For five days the grounds of the Royal Hospital are transformed into RHS Chelsea Flower show.  Sprawling over a massive 11 acres, the show promises to be a feast for the senses.  Gardeners, growers and designers from around the world visit Chelsea to see fabulous show gardens, breath taking flowers and the latest trends for the home and garden.

Chelsea officially starts next Tuesday and runs through until Saturday.   The recent wet weather hasn’t put visitors off; all 157,000 tickets from the RHS are sold out.  Some tickets are now being sold online by ticket touts for up to £300!  If you haven’t managed to get a ticket, follow the TV coverage which starts with a sneak preview on Sunday at 5pm on BBC One.

The Queen will visit the show on Monday to view the special exhibits designed for her Diamond Jubilee and new plants named after the Royal family. There will also be an exhibition of photographs of the Queen at Chelsea and a flower bed commissioned for the Jubilee.

There are 16 show gardens this year created by some of the world’s best designers.  Andy Sturgeon is designing an arts & crafts garden for the show sponsors M&G Investments.  Cleve West, who won Best Show Garden last year is designing a topiary based garden for Brewin Dolphin and Joe Swift is designing the Homebase Teenage Cancer Trust Garden.  Chelsea is using QR technology (quick response) for the first time this year; the gardens will have a QR code allowing visitors to view further information on each garden.  There will also be a QR code garden featuring a large QR created with clipped topiary planted in a vertical wall.

One of the new categories tipped for big things is Fresh, it challenges designers to come up with inventive and ground breaking designs, without the usual constraints of a show garden, the only limitation is plot size. Tony Heywood and Alison Condie, are the artists in residence for Chelsea 2012, they are creating a Fresh garden named Glamourlands: a Techno-Folly. The garden is an evolving piece first seen at Tatton Flower Show in 2010.  It’s based on an abstract representation of the Dorset coast and it is covered in thousands of brightly coloured jewels.

Also new this year will be five Artisan Retreats, the small garden huts will be decorated by top designers to show the creative potential for small spaces. The retreats have been designed by VV Rouleaux founder Annabel Lewis, Nikki Tibble of Wild at Heart florist, Orla Kiely interiors and lifestyle designer, Vicki Conran interiors designers and textile artist Kaffe Fassett.

Chelsea also showcases the best of British floral design, hosting the Young florist of the Year competition and the final of the RHS Florist of the Year.  The Great Pavilion will feature some exciting exhibits including a life size Formula One car made from topiary, a Monet inspired floral exhibit and Fencing displays by the British Olympic Fencing Team.

Jubilee fever is upon us and the high street has responded with all sorts of party supplies adorned with union jacks.  There are plenty of cheap and cheerful decorations in the shops but if you want something a bit different you have to look a little harder.  We’ve found some great things that’ll help your party go with a swing.

Firstly what British party would be complete without some bunting? It’s an easy way to make any space look festive.  You could also use cute bunting invitations to hint at the style of your party. To dress your table make a runner from some retro print fabric, any of the fabrics in the London Collection would be perfect.  They have several kitsch designs featuring London buses, crowns and Buckingham Palace.

For an unusual centrepiece try a cake stand with small flower arrangements instead of cupcakes.  The arrangement pictured from Red Floral has lots of different flowers in clashing colours, to keep with the Jubilee theme use summer flowers in red, white and blue. Tie your napkins with some ribbon in the same retro style as your table runner.  Berisfords have a range of British themed ribbons printed with union jacks, teacups and Beefeaters.

Strawberry champagne Jelly is a great party desert, how could you not like jelly with fizz?  There is a lovely recipe on Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s website, it’s made with loads of fruit and tastes fantastic.  If you fancy a jelly centrepiece Bompas & Parr have designed a special Jubilee jelly mould.  You could have your very own Jelly Buckingham Palace, guaranteed to be a hit with children and adults alike.

Suppliers for all your Jubilee goodies:
Bunting – Giftwrappedandgorgeous.co.uk
Ribbon – Berisfords Jubilee ribbon – eBay seller Beansbeads
Fabric for Table runner – London collection – fabricrehab.co.uk
Floral cake stand– Red Floral Architecture, Stephanie Oakes photography
Invitations – bunting party invites – notonthehighstreet.com
Buckingham Palace Jelly Mould – Bompas & Parr Selfridges

Common name:  Stock, Gillyflowers

Botanical Names: Matthiola

Origin: Mediterranean and Egypt

Colours: white, pink, crimson, cream, purple and lilac

The botanical name for stock is Matthiola, it is named after Dr Matthioli a 16^th century physician and botanist who identified it.  It was transported to England where it was later identified as a member of the Brassicaceae (mustard) family. Stocks have been popular in gardens since Elizabethan times, their name symbolises lasting beauty and bonds of affection.

Matthiola Incana is one of the species we commonly see as cut flowers, it can have single or double flowers with long grey green leaves, there are around 54 other species. It is a popular cut flower and is favoured for it’s amazing fragrance.  The flower spikes open from the bottom upwards and usually last 5-8 days as cut flowers.  They will last longer if their leaves are removed below the water line and the water is changed frequently.

As cut flowers stocks are used in many types of floristry from gift bouquets to weddings and funerals.  They look lovely on their own or mixed with other spring or summer flowers.  Just a few stocks in an arrangement will give a pleasing fragrance.  They are used a lot in weddings because of their elegant shape and perfume, and particularly suit the vintage theme popular for weddings at the moment.  You can often get gorgeous British grown stocks in the summer months, they’re lovely in simple mixed designs with summer flowers and herbs.

It can be daunting when you begin looking for a florist, a quick search online will bring up hundreds, some with shops, some studio based and some with rather dodgy looking websites.  How do you know which florists are any good? How do you decide which ones are worth meeting?  This guide will give you a few hints and tips to help you find your perfect florist.

When searching the web for things like florists, be sure to include the area your wedding will take place in, such as wedding florist Cheshire.  You don’t want to set your heart on a florist only to discover they are 100 miles away, after you’ve drooled over their beautiful bouquets for half an hour.

Don’t be tempted to book your flowers online with a company that says you can just book your flowers online and they will post them to you.  It might seem like a cheap and easy option, but these types of companies are often churning out bouquets production line style with little care or skill.  Wedding flowers also do not travel well by post; your flowers should be perfect on the morning of your wedding not turning brown because they were bashed about in the post for several days.

Once you have found a website that seems promising have a look around, does it look fresh and up to date? If the florist takes care to ensure their website stays current and looks perfect hopefully that will be reflected in their work.  A good florist will provide examples of their own work and probably a gallery of wedding flowers.  Do you like their work and the style of their designs?  If they specialise in funky exotic flowers but you want a soft romantic look for your wedding, then move on to the next florist.

Many florists will have a price list or guide to their pricing on their website, this will give you an idea of costs before you book a consultation.  Price guides can be very helpful if you have no idea how much things cost.  As a rough guide brides spend on average around 10% of their overall budget on flowers.  Of course some people don’t want many flowers so that figure may be less.  The plant and flower association website has a useful guide to the average costs of wedding flowers.

Once you have found a few florists you like the look of check how they advise you to arrange a consultation, some may ask to you fill out a form online or some may prefer you to phone them.  As you are arranging a bespoke service you might want to book appointments with several florists to compare what you are offered in terms of design ideas and costs.

Part two will be posted later this week covering your consultation and looking at quotes afterwards.

Roselily is a gorgeous new lily that has at least 18 petals per head! It’s double flowering nature and rose alike appearance is what inspired it’s name.  Apart from looking fabulous, Roselilies have other unique features such as no pollen, a subtle fragrance and a long vase life.

It’s tricky to use ordinary oriental lilies in wedding flowers as the pollen on stamens can stain fabrics and the stamens can only be removed once the flower heads have opened.  Roselilies contain no pollen, so are perfect for any wedding flowers from bridal bouquets to table arrangements.

Some lilies have a very strong fragrance that can be a little overpowering, especially in enclosed rooms; Roselilies have a much lighter fragrance than normal scented lilies and also benefit from a long vase life so you can enjoy them even longer.

There are currently two pink varieties available Belonica and Fabiola.  Several more varieties will be available soon including a cerise variety Elena and a white variety Carolina.

Images with kind permission from:

You can’t actually buy this fabulous creation at the supermarket, but it was made using Asda’s flowers from their Valentine’s Day range.  Any regular readers of my blog will probably remember I’ve discussed florist flowers versus supermarket offerings before. My general feeling is that you are always better off going to an expert and buying flowers from a florist shop.  But I do admit Joe Massie has made these flowers look fantastic.  Joe is the RHS Chelsea Young Florist of the Year, an accolade he has held for the past three years, an amazing achievement for someone only 23 years old.

Joe and his team of florists painstakingly attached petals and flower heads to the design; it took 170 hours to perfect the dress and weighed nearly two stone when complete. The gown contained 1000 Red Naomi roses, a large headed variety packed with velvety petals.  15 beautiful Carmen roses were dotted throughout the hip and skirt part of the design.  Carmen roses are made by deconstructing several roses and then assembling petals around a rose head to form a very large rose.  The bottom part of the dress and hem contained 150 Purple Power roses, 300 carnations and 75 gerbera.  As well as 200 red chrysanthemums adorned with gold leaf.

Joe’s creation has caused a bit of a controversy in the florist world.  Undoubtedly the dress is fantastic and highlights the creativity and skill involved in floristry.  He said “I’m so proud of what we have achieved with Asda’s stunning flower range. I hope it inspires people to treat their loved ones with an extra special bunch of flowers this Valentine’s Day.”  But by saying this is he is endorsing Asda’s flowers to the public.  Supermarkets are the bane of a florist’s life, often selling flowers for less than florists can buy them for.  So working with Asda in this way and promoting their flowers is almost blasphemous to some florists.

Currently lots of small retailers are struggling and florists are no different.  Valentine’s Day is one of the periods florists rely on to help balance out quiet periods such as October and November.  It can also be a risky business for florists, as stock can cost up to 50% more than usual.  Florists have to order their roses well before customers order them and many don’t order at all, preferring to buy on the day.

From a florist’s point of view I am undecided.  I feel for Joe, he’s a talented young florist, who was offered an amazing opportunity and created a magnificent design.  But working with a supermarket, it goes against the grain.  Who knows what they would do in the same situation.  What would you do?

All good florists will have Valentines flowers on their website to choose from now.  The easiest way to organise flowers is to have them delivered, all you have to do is pick what you want and order them, job done.  This will probably get you the most brownie points too, especially if you have flowers delivered to your partner’s workplace, everyone secretly loves to receive flowers in front of their colleagues.

If you want something more individual you can phone the florist and ask for their advice.  Florists stock all the usual flowers at Valentines Day as well as plenty of red roses.  But don’t automatically think you have to go down the red roses route.  It’s true red roses cost more during Valentines week than the rest of the year, because the whole world wants them that day, the price at the auction goes up. Florists usually stock lots of different coloured roses around Valentine’s Day, why not pick a bouquet of roses in your partners favourite colour.  Other colours of roses usually cost a bit less than red roses too at Valentine’s Day.

There are so many other options available, think about what your loved one would like to receive. Do they like roses? not everyone does.  Most people have a favourite flower, it is far more personal to receive a bouquet of your favourite flowers and it shows more thought has gone into your gift.  If you are stuck for ideas ask the florist, they will be more than happy to tell you what pretties they will be stocking that week.  Seasonal flowers are always fabulous quality and Valentines Day is perfect for spring flowers, plus they smell gorgeous.  A mixed bouquet with a single velvety red rose in the centre is another favourite.

Beware the last minute supermarket dash on Valentine’s Day.  You might think you can pick up something for dinner and a bunch of flowers at the same time.  Big mistake, supermarket flowers will not compare to a florists bouquet, most often squashed together in a bit of clear plastic.  They may be a bit cheaper but will definitely look it and your loved one will know they required all of two seconds thought.  Even the posh supermarkets don’t cut it for flowers at Christmas and Valentine’s Day, their flowers will cost the same as a florist but the quality grade will be lower and the stems a lot shorter.  Last year I told you how the length of flowers relates to the quality.

If you only have two minutes spare to sort your valentines flowers, phone your local florist, ask for a bouquet to be made to your budget and collect it on the way home.  Infinitely better than a sad supermarket bunch.

Image source Wedding Inspirasi

In the previous blog we had a quick look at the stunning flowers used for Edward and Bella’s wedding.  The designer Tammy Polatsek went to town with the natural woodland theme .  Thousands of flowers were using to make the wedding set, but don’t despair you can re-create the fabulous look without a big film budget.  To help keep your flower costs sensible try to use ivory flowers that are in season when you get married.  The flowers used in the film included roses, delphiniums, stocks, sweet peas, hyacinths, ranunculus, freesia, cherry blossom, wisteria and viburnum along with umbrella ferns, and lots of moss.

Image source Twitter

Bella carried a simple hand tied bouquet packed with beautiful ivory flowers.  It must have smelt truly scrumptious, it contained hyacinths, freesia, stocks and ranunculus.  Freesia and ranunculus also make beautiful buttonholes with a couple of simple leaves.  Although you can’t currently get married in a forest in the UK, you can get around this by having a legal ceremony in register office, and then having your ‘real’ big day with all your friends and family at a later date in your favourite woodland. Or you can of course bring the great outdoors inside.  Create a woodland feel by lining your aisle with tall branches with mossed arrangements at the base and flowers arranged to look as if they are growing.

The floral arch in Breaking Dawn was breath taking; it was very tall and packed with flowers.  It featured delphiniums, cherry blossom and other white flowers.  The arch in the film was so full with flowers, it would be budget busting for most brides.  A scaled down version could still feature lots of gorgeous flowers but with a bit more foliage and moss.  Many florists will have an arch structure that they decorate and hire out for weddings.

The reception tables had a very natural organic looking design on them, but they were quite tall and sprawling, so the plates and tableware were very close to the edge of the tables.  Things can get knocked over when the table is that full and if your guests can’t see across the tables they may even move your lovely flowers elsewhere.  I would opt for a design with the candelabra at the centre of the table and have the flowers around the base, arranged in a natural style with lots of moss and foliage.

Image source Entertainment Weekly

The wedding had a Mid-summer nights dream feel to it, everything was very natural and earthy in a forest setting surrounded by lots of flowers, foliage and moss.  The colour scheme for the flowers was white and ivory with lots of deep green ferns.

The ceremony featured low woodland style arrangements lining the aisle and a stunning floral canopy.  The canopy was made with thousands of white wisteria flowers made into 40-50 feet lengths. White lavender and cherry blossom also featured in the ceremony flowers. There were tree stumps dotted around the ceremony to complete the woodland theme, these were decorated with flowers so they appeared to be growing from the stumps.

The aisle was strewn with white petals and at the end of the aisle there was a magnificent floral arch where Edward and Bella said their vows.  It was covered in white flowers including delphiniums and cherry blossom.

Image source casasugar

The reception tables were dressed with moss green table cloths with fabric leaves attached to them.  The centrepieces were large natural designs with viburnum opulus, delphiniums, sweet peas, hyacinths, ranunculus, umbrella ferns and moss.  The centrepiece incorporated candelabras shaped like tree branches.  Small candles were also dotted around the arrangement.

Image source Summit Entertainment

The wedding cake was a large five tier design, simply iced and decorated with ivory and white flowers.  The floral ring surrounding the cake contained roses, viburnum, and sweet peas.

Everyone knows pumpkins make fun lanterns for Halloween, but did you know pumpkins also make great containers for autumn flowers.  Pumpkins look gorgeous with rich shades of autumn flowers.  I’ll tell you how to make your own autumnal pumpkin arrangement in a few simple steps. Before you get started you need to gather a few bits and bobs; a few fresh flowers in autumnal tones, some foliage, a block of floral foam and a few pieces of cellophane.  You can get most of your equipment from a florist shop; if you’ve got a garden have a look for any autumnal foliage you can forage to go in your arrangement.

Before you buy your pumpkin think about how big you want your arrangement to be, as your finished arrangement will be three times the height of the pumpkin.  So if you have a tiny space to display your arrangement in don’t buy a monster pumpkin.

To start slice the top off the pumpkin and scoop the flesh out.  Soak your floral foam in a bucket of water.  While your foam is soaking fill the bottom half of your pumpkin with scrunched up cellophane.  Cut a large piece of cellophane and place your oasis on it’s end in the centre of the cellophane.  Place the oasis and cellophane in the pumpkin, cut the oasis off about two inches above the top of the pumpkin and chop the leftover piece into two wedges, these can be pushed either side of the oasis in your pumpkin to make it fit snugly.  Trim off any excess cellophane.

You can now start putting your foliage and flowers into the oasis.  I used a mixed bunch of autumn flowers and a few berries and twigs from my garden.  Add the foliage first to make the outline for your desire shape and then follow that shape with your flowers.  If you’ve got any lovely autumn coloured leaves in your garden add them to your design.  When you’ve added all your flowers, check for any gaps where you can see the oasis and add some more foliage at those places.

Flowering Plants

Plants have different requirements depending on the family they belong to and their country of origin.  The plant should come with a care label.  Have a quick read of this as it contains all the information you need to keep your plant happy.  A happy plant will be a healthy plant and should reward you with lots of flowers.

The label should tell you the name of the plant, how much sunlight it likes, how often to water it, if it requires feeding and the correct temperature to keep it at.  To encourage your plant to flower for a longer period, remove any flowers that finish.

Flower arrangements

These are ready arranged so you can simply enjoy them as they are.  Perfect for busy people who might not have time to arrange flowers, or as gifts to hospitals and care homes.

Arrangements can come in a variety of vessels such as baskets, ceramic containers, zinc pots or glassware. They are arranged in floral foam that contains water.  They are very easy to look after, simply place on a protective mat and water every few days to keep the oasis wet.

Position the flowers away from sunlight, direct heat, draughts and fruit.  If the arrangement contains a candle, it should never be left unattended when lit.

Gift wrapped bouquets

These flat style bouquets are simply layered and left with long stems, so the recipient can arrange them into a container or vase of their choice. Perfect for creative friends or someone who enjoys arranging flowers.

Put the sachet of flower food in the container and fill with water.  Unwrap the flowers and remove the string or ribbon they are tied with.  Next remove any leaves that would be below the water line.  Gauge the height of the flowers against your container and trim at least 2cm off the stem at an angle.

The flowers are left long in the bouquet so you can put them in a tall vase if you prefer, you may need to cut more than 2cm off the length to make them the right height for your vase.  To make the display more aesthetically pleasing you might choose to vary the height of different flowers.  Place the flowers out of direct heat and sunlight, away from fruit and draughts.

These round shaped bouquets are arranged in the hand and tied, so the recipient can simply put them into a vase ready arranged.  The stems are in a bubble of cellophane containing water to keep the flowers fresh during delivery.  They can be left in the cellophane for a day or so.

Put the sachet of flower food into the vase and fill with water. Hold the bouquet over a sink and cut the cellophane off at the bottom to release the water.  Remove all remaining gift wrapping (but not the string or tie inside the cellophane wrapping) and any leaves that would be under water.  Trim at an angle at least 2cm from the ends of the flowers and place in the vase.

If the bouquet is too tall cut the stems down to the appropriate height.  If your hand tied bouquet is not delivered in water, the stems can be simply trimmed and then place into your vase.  Place your bouquet away from direct heat, sunlight, fruit and draughts.

You have just been surprised with some gorgeous flowers as a gift, they look amazing and you want to keep them that way as long as possible.  There are various things you can do to ensure your flowers don’t wilt prematurely and encourage every bloom to open.  I’ve written this guide to help you along the way and dispel some old wives tales about flowers.

Before you put your flowers into any container make sure it is clean.  If your vase been lurking on a shelf for months and is dusty, it will need washing.  If you wouldn’t want to drink out the container don’t put your flowers in it.  Bacteria, dirt and dust will cause flowers to fade prematurely.

It is essential to trim the stem ends, as flower stems start to heal after being cut from the plant and air bubbles can cause blockages.  Cutting the stems helps flowers to absorb water and flower food.  Read the flower food packet to ensure the correct dosage.  Flower food provides the necessary nutrients and prolongs vase life.

Fresh flowers don’t like direct sunlight, it accelerate the ageing process. So your sunny window sill will not make a good home for flowers.  Plants however need sunlight, although every type of plant has different requirements, so refer to the plant label for more advice.

Direct heat such as radiators will also cause flowers to open more quickly and dry out, therefore reducing the longevity.  Don’t put your flowers near any fruit as ethylene given off by fruit causes sensitive flowers to die.

Remove all leaves that would be under the water line.  Leaves carry lots of tiny things that will infect the water and make it smell, such as bacteria and fertilizer residue. Preventing infection is the easiest way to help your flowers last.

Old wives’ tales

Don’t be tempted to put anything other than water and flower food in your container, apart from having no way to measure the dosage, they don’t really do anything useful.  Pop a penny in your vase? Definitely not, copper coins release copper very slowly and are therefore not effective, plus most coins are covered in bacteria. Lemonade won’t work either as it doesn’t offer enough sustenance to support flowers.  Sugar won’t help either, it encourages harmful bacteria to grow and sees off your flowers early.

This time last year I had the pleasure of providing wedding flowers for some good friends of mine.  It’s always extra special when you personally know the bride and groom, and they had also asked me to be a bride’s maid.  It was a gorgeous wedding at The Inn at Whitewell, in The Forest of Bowland.  The ceremony was held at St Hubert’s Dunsop Bridge, a few miles from Whitewell.  Before the ceremony guests were treated to a string quartet in the church and then afterwards at the reception.  Rose buttonholes with ivy leaves were worn by the wedding party.  The wedding reception took place in a marquee at the Inn at Whitewell. There are fabulous views from the inn across the river Hodder and parkland beyond.

The bride picked beautiful bottle green dresses for the bridesmaids.  After much deliberation (and several mood boards) an autumnal palette was decided on for the flowers.  The bridal bouquet was a large informal handtied bouquet.  The flowers centred on cherry brandy roses, these stunning roses were featured in all the wedding designs.  They have red outer petals and open into a warm orange.  Other flowers featured were mango calla lilies, burnt orange freesia, pincushion proteas, orange gerberas and hypericum berries.

A smaller version of the bridal bouquet was carried by the bride’s maids, which looked stunning against the deep green dresses.  The flower girl wore an ivory dress with a green sash and carried a gold wand with a single cherry brandy rose.  Marquees are perfect blank canvas for any colour scheme, the rich colours of the reception flowers made it feel warm and inviting.  The table designs were candle arrangements in baskets using roses, gerberas and freesia. I also used larch branches and red oak leaves to emphasis the autumnal feel.

The bride wanted the cake to be simple and elegant so we scattered some cherry brandy petals around it and on the cake table.  It was an elegant three tier design simply iced and decorated with green ribbon and diamante buckles.  In the evening the fairy lights covering the ceiling gave the wedding a warm glow which perfectly complemented the candlelight of the table arrangements.

A fabulous weekend was had by everyone who attended.  The weather stayed fine all day and the sun even made an appearance for the photos.  I wish the bride and groom every happiness in their life together!

The Queens granddaughter married rugby player Mike Tindall at the weekend.   The ceremony took place on 30^th of July at Cannongate Kirk in Edinburgh.  Thousands of people gathered along Edinburgh’s royal mile to a catch a glimpse of Scotland’s first Royal wedding in almost 20 years.

The bride looked very elegant in a full length ivory Silk Faille gown designed by Stewart Parvin, who is the Queen’s couturier.  The dress features a duchess satin hem and bust and a chevron pleated bodice.  Zara complemented her gown with cathedral length veil in fine silk tulle and the Meander Tiara loaned from her mother Princess Anne.  The maid of honour, Dolly Maude also wore a Stewart Parvin dress.  Her dress was a knee length cocktail dress in dove grey silk duchess satin. The bridesmaids and flower girls wore ivory dresses with grey sashes.

Zara’s flowers were designed by London florist Paul Thomas; she chose a classic theme of ivory and green.  The bridal bouquet was a hand tied bouquet of ivory calla lilies, green thistle, lily of the valley, hydrangea and silver senecio cineraria.  The bridesmaid’s bouquets were smaller versions of the bridal bouquet, accented with blue thistles.  The groom wore an ivory rose buttonhole with senecio foliage.

The outside of Cannongate Kirk was decorated with a huge garland arrangement made using hundreds of ivory flowers and foliage including roses, carnations, stocks, hydrangea, eucalyptus and green thistles. Inside the church there were four large urn arrangements placed behind the altar, of all ivory flowers and foliage.

images from marie claire

Singer and fashion designer Lily Allen recently married Sam cooper in a typical village wedding, their ceremony took place at St James the Great , a picturesque church in the Cotswolds.  Lily wore a vintage style dress by French designer Delphine Manivet, it featured a sweetheart neckline with lace sleeves and overlay with a long train.   She also wore a full length 1920s veil adorned with two large flowers.

Lily carried a gorgeous bouquet of country garden flowers in soft pastel shades.  Her bouquet featured garden roses, spray roses, peonies, hydrangea and field pennycress.  Her bridesmaids wore floaty peach dresses and carried small version of Lily’s bouquet.  The flower girls wore ivory lace dresses and wore circlets of flowers in their hair.

Either side of the entrance to the church there were two large arrangements of garden flowers in blues, purples and whites including delphinium, peony, hydrangea, scabious and viburnum.

A palette of pastel colours is perfect for a vintage themed wedding.  If you want to achieve the same classic look, pick flowers such as stocks that are available in lovely pastels shades including pinks, lillacs and creams. Scabious is another pretty garden flower, in either soft blue or white.  Lily Allen had gorgeous garden roses in peachy apricot tones, the David Austin rose Juliet is a lovely peach garden rose.

Common name:  Lily of the valley, May lily, May bells

Botanical Names: Convallaria Majalis

Origin: Northern Hemisphere, Asia and Europe

Colours: white and more rarely pink

Lily of the valley is also known as May lily which comes from the Latin convallis meaning valley and majalis for May-flowering.  It is said to symbolise purity, humility and the return of happiness.  It has long been associated with May and is said to bring good luck or protect your garden from evil spirits.  Lily of the valley has been the national flower of Finland since 1967.

This pretty plant is a herbaceous perennial that spreads it’s rhizomes (roots) underground to form extensive colonies.  It grows up to 20cm in height and has tiny bell shaped flowers up to 10mm in diameter.  The flowers have a beautiful sweet fragrance.  The plants offer good ground cover and thrive in shady areas.  Although after several years they can take over large areas or other plants if not divided and kept on top of.  All parts of the plant are poisonous including the berries.

The herb is used medicinally for various conditions.  In the First World War it was used to treat victims of mustard gas to lower blood pressure.  It contains cardiac glycosides which are used to treat heart problems.  The roots of the plants are used by herbalists to make an ointment that treats burns.  It should only be used by a qualified medical practitioner as the side effect can be harmful if used incorrectly.

In floristry Lily of the valley is used predominately in wedding work, as it’s petite stems are not long enough for normal bouquets and it is one of the dearer flowers.   It’s main season is March to May as a cut flower.  It is available in some other months, but it is usually more expensive out of season.  It’s delicate flowers look beautiful in hand tied bouquets or shower bouquets, and it’s sweet fragrance has a gorgeous old fashioned quality.   The delicate flowers are so petite a vast number are needed for bridal bouquets of only lily of the valley.  It also works well mixed with roses for an elegant vintage look.

The predictions I made few weeks ago for Kate’s flower style were almost spot on, neutral colours and understated flowers.  The flowers at the wedding all had a very natural organic feel.  The couple reportedly spent £50,000 on flowers, plants and four tons of foliage.  Shane Connolly was the lucky florist chosen to create design for the wedding of a lifetime.  He designed all the flowers for the Royal Wedding including Kate’s bouquet, she held a petite shield-shaped bouquet in ivory and white, not quite a teardrop, a little shorter.  It consisted mainly of delicate lily of the valley with some hyacinths, sweet william, ivy and myrtle.  Kate’s bouquet will have had a wonderful fragrance, as lily of the valley and hyacinth are highly scented.   The wired design was very understated and suited her vintage style dress perfectly.  All the flowers in the bouquet were chosen according to their significance for the Royal Family and the Middleton family, as well as their meaning according to the Language of Flowers.

Lily of the valley – return of happiness

Hyacinth (white) – constancy of love

Sweet William – gallantry

Myrtle – emblem of marriage, love

Ivy – fidelity, marriage, wedded love, friendship, affection

Kate’s sister Philippa wore a comb of lily of the valley in her hair.  The younger bridesmaids were cute as a button wearing circlet headdresses made from ivy and lily of the valley.  The bridesmaids carried tied posies of lily of the valley, hyacinths and sweet william.  The youngest bridemaids carried pomanders of the same flowers held on ivory ribbon.  The buttonholes were also made with lily of the valley.

The flowers in Westminster Abbey were all English grown, many from Royal Estates.  The aisle was lined with 20ft high English trees with growing lily of valley around the base.  The flower arrangements throughout the Abbey were made with ivory flowers incorporating lilac, wisteria, blossom and azalea in a very loose and natural style with lots of foliage including euphorbia, viburnum, beech and eucalyptus.

Even though William and Kate’s royal budget is out of the reach of most couples, there are always more economical ways to achieve your dream style..but that’s another blog.  I think today they showed the world a classic English wedding, and provided a lot of inspiration for a romantic vintage look.

Congratulations to William and Kate, I wish them long and happy life of love and laughter.