OKAY I KNOW BY NOW YOU WOULD HAVE SPOTTED THE GLARING ERROR IN THE IMAGE ABOVE - YES THOSE ARE FLOWERS YOU CAN SEE.
MY APOLOGIES, BUT THERE ARE 4 TYPES OF FOLIAGE HIDDEN IN THAT BOUQUET NAMELY; ITALIAN RUSCUS, ISRAELI RUSCUS, LEMON LEAF AND EUCALYPTUS AS WELL AS SOME GREEN BERRIES (HYPERICUM).
FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE BLOG I'LL TRY AND KEEP IT ALL ABOUT FOLIAGE AND NO FLOWERS.
FOLIAGE ONLY BOUQUETS
A wedding bouquet consisting of purely foliage is perfectly acceptable and can be just as strikingly beautiful, with interesting textures, though probably not quite as colourful as the 'usual' bouquet.
How can this be so? You may ask. My answer is; Because leaves come in all shapes, shades and sizes, also just like flowers their unique attributes each bring something different to a bouquet.
The image below was taken from Leo Patrone (Photography)
Above is a beautiful bouquet distinctly devoid of flowers but by no means lacking in beauty and colour due to carefully selected foliage and berries. Texture and variety of colour is on point.
Euonymous, pittosporum and Poppy seed heads are some of the interesting pieces of greenery included in this particular bouquet.
The creator of this bouquet has successfully allowed it to maintain an air of delicacy and there is not a flower in sight.
Below is the 'Foliage Only Bride's Bouquet' which I created for my daughter this year; it consists of Magnolia leaves, Leather Leaf Fern, Italian Ruscus, Israeli Ruscus, Spider's Web Aralia Leaves, Eucalyptus and a sprig or two of dried bleached leaves.
Browse through the list below and you will find a long, though limited list of the foliage available to you. If you are planning, or just tentatively considering a wedding bouquet which excludes flowers but embraces wonderfully interesting foliage and maybe even the odd berry or two, this is for you.
Please don't overlook the fact that you will get leaves which come in lovely shades of purples and reds, plus those which are variegated or spotted in lovely yellow and cream hues.
PLUS POINT: MANIPULATION AND WIRING
One point to remember when working with leaves is that lots of them are quite robust, therefore with the correct gauge of wire you can manipulate (curl, twist or roll) most leaves and keep them in position without any discolouration and minimal damage.
FOLIAGE LIST
Aralia (Fatsia Japonica)
Aspidistra Leaf
Banana Leaf
Caladium
Dracaena (Green or variegated leaves)
Dusty Miller (cineraria is a dusty grey leaf)
Eucalyptus (Baby Blue)
Eucalyptus (Silver Dollar)
Grasses (Lily Grass, Bear Grass and much more)
Ivy (Green of variegated)
Kentia Palm
Leatherleaf Fern
Monsterra (Cheese Plant)
Myrtle
Palm Leaves (Several types)
Pistache
Pittosporum Green or variegated)
Red Cordyline
Ruscus (Israeli Ruscus, Hard Ruscus)
Ruscus (ItalianRuscus, Soft Ruscus)
Salal (lemon leaf)
Updated 8th August 2020
Grevillea leaves are lovely and bring a unique look to a bouquet, and I have decided that they should also be added to this list of foliage.
The above list is but a snippet of the variety of greenery you could consider for your flower free bride’s bouquet.
Arcimboldo created some unforgettable works of art with fruit and vegetables, here's hoping you will with your foliage bouquet.
PC Creations wishes you every success with your wedding flowers. Let us see those pictures.