September wedding in Helena Mt - flower ideas wanted

Hi Y'all....

Dear Daughter is getting married Sept 13 and has asked me to come up with some ideas for flowers. This is not gonna be a real formal event (second wedding for both), and Layla would like something natural and sorta wildflowerish.

Any thoughts would be welcome!
jo

Mums should be blooming about them. Also Gaillardia. Probably some people will have roses. Phlox. I don't know how they work in bouquets and arrangements, though.
Just read that the wedding is in Helena, Montana so changed the post. Will you have places to cut flowers in Montana? Or will you have to buy them. Is your daughter going to try to get something planted? Sunflowers might be nice.

This message was edited Jun 10, 2008 4:24 PM

We'll have to buy them probably. Certainly she won't have time to think about growing them herself and I'm too far away to help.

But those ideas are great for starters. Mums. Can't go too far wrong there and i love the subtle scent. Gaillardia? I don't really know that one but will take a look.

Anyone from the local area know a good source for getting flowers?

If you buy them you can have anything you want -- just about. Gaillardia is a bright colored daisy looking thing -- reds and yellows. It holds up well, too. Some people call it Mexican Hat. Very popular, even a wild flower, in the west. Can't help you with sources. I live 1000 miles or so away.

Tall phlox, echinaceau, fall asters too. AND of course dahlias would be an excellent choice ^_^

great ideas. All of them. Yes, dahlias are always an excellent choice. I've never done well growing them myself, but I sure do love them. Do they do well as cut flowers?

Some like the 'karma's are grown for cutting with a vase life of 7-12 days. I cut all my dahlia blooms and bring them in the October when I'm tired of battling frost and most are nice for a week. Another thing (non bouquet related though) I luv to do is cut a 13" dinnerplate bloom and float it in an antique bowl as a centerpiece for dinner party. They start to get soggy the next day but it's a fun conversation piece.

Carnations are inexpensive when it comes to cut flowers and are almost always available.

Yes, parjaritomt.. that's another good idea. They all are. Please keep them coming.
jo

Blackeyed Susans are wildflowerish especially for Montana. I know you are going to buy them, but mine are still looking good in Sept.

DigMontana- that's great information. I do know that I'll need to buy flowers, but would like them to be similar to the ones that might still be growing. Blackeyed Susans are a great choice.
Also, does anyone have recommendations for good trustworthy local florists or wholesalers?

My husband and I got married at a ranch (top of a mountain setting) in Colorado in late August a couple years ago. While we wore formal clothes, I wanted to dress down the flowers. I used several painted buckets of creamy white hydrangeas with slightly taller naturally twisted twiggy things and dusty miller, and carried cream roses in a large nosegay with dusty miller for my bouquet. This picture is of the hydrangeas; can post the bouquet if you want, but it is way more formal than wildflowers.

Your hydrangeas are stunning, kmargrave, so is your dress -- but we would love to see your head as well! Do you have any idea what hydrangea variety they are? And yes, I , personally, would love to see your bouquet, formal or not.

BTW, welcome to the Rocky Mt. Forum. It is a lot of fun and we learn a lot from each other as well.

Hi Paj,

Thanks for the kind welcome! And what bride (even an almost 50 year old one who dared to wear white) doesn't love a chance to show off her bouquet? Actually, the lovely young lady in that picture is my husband's ex-wife's niece (who came with her dad, my husband's former brother-in-law)... how cool is that?!

Cheers,
Karen

I would check with the Chamber of Commerce in that city and see if there is a Farmers Market open during that time. You should be able to get some nice local fresh flowers there.

If you want NICE reasonably priced cut flowers, buy them at Costco!! Wonderful mixed bouquets for about $10!!

Oh, kmargrave,
What a beautiful bride and groom and what a lovely bouquet. I would never have guessed that you were almost 50! You sure don't look it. Speaks volumes when the ex's former relatives come to your wedding.

Good point psychw2 - Costco and even Sam's have wonderful fresh flowers for reasonable prices.

You should have access to lots of Flowers at my place. I live in Kalispell MT and have a large garden with all of the above flowers. I won't be home but my DW would and she would love our flowers to brighten you daughters wedding. It is about 2.5 hrs from Helena. We have over 1.5 acres of raised bed and woodland gardens. I will send pictures of september from the past years to let you know what we have. Steve.

Hello, GeorgiaJo--

Soferdig has made you a really practical offer there. Don't let the drive dissuade you, as their garden is phenomenal and really big. They're on a wooded hillside with a view of the ski area. I should mention that it takes us almost 3.5 hrs to drive there. But if you want to see just how gorgeous a garden can be in Montana -- go! And take a big vehicle.

The farmer's market will still be going, but it's only on Saturday mornings. Is the wedding on Saturday? Or you could probably place an advance order at Valley Farms Nursery. Or have your daughter check around with her friends for potted plants. Most of the flowers we had at our wedding came from a friend who does mostly container gardening. 40-some pots.

Our garden is not terribly full of things that bloom in mid-September. We have Russian sage, but it is starting to bloom now. The Dropmore scarlet honeysuckle usually does one last round, and the John Cabot rose. We will probably be harvesting grapes about then, so you could certainly have some grapevines. They always need thinning!

Don't hesitate to D-mail me. -- Julie

Just a Sept look at a small area.

Wow! Those flowers would make a wonderful bouquet.

um soferdig did Montana do a weird time change thing cuz it only July in AB?

It's July in Montana, but you know, Sofer travels a lot, and I wouldn't put it past him to time travel.
It would be very nifty if you could e-mail us from the future, Sof, and answer a few questions.

You all are being wonderful!
Julie- we arrive monday and wedding is saturday, so the Farmers Market probably won't work. But I'll certainly check out Valley Farms nursery. And I certainly will dmail you.. probably tomorrow! (been a long busy week.. glad the weekend is here!). Grape vines.. Now that's a thought! We'll certainly have some of the "fruit" - so maybe some of the "vines" would be the perfect touch!

Steve - ohmygosh. Those flowers are to die for! We don't have too many days in Mt before the wedding, but still might be able to take you up on your extremely generous offer. What's the drive like between Helena and Kalispel? Is it scenic? (of course it is... it IS montana after all!).

Kmargrav - You DO look beautiful. And 50 is just getting started (I'm approaching 60 myelf). Thanks for sharing those lovely pictures.

All , Costco is a good possibility and we are members so maybe I'll do that. But I'd love something really local and "real" (such as from Julie's or Steve's gardens)...

jo

OK you guys. If you saw in my original post I stated that I would give GAJoe a picture of what is growing in Sept in our garden in Sept for the wedding stuff. That is why I posted last years picture of our garden. But I guess that the wedding is in Aug. Sorry for the goof up. We still have even more flowers in August.
Jo the drive is about 3.5 hrs if you follow the rules and it is gorgeous along the Swan Valley along the Mission mountains.
Come on over if you have time or need flowers. Lots of them here. Steve

Too late soferdig. You're a time traveller. That's our story and we're sticking to it. We want future info please.

WHOOOO HOOO snow. I remember that white sparkly stuff from my childhood. Thanks soferdig. Now do you see a zonal change to perhaps 5 in Cowtown? ok I'll settle for a consistent 4 cuz I'm not greedy. oops OT again.

We have remained and will continue to remain zone 4 with the 2 o 3 days at -25F. That is why I live in Montana I love those days more than any in the summer. Crystal clear skies, diamonds sparkling in the trees, car seats squeak when you sit on them, the seat heater is a early moment of welcome pleasure, and the snow fall that preceeds the artic blast is heavenly. Winter in our area is wonderful.

Brrrrr.
But tell me, oh Time Traveler, what will it be like from Sept 8-15, 2008 (and especially on saturday sept 13th)?. Do I pack my woolies or my shorts for the trip to Montana? Snow boots or flip-flops?
jo

Flip flops for day and woolies for night. It will be warm and wonderful. Nights will only be in the high 40's. Saturday sept 13 will be a stellar day of 'Big Sky' Clouds all shaped like poodles and elephants passing over until 4:13 PM a large cumulonimbus cloud will dump lightning and 32 minutes of rain over the eastern part of Helena. Hope your wedding isn't too near I-15.

What is that beautiful red/pink flower on long stems in the background?

Bee Balm in back with the red flowers, and the one in the middle is pink I think is a Foxglove. This is another angle of the bee balm.

everybody says that stuff can really spread, I can't get it to grow! Oh well.. at least I'm consistent, I am very drawn to that flower, its beautiful

I haven't had much luck with bee balm either, but I think I put it in too much shade. I am going to try again. I have a potted one which is in bloom-- left over from last year and I have a spot to plant it that is sunnier than the place I put it last time. Cross your fingers for me.

Bee Balm is a moderately spreading plant and I have to pull the edges back about 1 ft each year to keep it the same size. Transplants by pulling it up and burying it in a new hole. It is too beautiful to call it invasive. Everything loves Bee Balm.

soferdig, next time you get an urge to pull some up, let me know! maybe I'll have something you want to trade!

We usually do it in the spring with garden clean up. Email me in April and I'll send you some.

Cool! thanks!

Sofer, your predictions are fabulous! GeorgiaJo, you are going to love the Big Sky clouds.

GerogiaJo I'll borrow a little soferdig wormhole magic and send you a double rainbow on those days. They're my fav weather phenomenom here. Our clouds stampede by way too fast to see the animals. Must be buffalo clouds. Sometimes a big poofy one that looks like a Michelan man hangs around for awhile but not usually.

Double rainbow. Awesome! I did see one rainbow in Helena, 4 years ago soon after our grandson was born (yes, this is DD's second marriage). But it was just a single rainbow. We used to see them here in our used-to-be-rural corner of nw Georgia, but not in many years. And those clouds out there in big sky country are fabulous.

Steve- the wedding is scheduled for 4 pm. Hopefully outdoors, so I hope the rain can hold off for just a little bit longer. It's at the Great Divide ski area. Does anyone know that place?

Julie, I keep thinking about your grapevines... Do you have any ideas as to how we could use them? Could we drape them around the tables or something? Buy some bulk flowers to go with them? You're a local Helenite (is that right?).. do you know the Great Divide? What's it like? I'm afraid that DD - (actually, DDS for "dear step daughter" hasn't yet discovered her green thumb so she's not much help :-)

Thanks to all for your wonderful northern hospitality. I'm starting to feel right at home here :-)
jo