Growing Your Own Centerpieces

Ok, I am not quite “Little Miss Green Thumbs” yet…but I am working towards it. My last post about the cost of flowers inspired me to write this one. Another great way of saving money for wedding flowers is to grow them yourself. Of course, this is easier if you are already a great gardener. For the rest of us, I don’t think this is a mission impossible task. We just might have to leave enough time for trial and error and maybe grow hardier plants (that don’t need sun or water). There has to be some of those out there.

The cost of growing your wedding flowers is minimal. You just need to purchase some pretty pots (greatest expense), soil, seed, and water. You can calculate what your time is worth too, but I don’t think you will be reimbursed. If growing a centerpiece from seed sounds intimidating, you can go to a gardening center to buy plants and flowers that have already started growing. The cost is a little more but still a lot lower than purchasing fresh flower arrangements.

I think the easiest centerpiece to grow would be wheat grass. (It has to be easy. It has the word “grass” in it.) For those that don’t know what wheat grass is, it is the grass that Jugo Juice cuts, and juices into a little shot glass. It is deep green in color and taste like what you imagine it to be...like drinking grass.

Gardenguides.com provides some tips on growing your own wheat grass. After choosing a container, fill it to about 1” below the top of the rim with pre-moistened soil, compost or potting mix. Make sure whatever you chose doesn't contain any artificial fertilizers or chemicals. (This is important especially if you plan on juicing the wheat grass after the wedding.) Chose a food grade organic seed that is meant for sprouting. Cover the top of the container with wheat seed, press them into the soil, cover the seeds with a light layer of potting mix or soil, and water. The soil should be kept moist at all times. An easy solution would be to cover the container with a plastic bag or film.

Now that may sound like a lot of work but you should see sprouts emerge in about 3-4 days and in 7-10 days it should be the perfect height for a centerpiece. If you don’t want to leave it right up to the wedding date, grow it in advance and “mow” it right before the wedding.

Here are some inspiration pictures. The first two pictures are from The Knot. I don’t know the source of the last one. (If you know, please contact me and I will make the appropriate reference.)