Congrats on your upcoming wedding. I can't answer all of your questions, but a few thoughts. Moss on top of your containers would be nice, here in the pacific northwest we have a native moss which is green and lush. You can put it on the day of or day before the wedding or put it on when youn plant. Irish moss would be pretty also. I'm not sure you are giving enough info, what sort of plants are you thinking? Annuals, sedums, very small shrubs....you mentioned alpine looking. To me, it makes me think of a bonsai look, a twisted knareled looking bush with leaves on the top. If you are doing annuals, the sky is the limit and your nurseryman would be the place to start. Getting them done now would be best and yes, leave them in an area of good light and some warmth or they will sit and not to a thing. Don't worry if you don't get the bloom you want. You can always buy flowers and attractivly add a blossom here and there. Roses, carnations, orchads, Alstrameria, dasies, are a few that would work well for this. Get a hold of some water picks,usually from a florist, and cut the stem short, put it in these tiny vials of water and push into the soil, attractivly. Another great florist trick is to get some dead twigs, they usually use curly willow, and have an airy artful wisp of that coming up out of the center. You see, do not stress over the planters if they are not perfect, because you can 'kicking it up a notch' when the time comes. You might even be able to puch tapers into them and have a soft glow of light as well. The law of table center pieces is to keep them low enough for conversation to go on over the tops. Canles and twigs don't typically cause a problem with people talking. If I am thinking alpine, I'm looking for 'less is better' Rocks, dead wood, sparse looking plants. Recreate what you see when you are out on your hikes. I hope that helps. Good luck, Smiles, D...

Not sure the variety, but you can find them in the fall at the big box stores. Plant them in full sun to make for earlier blooms. Mine are in morning shade with full sun from about 1pm on. There's white lantana, nicotiana, shasta daisies, and if you have lots of room, datura that will be blooming from here on out. Just be careful with white. Not all whites are made equally. petunias - store bought. Nicotiana and asiatic lilies. Direct sown datura - in March, first bloom just cracked today. The fragrance is intoxicating. Mostly a night bloomer, but can hold up in part shade for much of the day. There's also queen anne's lace, scabiosa, gerber daisies, and other annuals you can choose.

Hi Carrie, I think you could probably get calla lilies (Zantedeschia aethiopica or albomaculata) to bloom for you in time for your wedding, but it would be cutting it a little close. According to my records from last season I planted calla bulbs on April 20th and coincidentally I harvested my first stem on exactly June 6th, 2008. I think you could push them to bloom a week or so sooner if you planted them a little earlier, maybe April 1st, and then covered them with a cold frame or small plastic hoop tunnel to warm the soil up to at least 55 degrees to get them growing. They are also commonly grown in pots, so if you have some room indoors you should be able to get them blooming earlier in a warm house. If you really wanted to try to grow callas outdoors in time for your wedding it would be a good idea to try and find a gardener or botanical garden near you that leaves callas in the ground over winter and keeps good records. Ask them what day their first calla bloomed and on what date you could expect to cut enough for your wedding given that you plant them on April 1st. - Steve Here is a link that might be useful: Pacific Callas

Off the top of my head from my gardens in the south TC suburbs: Asiatic lilies ( I can say with certainty these were peak in my yard on June 26 this year - don't know about a few days earlier.) lady's mantle veronica Shasta Daisies siberian iris baptisia bleeding heart early blooming daylilies -not great for cut flowers hardy shrub roses spiderwort allium poppies delphinium foxglove sweet william and other dianthus family Japanese tree lilac? (It's a late bloomer, but can't remember if it will still be out that late in June) feverfew lupines campanulas/canterbury bells perennial salvias heuchera columbine goatsbeard rose campion clematis peonies? (might be done by that late) spring-blooming phlox coreopsis Seed-grown annuals (better if grown in a greenhouse and transplanted in May): snapdragons pansies bachelor's buttons stock zinnias cosmos baby's breath silene