Is this a good deal? Growing flowers for wedding

abby1234519

We are growing our own ranunculus for our wedding as they cost quite a lot to buy and I cleared out a nice large patch of ground last year for this purpose. I have good soil, good drainage etc. So I've spent ages trying to find some bulbs that aren't expensive but aren't cheap either.

I think this is the best I can come up with

http://www.dutchbulbs.co.uk/plant-0005797/ranunculus-pink/

I've never heard of them and obviously the cost is quite low. Any opinions or perhaps someone can find a better place to look. There is vat to add on top and if the order is less than £50 then there is an additional charge of £4. There is also carriage of about £7.

We need a large amount, I really need to grow a couple of hundred!

malmesbury_2

I would say they are a pretty good buy ( you could probably find a bit cheaper from less well known wholesalers) but they are a very well known and a reliable wholesaler and far cheaper than you'll find if any normal garden centre. Also they let you buy relatively small quantities from wholesale as some wholesalers have a minimum order value of £500 or so.

If it were me I'd go for It , I've always found them reliable to buy from

Good luck with your growing and the wedding!

peter_the_piper

I think I would save up the amount needed to buy the flowers as well. If , for some reason, you need to buy them then its not a shock. If you don't need to buy them then you have a bonus.

abby1234519

I've budgeted enough to buy the bulbs AND to buy the flowers cut from a wholesalers just in case. I need 4 bouquets which I think is about 40 flowers each plus flowers for tables so I am thinking 300 bulbs! However I have read that you should really go over the top because clearly not every bulb could flower etc. I've dug up so much of my garden in preparation for this. Better hope I like ranunculus enough to have it in my garden every year

wellused

Are you confident that you can produce the quality of blooms that you require at the exact time that you require them, it would be an awful shame if the flowers looked amazing two weeks before the big day but were going over on the big day?

DigForVictory

Poster has a point, but what a *wonderful* idea to grow your own bouquet & table decorations!
However it turns out OP, I really hope it works for you because the whole idea is glorious.
(My wedding flowers were a mix of college, home & aunts' gardens, but we wimped on the bouquet - should have stuck to our guns & kept it all special-site-specific!)

abby1234519

wellused wrote: »

Are you confident that you can produce the quality of blooms that you require at the exact time that you require them, it would be an awful shame if the flowers looked amazing two weeks before the big day but were going over on the big day?

Yes and no

I know roughly when I need to start planting in order to have them bloom for the wedding So I will be planting them in stages, so I will start at -2 weeks then at -1 weeks then at week zero and then continue +1 and + 2. Hence why I need to make sure I buy a large quantity of bulbs. I only need 120 but I am probably going to buy 400!

wellused

Have you also considered the possibility of drought, hurricane, heavy rain, lack of sun, insect attack?

HelenRachel

I think that's a lovely idea! We weren't brave enough to grown our wedding flowers but spent the summer before our february wedding deheading mums roses and drying the pettels for confetti after seeing it advertised for £12 a pint! Biggest saving we made as it was all free

abby1234519

HelenRachel wrote: »

I think that's a lovely idea! We weren't brave enough to grown our wedding flowers but spent the summer before our february wedding deheading mums roses and drying the pettels for confetti after seeing it advertised for £12 a pint! Biggest saving we made as it was all free

Ooooohh I actually have a few rose bushes in my garden, depends how long it takes to dry however. And I doubt I'd make enough confetti but probably two cups full!

abby1234519

wellused wrote: »

Have you also considered the possibility of drought, hurricane, heavy rain, lack of sun, insect attack?

Drought - doubt it
Hurricane - Sheltered garden but obviously if PROPER hurricane struck I would have other things to worry about over the flowers!
Heavy Rain - not so much of an issue, I have "plant umbrellas" that my mother gave me. I can always plant them in pots but I have very good drainage.
lack of sun - always a risk but I don't see it being too much of an issue, my garden gets sun all day and my flowers generally do okay in mediocre weather
insect attack - I will attack the insects with everything I have.

Like I said, I have enough in my budget just in case this goes wrong and I need to buy the flowers wholesale. If I can pull this off it will be lovely, if I can't well I'm sure I will have flowers the year after!