Long about this time during the annual planting season, I start to wish for a wedding, or other event.  I really enjoy doing those landscapes that are just for the moment. Its not really landscape-its theatre. And there is not nearly so much dirt involved.    This wedding I organized around two kinds of trees-this a willow on standard. Having a gray green foliage, and a delicate breezy texture, it was perfect for an allee to celebrate the arrival of the bridal party.

Planted in gray concrete pots, and whitewashed with a paint used to shade greenhouse glass,  the trees were “underplanted” in montecasino and roses.  Montecasino has the wispy field daisy look  of perennial boltonia.  The white rose is called Hollywood-it is my favorite wedding white rose.  It opens flat, and lasts for days.  A pergola I once covered in Hollywood roses without any water or oasis looked fresh 3 days later; even though the temperature was very chilly, that still speaks to great staying power.

Making another kind of welcome-gerbera daisies for the rooms of the guests from out of town. These flowers go beyond their beauty, and seem to express the happiness of the event.

The tent set up outdoors had a white walk sprayed onto the lawn with athletic field paint.  On either side of the door into the tent, more pots.  These pots were “planted” with Coralburst crabs, whose branches and trunks are painted white.  A grower who had lost a number of them was happy they were going to be used for something.  The mother of the bride greatly admires contemporary art and design, and very much liked the sculptural aspect of these trees.

The cocktail tables had their simple bouquets-some tall, some short.  Every bouquet was oriented around a particular color, rather than a mix of colors.  This has a contemporary feeling as well.

Each table had low flowers closely color related, and a canopy of a single coralburst crab.  Tablecloths in subtle and varying colors were complemented with napkins tied in double faced satin in various shades of green. It was a  fresh and contemporary version of a garden wedding reception, including the paper globe lanterns hung from the roof ridge of the tent. My favorite detail-the fern curls to which the table numbers are attached.

The fountain outdoors was decorated with a series of paper lanterns; we built metal stands to hold them, and the votive candles inside them, just off the surface of the water.  Weddings in gardens have a special romance about them.