A seasonal guide to wedding flowers

So what’s the big deal about seasonal flowers you ask? Using flowers that are in season, means you’re using flowers that are grown locally. It’s just like eating seasonal fruit and veg. It’s a great way to reduce the miles your flowers have travelled, support smaller, local (often family owned) farms and ensure you’re getting fresh flowers. I could go on about the importance of supporting local, rather than buying imported flowers but that’s a story for another time (stay tuned).

You can ask your florist what their definition of local is. For me, it’s anything that’s grown in Victoria and occasionally NSW. For some it might mean anything grown Australia wide + NZ or only what’s grown within a 100km radius. We are lucky here on the east coast that our climate allows us to grow a great variety of cut flowers and therefore have a tonne of amazing local growers to source from.

As a sustainable wedding florist my designs will always be guided by the seasons, which means they are always changing. One of my favourite things about my job is anticipating the flowers that will come into bloom, there’s always something to look forward to. It’s how I notice the passing of time and is my source of inspiration.

One of the questions I enjoy asking couples who are planning their wedding is if they have a favourite flower they want to include. They often apologise to me for not knowing the names of flowers. Please don’t worry! We don’t expect you to know names of all the pretty things, that’s our job. If you have some reference photos of things you like, your florist will be able to identify the flowers pictured.

While you don’t need to know the names and availability of the flowers, if you’d like to learn about what’s in season when, here’s a rough guide for you fellow Victorians. I once had a bride who changed her wedding date from March to November to coincide with peony season (a kindred spirit that one). So if you're keen to find out when local David Austins or ranunculus are in bloom so you can plan your wedding accordingly, stay tuned.

Summer

The dahlias begin! It’s no secret these are a favourite of mine. They usually start flowering after Christmas here in Melbourne. If you’re seeing dahlias earlier than this they’re most likely coming down from NSW.

There are also stunning water lilies, beautifully scented tubberrose and bouvadia around. This is also when we see pineapple lilies, gloriosa lilies, and the start of hydrangea season.

By late summer there’s gorgeous flowering gum everywhere, which you often see in roadside plantings. Sea holly, zinnias and sunflowers also appear.

Summer is a glorious time for garden roses too - these refer to anything that’s grown outdoors in paddocks and often include the much sought after, highly scented David Austin breeds.

Autumn

This is the best time for dahlias and the garden roses just keep getting better.

Zinnias, cosmos, foxglove, scabiosa, nigella, amaranthus, celosia, veronica and queen anne’s lace come into season bringing wonderful colours. Yep Autumn is pretty awesome.

The hydrangea starts to change into interesting colour variations and there’s some amazing foliage at this time too, not just autumn leaves but smokebush and copper beech too.

By mothers day we of course see the iconic chrysanthemum, otherwise known as disbud and asters. 

Winter 

There are so many scented blooms in winter -  jasmine, violets, boronia, freesia and daphne to name a few. This is also the time that all the bulb flowers start. Jonquils and daffodils are usually the first to appear, followed by tulips, hyacinth and anemones.  

Hellebores are a fantastic winter flower, with lots more colours and varieties recently becoming commercially available. 

In mid winter all the wattle arrives, bringing a burst of sunshine to gloomy days, along with other gorgeous natives. 

You’ll also find pieris japonica, privet berry and stock.

By late winter the blossom starts to come alive, magnificent magnolia and blushing bride protea. Enter Spring.

“Peonies bloom in November just for a short time - one of the reasons they are so special”

Spring

So many of my favourites come into season in Spring - lilac, sweet peas, delphinium, dogwood, snowball viburnum and poppies!

In early Spring there are also the later flowering bulb flowers such as freesias, more tulips and a wedding favourite - ranunculus (usually September for these).

From late winter into spring the rhododendron continues as well as stunning cymbidium orchids. These are a cooler climate orchid perfect for growing in Victoria. Although we import them from overseas at other times of the year late winter-spring is when you can buy local ones. 

Spring is also an amazing time for Australian natives. Some of my favourites include flannel flower, scented boronia, wax flower, waratah, kangaroo paw and banksia. 

Proteas and leaucadendron are often mistaken as Australian natives but actually originate from South Africa. Many of these are at their best in late winter - spring, including the colourful pincushion protea.

Peonies bloom in November just for a short time - one of the reasons they are so special (and expensive), so make the most of them! November is also when the beautifully scented garden roses begin.

This is in no way an exhaustive list, just some of my favourites and I’m sure I’ve forgotten some. We also have larger growers here in Victoria that use glasshouses to grow things year round.

So if you have a favourite flower you want to include in your big day or you’re just curious to find out what’s available when, hopefully this has given you a bit of insight. Basically there’s something gorgeous available in every season, leave it up to your florist and be guided by the seasons. Enjoy dreaming up those wedding flowers!