\nA striking new cross at the Western Massachusetts Gladiolus show. Ordering glads from a breeder will ensure that you get varieties not available anywhere else – remember, the Dutch only grow a select few – those that ship well, or propagate well for them. If you want 5 for tall stems with a dozen flowers open at once, you need to see these.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n<\/div>\n
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\nNo pictures on their site, but please overlook it. If you want to order, do what I do, and just Google a few of the names. You may see what a chocolate colored gladiolus looks like which will convince you that there is an entire world here which is undiscovered. <\/div>\n
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\n\n\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nThe show gladiolus come in most every color in the rainbow. Again, these are not available from any main-stream catalog, you must order the new crosses directly from the breeders themselves.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\nRusty, ruffly, violet eyed, pie-crusted edges – you name it, the varieties that we are not seeing in catalogs are the ones I am talking about. Gladiolus are like a summer candy just waiting to be rediscovered. Glamellas anyone? Go ahead, Google it.<\/div>\n
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\n\n\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nCamellias were even considered a Christmas flower in 1900, which is no surprise, as many of my trees are coming into bloom right now, in the greenhouse.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n<\/div>\n
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6. Winter Camellias<\/b> – As we become more conscious about ‘slow flowers’, these one-time common greenhouse plants found in every florists glasshouse in the north is long due a comeback. Their only drawback was shipping, and perhaps stem length, but shipping today is more of an opportunity and a selling point than anything else. <\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n
\n\n\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nA formal rose form camellia blooms in my greenhouse. Perfection.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n<\/div>\n
\nAdd in that they thrive in unheated or low heat greenhouses and hoop houses, and one can see why the Camellia is just waiting for its comeback. Winter blooming, low cost, trees that get better every year – there was no greenhouse in New York or New England that didn’t have a bank of camellia trees growing at the back of it, often with beds underneath them with anemones, ranunculus and calla lilies growing directly in the ground.<\/div>\n
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\n\n\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nAn advertisement for Camellia corsages from the 1940’s.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/p>\n
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\n\n\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n A Nineteenth Century greenhouse full of Mignonette ready to be cut.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n<\/div>\n
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7. Mignonette <\/b>– Mmmm, Mignonette. What the Hell is Mignonette anyway? (I don’t know, but I want it, right?). A classic greenhouse cut flower from the Victorian era, Reseda odorata has been tucked into wedding bouquets for decades until it fell out of favor. Pots of this fragrant herb with flower which are anything but pretty, have been added to conservatory displays and botanic garden displays to add fragrance, but today – just try and find it. Hence the romance. Any proper Nineteenth century cold greenhouses on estates and in large Eastern cities often kept plants of Mignonette in pots If one could re-market pots of Mignonette again, imagine what a game-changer it would be for the wedding industry?<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n
\n\n\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nMignonette illustration featured on a cover from the 1892 Sutton’s Seeds catalog.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n<\/div>\n
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8. Giant Calla Lillies<\/b> – No longer the flower of death, these are the grande dam of Hollywood film stars and early 20th century weddings. Just look at your great grandparents wedding pictures, and surely you will see Calla Lillies somewhere in the shots. Low cost, back of the greenhouse bulbs, the tall, old fashioned varieties can still be found if you look carefully. 4-6 feet tall,as ours are, they are covered with giant, white callas every March – May. Come-on flower farms, leave the ‘Cafe au Lait’s’ to the common growers. Let’s bring back glamour.<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n
\n\n\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nCarnations from the mail-order source, Florabundance. Not your typical carnations.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n<\/div>\n
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9. Border Carnations<\/b><\/div>\n\nI know, right? But if I ever dreamed that so many people – professional flower farm people to plant geeks who have written to me admitting that they have a secret desire to raise the old-fashioned long-stemmed exhibition varieties or border carnations, you wouldn’t believe me. I have been craving these plants for some time now, but in the US they are virtually un-obtainable. <\/div>\n
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\n\n\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nVintage print of old florist Carnations (Dianthus caryophyllus)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\nMost of the nicer exhibition types – those used for shows are in the UK, and the rest, which are commercial, are in India and Columbia. Some serious smuggling will need to be done to get some cuttings into the States, but whomever gets there first, will surely reap the rewards because we ALL want them!<\/div>\n
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\n\n\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nMost of our great grandmothers’ enjoyed orange blossoms in their wedding bouquets<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n<\/div>\n
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Orange blossoms<\/b> – Or any citrus blossom. I can’t imagine flower farms raising these, unless they are in California or Florida, but citrus flowers in wedding bouquets were once as common as Jasmine and Stephanotis in the 1960’s (Hmmm – I wonder if Stephanotis should be re-added to this list again?). There was a time when branches of orange blossoms were as common as babies breath in wedding bouquets, and why not – dreamy scent that can’t be matched, and much are winter blooming in northern greenhouses. Sure, they are hard to ship, but again, we’re talking local crops here. Seasonal for certain, but if one is looking for distinction, this old fashioned flower would do the trick.<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n
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<\/b><\/div>\n\n\n\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nStrings of marigolds at an elaborate wedding in India. Source – Indear.in<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n
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Bonus Prediction – Marigolds<\/b><\/div>\n\n
<\/b><\/div>\n\nThink about it. ‘Eat, Pray, Love’, ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’ franchise, even the Day of the Dead. The marigold is on the cusp of a comeback. String of marigolds, a curtain of strung marigolds – the effect could be stunning at an autumnal wedding.<\/div>\n
\nThe idea of marigolds in any garden scheme may seem odd but as a secret, closet marigold fan, I’ve been noticing its comeback arriving in a big way. Easy to grow, water-wise, a late summer beauty with brilliant charm – the marigold may just be experiencing a rise in popularity never experienced before.<\/div>\n
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A selection of heirloom mums – spoons, Japanese cascades and anemone forms, combined with a few thistle, quill and formal incurves. I dare you David…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3036,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
10 ROMANTIC WEDDING FLOWERS JUST WAITING TO BE REDISCOVERED - Growing With Plants<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n