Growing the plants has been good fun so far. I hope they flower at the right time, but by using some bulbs that flower Feb/March and some that flower March/April, I’m confident my wedding on March 15 will have at least some blooms no matter whether spring comes early or late! They have all got little spikes on them now so they are certainly on their way.

For you it should hopefully be easier, as many more things bloom in August. Good luck with it. And you can always borrow things! Everyone has nice houseplants and your friends might be willing to loan out their lovely conservatory plants. I got a very nice fig tree on Freecycle the other day and I plan to take that along. My parents house is like a jungle and they have also offered to lend me their plants to brighten up the wedding hall.

Ivy has been more tricky, because we only thought of growing it in late August or early September. As it does most of its growing in the spring and early summer, we were a bit late starting really. Our trays of cuttings have grown a little and put down more roots, but not as much as I would have hoped. I think for your wedding in the summer though, it should be fine – you have the whole growing season to get it going and everything I read suggests that this will do the trick! I copy below a passage I read on a gardening forum:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/vagard/msg021155421254.html

‘There are very few plants easier to start from cuttings than English Ivy. Usually, if you have an established stand you can get into it and find plenty of pieces that are already trying to send out rootlets. If you can lay hands on these, just stick them in dirt or potting soil and success is virtually guranteed. You can also start rootless cuttings from ivy quite easily.

‘Starting ivy from cuttings works best in spring and early summer. If you’re very eager to get started now, you can also start ivy cuttings quite easily in a glass, jar or bottle in a sunny window. [When starting cuttings in soil, I prefer to keep them in a partly shady to full shade area]. Keep an eye on any ivy indoors, it frequently falls victim to spider mites… which are easy to control with soap and water so long as you are vigilant. If you’re trying to fill up pots quickly, don’t be bashful about putting 20 or more cuttings in a single large (e.g. 5 gallon pot).

‘That being said, I …and many other gardeners have come to view English ivy as an invasive weed. In containers, great, no problem. But once it escapes it can take over a landscape, dwelling or worse yet, unmonitored areas of wilderness. Then again, what other plant takes full shade, full sun, is drought tolerant, a vigorous climber, is evergreen and adds classic charm to stone and structure?

‘Good luck!’

How are the table pots going? I’m getting married in August this year, and don’t want to buy cut flowers, which have probably been grown in unethical conditions, tended by poorly paid workers who are exposed to all the chemials used, and then flown half way round the world, only to die! I too want to have living, flowing plants in pretty pots for the tables, and I love Ivy. How easy has it been to get your own growing?

Best wishes
Cindy