Christchurch

Mary Lovell-Smith on growing flowers for her daughter’s summer wedding

For years my husband and I grew cut flowers commercially so I figure I know a bit about it. July was spent most pleasantly, poring over annuals in books and seed catalogues, selecting flowers that my daughter likes (notably blue and white), that flower in late summer and are relatively easy to cultivate.

Despite only a fraction of my 760m2 garden being available for the temporary flower beds, I decided to make three sowings of each flower, aimed at coming to bloom a week before the wedding, the week of the wedding, and a week after, to allow for any variations in the weather.

Fortunately, most catalogues and books list the time it takes from seed sowing to picking. Unfortunately, they do not always agree. Thus my whiteboard is a colourcoded dog’s breakfast as I try to unravel all possible sowing day combinations and embracing all eventualities.

First flower to make it to the list is love-in-a-mist ( Nigella damascena).

It has the prettiest flowers in blue and white which peep through the lacy bracts and delicate fern-like foliage. On the plus side, I know from experience that it is easy to grow and prefers to be sown direct. On the down side, it has a short flowering season but its seed heads are decorative, should I muck up my dates completely. Whereas Kings Seeds says it takes 90 days from whoah to go and flowers in late summer, the Yates Gardening Guide advises sowing the seeds in autumn!

Another easy choice is larkspur. This annual delphinium ( Delphinium consolida) is a more delicate, less hefty spire than the perennial version and in my garden grows like a weed. They take 110 or 140 days from whoah to go, depending on who you consult. It flowers naturally in early summer, but I’m pretty sure I have had at least some