I was inspired to cut some Tropical Gardenias after they started flowering in earnest. Several afternoon thunderstorms provided the inspiration for the flowering, I think. As I was gathering gardenias it occurred to me it felt like I was carrying a bridal bouquet and it certainly looks like one. This is not a proper hand tied bouquet – it is rubber band secured. The gardenias exude a sticky sap, I am not sure how good this would be to carry down the aisle. They also brown quickly like the more common gardenias. With the addition of the Sweet Almond flowers, the fragrance is amazing.
A closer view:
A closer view:
The vase is a thrift store find I have enjoyed for years. I love the sprays of buds on the Tropical Gardenia (Tabernaemontana divaricata), they last longer than the flowers and rarely open. The white spikes are the very fragrant Sweet Almond Bush (Aloysia virgata). I cut these back about two months ago and they have grown four feet and need another trim. Abundant rain in South Florida is a plant stimulator, I am not sure I even fertilized these. Greenery is from the gardenia and Asian Sword Ferns.
I needed some color and also needed to deadhead the Brown Eyed Girl Sunflowers, so I made another little vase. Continuing the wedding theme, these are for the tables at the reception..
The vase is a Pier One oil jar from who knows when. I trimmed the sunflowers as they needed some air to hopefully help with their tendency for powdery mildew. It has been raining too much to do anything else about the mildew. A few snips of Salvia are included: in blue, Mystic Spires; in white and pink, Tropical Red Salvia. Greenery is a bit of Asian Sword Fern and a few stems of Blue Lagoon Rosemary.
A closer view:
My wedding plans are complete! More than 30 years ago, anyway. Thanks to Cathy at http://ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting this weekly meme. Visit Cathy and find more vases to explore.
Happy Gardening!!
The Shrub Queen 
Two beautiful vases. Those gardenias are amazing and that is a perfect wedding bouquet. One I would have loved. I have never smelled a gardenia…I really have to rectify that.
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Thank you. There used to be a perfume called Jungle Gardenia that was close. It will knock you down.
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Oh that first one is such a stylish vase, and of course we would never have known it was secured with a rubber band, something I have done more often than I may have admitted to! The contrast of white and green really adds to its elegance and it’s a shame we can only imagine the fragrance. Willl the ‘suflowers keep coming if you deadhead them? They well have a thuggish tendency but what a great resource for posies and vases!
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Thank you, Cathy. I prefer a bit more color. I wish you could smell it.. I have a feeling the sunflowers will succumb to the mildew. I usually grow sunflowers in winter here and that may be why. There are still many buds out there…
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I think I have a job for you making your bridal vases for a wedding reception.
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LOL, they would be guaranteed to be all different and only last through the reception…
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I did see a wedding where everyone brought flowers from home.
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I love that idea. It would take a special group of guests to pull it off.
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All gardeners. I think the wedding was probably more on the causal side.
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Both arrangements are beautiful, Amelia, but I adore the bride’s bouquet. The deep green leaves make the most of those tropical gardenias.
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Thanks, Kris.
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Ah, so your fern is Nephrolepis brownii rather than Nephrolepis cordifolia. I did not remember that it is different from the sort that is naturalized in urban regions of Southern California. It looks similar, but not so unkempt.
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Actually, I am not sure. It looks a lot like the N.cordifolia. It is invasive here and always called Asian Sword fern.?? I have gotten rid of a lot of it and am well supplied for vases.
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That is what I thought. It really does look like the common Nephrolepis cordifolia that I am familiar with here and in Southern California. However, Asian sword fern is Nephrolepis brownii, which I have never met that I am aware of.
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Not sure. I am not good with fern ID. These have round root balls on the roots when pulled up and that is used for ID here. I thought they were Boston Fern for a while but it is much bigger.
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Both Nephrolepis cordifolia and Nephrolepis exaltata also produces those weird nodules though.
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I have never pulled up an exaltata..the foliage is very different and 50 percent bigger. I don’t think it is as aggressive as the sword ferns.
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I never have either. The only specimens of that species that I have ever met are Boston and Dallas ferns.
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Definitely a beautiful bouquet, even if a bit too sticky to carry. Wish I could smell it!
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Both lovely, but I am crazy about the gardenias, what a fabulous bouquet.
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Thanks, Liz. I have seen these used as pruned topiaries indoors in big blue and white fishbowls. Fabulous…no idea how they did tree forms!
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Now that is something I’d like to try. I’ve never seen them here.
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They are also called Crape Jasmine. The foliage is more attractive to me than G. jasminoides.
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They’re lovely Amelia, and if I were a bride I would be more than happy to carry that bouquet down the aisle. 😉 I always think it a miracle that bridal bouquets don’t wilt, and am in awe of the florists who know their art. I like the coloured glass vase for the table decorations too – and the salvia. 😃
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Thanks, Cathy. I have no idea how bridal bouquets really work. There must be a secret!
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Your wedding-themed arrangements are perfect Amy. Is it your anniversary by any chance? The Tropical Gardenia is stunning. Is the fragrance similar to Gardenia jasminoides? Mine are in full bloom all of a sudden.
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Thanks, Susie. My wedding was in April with dogwoods! The tropical gardenias have a similar scent to GJ but much less intense and only at night.
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Sounds beautiful. Dogwoods are so lovely.
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