BUNCH OF THE MONTH –
WILD CHRISTMAS FOREST

It’s all things Christmas at the moment, so we couldn’t let our Bunch of the Month miss the party. What a great opportunity to use such a unique combination of florals and flowers that aren’t often used during other times of the year.

Rather than a traditional, super bright and in-your-face look, we’ve gone for a bunch with more calm, rich and natural tones; using shades of white, green and red as per the traditional Christmas colours. Our Bunch of the Month, in line with our Grounds floral style, has a wild Christmas forest feel.

Large and bursting with distinct and varied foliage, the forest is made pretty with delicate pockets of white flowers and an accent of colour with the extravagant centrepiece of Queen Protea flowers.

Here’s a breakdown of the elements we’ve used and how we’ve used them:

Queen Protea

This ancient beauty dates back 300 million years and is a member of the oldest family of flowers on earth. So, you’ll need to speak up when talking to this one, she’s had a long-lived and glorious reign.

With fuzzy pink petals and a black tipped centre, the Queen Protea has a large, bulbous flower, sure to stand out and take the lead when composing a bunch.

The Queen really brings this bunch alive, with that much-needed pop of colour and sophistication, creating a focal point that completes the wild Christmas palette.

Queen Anne’s Lace

Often know as ‘Wild Carrot’ – like the cultivated carrot has an edible wild root.

The flowers bloom in a cluster made up of many small white flowers and as the name would suggest, the flowers resemble lace; typically blooming from late Spring until mid-Autumn.

In this bunch, I’ve used them as one of my white elements which brings a prettiness and texture to a bunch that otherwise has a lot of larger and bolder leaf shapes. Whether an Aussie Christmas or a Northern Hemisphere Christmas, we always think of snow and what better representative of snow than this pretty little beauty!

Buddleia or butterfly bush

Many species of the Buddleia are common garden plants often know as the Butterfly Bush. Similar to the Queen Anne’s Lace, they are a cluster of tiny white flowers, however, these form around a longer light green stem of leaves.

In this bunch they are almost growing out of the bunch, spiking up out of the centre as though they’ve emerged from the undergrowth in search of light, only to be sprinkled with snow… I should write poetry.

Hypericum Berries – Green and white

These guys are very popular in wedding bouquets and come in colours ranging from white, yellow, red, green, pink and black. In this bunch, I’ve used green and white. Again, obligatory Christmas colours!

With their oval shape, the berries add another variety of texture and really the give the bunch a ‘complete’ feel. When you look at the rest of the bunch, the flowers and the leaves all catch the light in a similar way, but the berries’ waxy surface and shape catch the light differently, making the bunch even more dynamic.

Copper Beech

Copper Beech, also known as Purple Beech has a beautiful, deep plum-wine coloured leaf.

These are slow growing deciduous trees, which means they lose their leaves through winter. So when Spring comes around and the leaves begin to grow, I’m very excited to get my hands on these!

In this bunch, they add real depth and body to the composition as a great filler. That wild Christmas forest feel is brought home strong with this addition!

Blue Spruce Pine

What’s Christmas without a Christmas Tree? And what’s the most beautiful and inspiring tree of them all? Surely that has to be the Blue Spruce!

This addition of foliage takes away any doubt that this wasn’t a Christmas bunch. The silver blue needle like leaves of the pine ensure that this bunch is exploding with so many different textures. I don’t know about you but I’d love the opportunity to go for a walk in this forest!

Leyland Cypress

Often referred to simply as Leylandii, this variety of pine is very common and fast growing, it’s often used a lot in Australia to create hedges and screens.

The softer green pine foliage can be seen filling out this bunch on the back left. It brings a brighter tone of filler foliage and texturally pops against the flat leaves of the Beech, the round berries and the delicate flowers.

We’re open all the way up to Christmas Eve, so if you’re thinking of styling your own bunch, come down and ask our advice; we’d love to hear what colour palettes you’ve taken your inspiration from and what beautiful festive designs you’ve created for your home!

Hashtag #thegrounds and show us your creations!