Pallet Garden - the end of the tale

There have been a lot of people reading about my pallet garden effort on this blog, so I thought it only fair to finish the story...

I planted the garden in August last year (which is late winter in Melbourne), and  was in  a bit of a hurry as I was going overseas for a month the first week in September. I left it in the care of my fellow workers in my absence.

When I came back, it was flourishing - but no-one was eating the lettuce, and it was going to seed ! By then it was spring, and the vertical garden was getting more and more sun, it being on a north-facing wall, and needed more and more water, which I couldn't apply becuase it was so leafy and couldn't get the water in.

Then came summer, and it was HOT. The garden was in the sun. Against a brick wall. All day. 12 hours a day.

I gave up.

My advice to anyone planning a garden is this:

You are supposed to leave the pallet horizontal, once you have planted, to allow the root system to develop, and preferably in the right direction. I didn't do this. I planted it when it was attached to the wall. Wrong ! Be patient.

Put it somewhere where it gets a couple of hours of full sun, but not all day. It will dry out too quickly -  in the southern hemisphere, anyway.

If I did it again, I would put a piece or two of garden hose going to various lengths within the planter, so that you could pour water down the hose, and it would be guaranteed to reach the lower levels. Do this when you are filling it with soil.

It was fun while it lasted, but I don't really feel inspired to do it again - at least not in this location.

An Autumn Wedding in Green and White

Usually, I am approached about wedding flowers two or three months before The Big Day. The dresses are chosen, the venues are booked, the theme has been selected, and now attention can turn to the type and colour of flowers.

The last couple of months has been unusual, in that 2 couples have come to discuss their flowers over a YEAR in advance ! Talk about organised ! I can't really be too much help, apart from giving them some hints about what they should take into consideration, showing them some flowers and colours, and giving them a ballpark figure for their budget.

At the other end of the spectrum, Brian and Brooke came to see me just 3 weeks in advance. Nearly all decisions had been made, and they had a pretty good idea of what they wanted - at least, an overall feel.

The flowers arrive !

The brief was:

• natural looking table arrangements and bouquets
• in green and white
• some texture.

The wedding ceremony was taking place at Siglo, on a sort of rooftop bar, half-covered to provide at least some shelter.

These were the little 'rustic' pots we had on the cocktail tables.

The reception was at Alto, which is the top floor of the GPO. Quite different in style and mood, we used similar flowers, but in a more elegant presentation. We had some long, white ceramic containers...

and between them, some arrangements on pewter-coloured cake stands, providing some height.

We were able to move the rustic pots to the reception, and placed a couple of them on the bar, next to some taller arrangements...

Brooke and her six bridesmaids had very similar posies, except that Brooke's had some dirty pink roses, called Inner Secret, which hinted at  the colour of the sash on her dress.



I can't wait to see some of Brian and Brooke's official photos. Thank you for allowing me to be part of your wedding celebrations !