Awwww, cut flowers are not wasteful, but a very important renewable resource! The crops are typically cut from beds that are grown as perennials (the mother plants) that keep producing for some time. Not any more wasteful than you cutting flowers from your garden and bringing them inside. ;-) Or you growing a whole batch of annuals that die in the first frost. Renewable, just like a field of corn that is cut for feed in the summer, and reseeded the following year.

Just wanted to help you 'rethink' that wasteful part!

A few weeks from now 'might' be a tough time to find good looking annuals and/or perennials in the garden center. I'd begin shopping right now to snatch up what you like. Some of the perennial salvias might do well for your purposes. There are also some lovely dark blue or purple torenia. Petunias come in purple.

If you are not an experienced plant person, perhaps you should take someone who is with you. You'll need someone to pot things up properly into the right kind of potting medium and keep them strong, healthy, and blooming until the BIG day!

Best wishes!

Congratulations!

Are you familiar with Gerbera Daisy? They are beautiful with lots of lovely color too. It's commonly sold here
in Garden and Home Improvement centers.

Another very-very special plant is Jasminum sambac. Both should continue to bloom until fall in our area.

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Gerbera Daisy purple??? Not that I have seen!
I am guessing you want plants to put on the tables rather than a "flower arrangement"....and perhaps something the guests can take home.
How about pots of purple petunias? You can buy some leggy ones on sale now, pot them up well, cut them back, pemper them and they should be lovely in about a month....
But you still are dealing with an 'If" factor....
Think about buying cut flowers if the budget allows.
Linda C

The more i garden....the more i learn bout life....sometimes we have to live for the moment.....cut flowers are not a waste.....they teach us to stop and enjoy the beauty of now...not exactly sure what your idea is on the pots..single flowers or groups in one pot...good luck and wishing you the best on your wedding day.

Another thought...for my own wedding 4 years ago, I worked with a florist who allowed me to special order bundles of the flowers that I wanted at a very good price. I made my own bouquet.

For the reception afterwards, I contacted the services of a local 'wild flower' grower. She specialized in gorgeous vases of whatever was blooming at the time in her large backyard production beds.

If you live near a Sam's or Costco you will find that you CANNOT beat their prices for fresh cut flowers. I know for a fact that they would work with you on a special order.

That's a tough one - I'm blanking on anythign that would truly be purple that time of year, cut flower or potted. I guess some of the roses are a lavender or purple shade, but my garden is already transitioning into the yellow phase at that time of year. Some of the lavender phlox, I guess, but that's hardly a wedding flower.

I was recently at a very fancy bridal shower and they used potted plants as the favor. They planted 2 pansies in each terra cotta pot and placed at each place setting. It was gorgeous. There were flowers everywhere.

You can buy pansies in a light and a dark purple and they look great together. Arrange maybe 4 per pot in a circle around the rim. Alternate with something that will cascade down the side of the pot like bacopa or creeping jenny.

Then I would suggest you put some taller plants in the middle. Definately spikes or something grassy looking and these summer snapdragons and nemesia are great.

That website I just linked to has a button in the main navigation for "combinations". It has 20 pages of photos and tells you what all the plants are in the arrangements. There are some great ones.

I think you have a great idea. BUT Plant these pots NOW and just leave them in the sun and water frequently. This will give them several weeks to grow into more substantial centerpieces.

Congratulations!

Congratulations

I would go with purple pansies or violas - they are such happy flowers to set the mood for a happy occasion.

Fern

Thinking outside the 'annuals box' I'd suggest African Violets. They come in real purples. There are other house plants that are purple as well.

On the other hand, you can always use white blossoms with purple dress-ups for the pots.

Nell

Hey! Now THERE'S a good idea! African Violets, how elegant! She could work with a local florist to order just the color she wants.

Heliotrope is purple and smells nice. Alyssum is real nice and you could do a purple and white together and the smell is heavenly.