Parks and Recreation: Oregon-Inspired Wedding Bouquets

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Published:

Spring/Summer 2013

Crater Lake (above)
The cobalt blue waters of Crater Lake—the deepest lake in the United States—enchant hundreds of thousands of visitors each year who come to peer into its depths. How better to celebrate endless love than Portland florist Punch’s ribbon-wrapped creation featuring anemone, scabiosa flowers and pods, celosia, ranunculus, dahlia, deer fern, Concord grapes, beauty berry, hydrangea, dusty miller, smoke bush, ninebark, pinecones, Queen Anne’s lace, millet, calla lily and brunia berry.

Wedding bouquets inspired by Oregon

Deschutes River Valley (above)
Just over the mountain and through the woods from the evergreen Willamette Valley, the Deschutes River Valley of central Oregon boasts high-desert beauty that’s a favorite for weddings. North Portland florist Pamela Zsori of Ink & Peat brought together dried orange celosia reminiscent of a central Oregon sunset with a variety of succulents, scabiosa pods, green feather celosia, gray brunia, millet, grasses, burgundy scabiosa, globe thistle and bonsai eucalyptus that echo the arid landscape.

Wedding bouquets inspired by Oregon

Mount Hood National Forest (above)
The majestic waterfalls of the Mount Hood National Forest inspired Corvallis’ Celebration Florals that combined Northwest native ferns, snowberries, delphinium, roses, ranunculus, celosia, scabiosa, hydrangea and florist bark all wrapped in a cascading blue silk ribbon for a serene arrangement. Co-owner Carol Young suggests that this type of flowing bouquet be held downward at an angle and not straight up and down, that is, “like a lollipop.”

Wedding bouquets inspired by Oregon

Umatilla National Forest (above)
Located in the northeast corner of Oregon, the Umatilla National Forest first beckoned gold miners to the area during the Gold Rush of the 1850s and continues to entice hikers, rafters and outdoor enthusiasts to its long and lazy rivers and hills. As a floral homage to the fertile grasslands of the forest, Northwest Portland’s Sammy’s Flowers designed a lush composition that combines Marie Therese and Yves Piaget garden roses with green millet, fiber-optic grass, black calla lilies, black begonia foliage, smoke bush, and poke salad set into a cactus skeleton vase.

Wedding bouquets inspired by Oregon

Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest (above)
Fields of red apples, vineyards ripe with purple wine grapes, world-famous blue cheese—these are just a few of the foodie delights that have made Southern Oregon and nearby Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest a gourmet destination and the inspiration behind Distinctive Designs by Denice’s bouquet. The Salem florist combined classic red roses, lavender freesia, and fanciful fiddlehead ferns atop a bed of maidenhair fern with a vintage ribbon wrapping that calls to mind the visual and gastronomic wonders of the area. 

Wedding bouquets inspired by Oregon

Siuslaw National Forest (above)
Extending from the central Oregon coast to the mid-Willamette Valley, the Siuslaw National Forest holds all of the delights of the ocean, dunes and flora found in the lush pine forests of the coastal mountains. Kay Dietl of Milwaukie’s Flowers for You mixed the royal blues of delphinium and passion flower with the sea foam and rusty browns of kangaroo paws and cactus skeletons, brunia and montbretia pods for a composition that echoes Siuslaw’s diverse coastal ecology.

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