This is attempt number two - I have got myself some green stretchy florist's tape, and I'm ready to go!
On our way back from the woods on Monday, as well as the Euphorbia and Bugleweed (Ajuga) that we'd picked, we popped into Morrisons, and they had a couple of bunches of mixed flowers on sale at 89 pence.
My aim - to make a flower crown that will hold, without wilting, and to attempt a buttonhole or Boutonnière, using succulents.
I gave all of the plants a good drink overnight, standing them in jars of water.
The succulents have been growing in a wooden box (and also Moroccan tea glasses) in our living room, they multiply quite quickly, and are easy to care for, I have around 20 in total! I took some from Mum's garden and they've come along really well indoors.
I pulled one bloom out keeping the roots on, then using a bit of wire, I bent the wire into a U shape and stuck it in the succulents bottom.
Next I wrapped the wire tightly in florists tape, giving the succulent a stem. I then chose three other flowers: A carnation; bugleweed and some yellow foliage and wrapped their stems tightly with florists tape. I then bound them together with hesian (burlap) and string.
I popped them in the fridge overnight, and, apart from the bugleweed which was looking a bit droopy, the rest still looked fresh!
I will make a couple for the day, I haven't got the resources to make one for every guest, but I'll probably use a succulent, lavender and a thistle instead.
Next the flower crown. Again, on the morning of our wedding, I'll be using whatever flowers are in season. This time, I used a few that I'd picked, and some carnations.
I used the same galvanised wire as in my previous post, but this time wrapped the wire first with florists tape.
I also wrapped all the flower stems with the tape, to hold in moisture, and any flowers with heavy heads were strengthened with wire down their stems. I then used the same process as before.
The foliage went on first, Each piece was secured in place with green plant wire. Then any large flowers, and lastly the smaller flowers.
I tied a lace ribbon at the back, and again put it in the fridge to see how it lasted. I think this will be the plan on the day, as it worked really well, and I can't wait to put one together again. Carnations work really well (and they're cheap) and I love the little forget-me-not's too.
Here are the results from our wedding day!
Official pictures by Anarchy Photography.