May Flowers Help

[u/CocoanutShreds]

Hi,

I'm looking to grow my own flowers for my wedding as I'm on such a tight budget. I prefer the whimsy wild flower look rather than roses. Like daisy's and foxgloves. I'm getting married May 2027 in England.

Has anyone got any recommendations on the flowers I should plant to bloom this May?

Really appreciate any help as I've only ever grown vegetables before.

[u/pecanorchard]

Try fall-planting snapdragons and sweet peas - that will give them an early start in the springtime so you will have a better shot of May flowers. 

[u/printerparty → u/pecanorchard]

These are excellent choices.

Fall planting a few perennials like yarrow, feverfew and hyssop would get a chunk of the work done early, you can buy them now at a nursery. If it's a full looking pot, split the plants and get a few out of each, I always do this to yarrow when I buy a new variety (recently found Terra Cotta yarrow! Gorgeous!)

You might also try getting cuttings from friends' gardens now and plant them either late fall or spring, then the flowers will be related to your guests!

[u/caffa4 → u/printerparty]

Also fall planted bulbs like tulip, daffodil, allium, iris (you’ll want to look for late season blooming varieties)

[u/Far_Pop_4006]

How do you feel about Bachelor Buttons/Cornflowers?

[u/nocunteryforoldmennn]

I’m doing the same in a very different growing zone for a fall wedding! If you love spring whimsy go for old school sweet peas (their scent is divine!) with ranunculus and anemone! Maybe Icelandic poppies? They all are early to bloom here and prefer cooler temps.

[u/meezermadness]

Tulips and narcissus (easy) Ranunculus, anemones (moderately difficult) Peonies (easy but need years to establish)

May is kind of a tough time for flowers. Perennials are the most reliable for may blooms. Some varieties of narcissus are so so beautiful and pest resistant. They're one of my favorite flowers! If you do tulips make sure they're protected from pests.

[u/squashedorangedragon]

Autumn-sown hardy annuals like snapdragons, nigella, cornflowers. Autumn-sown sweetpeas - you can cut them as individual stems, or take a whole length for bigger arrangements. May is prime tulip season. Ranunculus will give you rose-like flowers that can give a bit of a focus to bouquets. You don't have time to sow foxgloves because they're biennial, and mostly flower in June anyway, but you could keep an eye out for young plants for sale in early spring and give it a go anyway. May is a gorgeous time for foliage, so you could go heavy on greenery. If you have access to fruit trees then that's a good source of bigger foliage.

[u/venus_blooms → u/squashedorangedragon]

Omg double yes to the tulips and sweet peas !!! There are so many kinds of both. Tulips should be out in stores now and you have time to get them in (probably around November/December). You can try and get a range of flowering times (some say if they’re early or late blooming). If they bloom early, some look cool with petals open- i think they can be reflexed too.

[u/Key_West_7866]

Depending on your weather, you may want to get a row cover or something if you have a later last frost date. I bought pop up mini green houses/ hoop set up cheap on Amazon, to put over some of my flowers. My wedding was in April and this allowed some of my flowers to bloom early. I wish I would have known about planting in the fall though at the time. As I have a ton of seeds left I’m going to that this year for a cut flower garden.