brought them with me. 

That being said, it takes years for a garden to really establish itself. One tulip bulb produces one tulip flower, and if the squirrels don't get it, the following year, it may produce a second bloom. It takes, usually, 5+ years for my daffodils to naturalize and spread to create the pretty clusters you see in professionally landscaped gardens.  Same with tulips and lilies.  My point here is that in two years, your garden will still be very young, and you're going to have to put A LOT of time and money into it to have the quantity and variety of flowers you want and need. Not to mention peak planting season for a lot of varieties of spring flowers has mostly come and gone for this year, so now you're down to one growing year to get your garden established initially.

Another thing to consider is that if you change your mind about colors or flower types, there won't be enough time to change the garden to grow what you then want.

I don't mean to discourage you, but I am trying to be realistic.  The first couple of years I started gardening, I barely had enough flowers at any given time to fill out a vase for the kitchen table.

ETF words.  It's too early.

labro

Just echoing on other garden advice already given here.

If you really want lavender, you may not have it in time in enough quantity for your spring wedding. I just planted three new bushes after my initial experiment with lavender last year failed - important things to note - just because your local garden center sells a lavender variety doesn't mean it's adapted for your zone. Oops. ANYWAY, the three bushes I just planted have some very young bloom stalks just now starting but they won't be at their peak until mid-summer. I live in Georgia so stuff starts growing and blooming here earlier than your part of the country and I still wouldn't expect to have a healthy lavender crop n my garden until mid-June at the earliest (even next year when the plants are more established).

Another example, I planted a young but established peony last spring. It grew to about 2 feet tall and had somewhere around 4 blooms. This year it's again around 2 feet at the moment but I think I'll have double the blooms. the plant itself wasn't cheap. I think I paid $60 for something that I KNEW would produce flowers in it's first season in my yard. You can buy peony rootstock for a lot less money but it can take up to 3 years before you even start to see blooms.

TBH, I'd go through Costco, Sams Club, fiftyflowers.com, etc. before I would try to establish my own garden for the purpose of supplying flowers for my wedding. There are too many variables in gardening that could seriously affect what you have available for cutting at the time of your wedding and it's not a risk I would want to take. All those bulk flower distributors above offer excellent pricing and really great quality on their flowers...especially for someone on a budget! You have two years until your wedding so it's plenty of time to save a few extra hundred dollars so you can still have the DIY aspect with the security of a guaranteed quantity and delivery date.

MesmrEwe

dearsweetie said:

I really appreciate all the concern, our wedding isn't until 2018, and so I was going to try and establish the flowers now for the garden. I plan on thinking of a backup resource for the flowers in case something (a storm of whatnot) happens during that time, but the goal is to try and grow them. I'm still not sure what to use for a backup. How would I get all the flowers I need from the grocery story though? Is there a way to by their leftovers? One bunch of flowers there is a good $20. 

I echo everything the PP have said from experience as well!

If you save $2/week for the next two years, you'll have $208 to work with which is a TON of bulk flowers from Sam's, Costco, etc. (you could even purchase their pre-made bouquets and not lift a finger!)  or through your grocery store you can purchase bulk flowers through them, you just need to ask your floral manager when it gets closer so you can get accurate pricing. 100 stems of tulips from Sam's for example is $116(after shipping), and you don't lift a finger to grow them and they're delivered to you with precision timing unlike getting them to bloom on schedule.   And that's STILL less than the cost of establishing a flower garden!  I just got 4 (decent) rose bushes, some Begonias, and some wildflower seeds and it was $200 - and that doesn't include the fertilizer, disease treatment, pots, etc.  Gardening is not a cheap hobby on the small scale (anything under 5 acres)...  The amount of real estate you're going to need to produce enough flowers for your wedding is also something to factor in and what happens after the wedding when you want that space for something else...

scrunchythief

I just did very fancy bouquets+boutonnieres for DH's cousins wedding.  6 BM, 6 GM, bride, groom, and 7 boutonnieres/corsages for parents/grandparents.  I spent $150 total on flowers and seeded eucalyptus, and then supplemented with evergreens cut from their yard.  I know there is no way I could've grown that many flowers for even close to that amount.  

If you want to cut down price even more, I'd check out farmers' markets.  The ones near me sell flowers, and some of the people do weddings.  Near my hometown there's a produce stand that has amazing flower prices.  Like $8 for  25 roses.  I spent $30 there for my wedding flowers. 

If you can give some more details about what arrangements you want and your budget I'd be happy to help you design them and/or point you to sites you can bulk order from.   

[Deleted User]

I think you are taking a big risk planting them yourself. I live in Ohio too and this year everything is off schedule because of how the weather is. Daffidols all bloomed early and tulips are just starting to bloom. Tulips aren't the best bouquet flowers because if your wedding is on a very warm day, they will open up & wilt fast, which won't look good in photos.  It's too early really for anything else besides pansies. With how unpredictable weather can be in Ohio in the Spring, you could be setting yourself up for big disappointment. I think you would be better off getting flowers from the store or wholesale to make your own arrangements.  By the posts it sounds like the big thing is you are trying to save money. Keep your bouquets small & simple, they can still be very elegant but super affordable. If you have a Trader Joe's near you, check them out, they have amazing flowers, super affordable. You may be able to work with them to place an order of flowers through them. Just talk to the manager. You can make your bouquets with hydranga's (store bought), with how big they are, you don't need many to make a nice full bouquet. You can probably have 3-5 stems and that would be plenty. Those come in a few different colors & hold up fairly well.

Another idea, research what flowers dry well. Certain flowers try super well and hold their shape and decent colors too. Then you can grow those over this summer and next & then in 2017 cut & dry & you could do a dried flower arrangement. Basically gives you the same benefits of silk because you can make them in advance over the winter, but it would be something different too.

dearsweetie

Okay, so thanks to everyone's helpful advice, I'm going to make sure I have a back up supplier in mind for the flowers I'll need to order. I'm still going to give growing at least some a shot, but I'll look into bulk suppliers for what doesn't make it  

I do have another question though: When it comes to DIY flower bouquet and decor, I'm assuming fresh flowers would need to be arranged the night before. How would one keep them fresh all day the next day? Should they be stored in water vases over night until the wedding? 

Heffalump

I had a late spring wedding, and my bouquet had a lot of hydrangeas and roses. Some other things, too, but those are the main two that I remember.

ETA also stock.

scrunchythief

dearsweetie said:

Okay, so thanks to everyone's helpful advice, I'm going to make sure I have a back up supplier in mind for the flowers I'll need to order. I'm still going to give growing at least some a shot, but I'll look into bulk suppliers for what doesn't make it  

I do have another question though: When it comes to DIY flower bouquet and decor, I'm assuming fresh flowers would need to be arranged the night before. How would one keep them fresh all day the next day? Should they be stored in water vases over night until the wedding? 

It really depends on the type of flowers.  Some are thirstier and more sensitive than others.  For most, keeping them in water and a moderate temperature is enough.  I google whenever I'm using a flower I'm unfamiliar with.  But, generally, yes, they need water overnight.  However, do not keep them in a fridge.  The gases produce gives off can cause flowers to wilt.

syrupgg

You can try one among the following

• Common Bluebell.
• Eastern Redbud.
• Halesia tetraptera.
• Helianthemum apenninum.
• Iris.

ernursej

@syrupgg - this post is from end of May. Please look at the date before replying!