Peony season is here!
PEONIES.
Easily the most asked for wedding flowers apart from roses. They are showy, romantic and simply gorgeous. No wonder they are one of the brides’ favourites!
Although their season is quite short, if you are getting married between May and early July, you are in luck.
You can choose from pale pink, dark pink, burgundy, white, coral, sometimes lemony-yellow colours, and they are all stunning.
My personal favourite is Coral Charm. The petals change their colours from vivid coral to cream as the day goes on, and they are just so magical to watch.
Here I have “Coral Sunset”, “Red Charm” and “Gardenia”. ( They are from Zest at New Covent Garden Flower Market)
Day 1 they looked like this.
Then Day 3…
They double/triple in size when they are open.
Day 5. I adore how they look now!
One of the hardest things for us florists is when to buy for events and weddings.
For gift bouquets, we buy the freshest ones from the market so the recipients can enjoy them at home for a long time. But for event work, we have to buy them in advance so they are perfectly open for the big day. The problem is, sometimes they come in like golf balls and take 7 days to open; sometimes they come slightly open and we end up wrapping individual stems with newspaper or nets to keep them cool so they don’t open up too much before the event.
When we order flowers for events, we don’t know whether they are going to come as really tight buds or slightly more open (often it’s a mixture) , so it’s a very tricky business! You will see me moving buckets of peonies from A to B throughout the day during their season. Stressful!
Despite their diva-like behaviour, I still love them. So don’t hesitate to ask for them for your wedding after reading this!
If you buy peonies from your local flower shop (please do; they need your support more than ever, and the quality is much better than supermarkets’) , just take off excess leaves and cut them at an angle before putting them in a vase. If their heads are covered in sticky sap, you can wash it off with water to encourage them to open. Enjoy!
