I’m always excited when sourcing sustainably grown flowers for the shop. One of our suppliers has come up trumps this year for Valentine’s Day. I really like Frank and Shane at Clogg Wholesale in Manchester, they know their stuff and … Continue reading
Autumn is here, I could smell it this morning when I was cutting foliage. The sun was warm, the leaves were tuning and the trees are heavy with berries. I couldn’t resist all the berries at the wholesalers this week, berries in everything this weekend I think!
Chinese lanterns (Physalis alkekengi) always signify the start of autumn when they arrive in the wholesalers and we’ve had great fun using them over the last couple of weeks. It is a native plant of southern Europe across into southern Asia to Japan. It is a perennial herbaceous plant that will grow to around 60 cm in height and makes a great garden plant with bright orange paper looking lanterns which cover the berry in the autumn. Watch out though it can be invasive, the roots spread and new plants pop up quite a distance from the original plant.
It looks great in bouquets and lasts for ages. The lanterns dry and can be used for Halloween garlands and in Christmas decorations.
Back to the berries, I bought all colours orange, purple and pink. The bright orange ones in the bouquet above are Viburnum berries, I love the green balls of Viburnum flowers in the spring and the orange berries are just as fab.
Mmmmm don’t eat!!
The violet purple berries of Callicarpa giraldii are stunning and have been used in everything made in the shop over last two days.
This hardy bush is definitely on my plant wish list for the garden next year.
And to finish an old favourite the snowberry (Symphoricarpos), it comes in white and white blushed with pink. It is a native of North and South America. I have this in my garden but it is always sparse of berries and quite disappointing. Be careful the berries are poisonous!
It looks great in all types of designs, I used it in a wedding bouquet a couple of weeks ago and Emma made a beautiful heart tribute using it earlier this week.
Wild & Wondrous are embracing autumn, twigs and berries galore!!
Wild & Wondrous Flowers 