Summer Blessings

Happy June! Our weather has been glorious, with beautiful spring-like weather. As Southerners, we know the humidity is coming soon, but we will enjoy it for as long as possible.

Today, I am joining blogging friends and fellow table stylists for a summer tablescape blog hop sponsored by Rita @Panoply.  Twenty total bloggers are participating. Thank you, Rita, for organizing these hops.

I've set the table on the patio today using my favorite colors, which are blue and white. I've added a little green color and texture using Bordello Pinheiro chargers.

I chose an Asian planter with a footed saucer for the centerpiece container. 

Hydrangeas are my favorite flower, and cutting them from my garden brings me much joy.

Johnson Brothers Blue willow plates coordinate with the blue and white floral tablecloth and say welcome summer. Officially summer begins June 21, but everyone will agree that summer activities begin when the kids are out of school.

You can see a little of my garden in this photo. I have a few white and pink hydrangeas but mostly blue. The last time I counted, I had over 80 hydrangeas of various kinds.  With the extreme cold at Christmas, I was afraid it would affect the hydrangeas, and grateful I did not lose any.

I do have a story to share about the Blue Willow plates. In the late '80s, we lived in Fairbanks, Alaska. There was no Amazon, or eBay, then. Southern Living magazine offered a mail-order sale on these dishes, and what a great blessing that was for a young army wife who loved dishes and did not have a source. I am still enjoying them. According to Google, The Blue Willow pattern's exact origin is unknown; however, it's believed it was first made in England during the late 1700s. There are conflicting stories about who created the pattern, too-some claim that Josiah Spode invented it. While others say, John Turner did.

There are key motifs in the Blue Willow pattern. These include willow trees, pine trees, the bridge with three men on it, a fence, a boat, a teahouse or pagoda, and two birds in flight.

Bamboo cutlery adds more texture and contrast. Blue goblets from an estate sale complete the tablescape.

This is my favorite napkin fold. It is Carolyn Roehm's signature napkin fold. 

"All which we behold is full of blessings." William Wordsmith

I wish all my followers and table stylist friends a restful and happy summer. I named this post "Summer Blessings" because I am thankful to enjoy a slower pace. What summer activities do you have planned?

Click on the links below to view all the summer tablescapes. Each blogger would love to hear from you.

Panoply - Up, Up and Away With Summer Dining

Home is Where the Boat Is - Hydrangeas and Butterflies

Everyday Living - Welcoming Summer With A Garden Tablescape

Life and Linda - A Boho Alfresco Tablescape

Corner of Plaid and Paisley - Summer Plaid and Polka Dot Picnic

Living With Thanksgiving - Summer Blessings

Debbee's Buzz - Alfresco Bee Theme Table and Florals

The Painted Apron - Boats, Floats and Fish!

The Little Yellow Corner Store - Pucker Up Lemony Tablescape - It is Time to Have a Bee-utiful Day!

The Cat's Whiskerz - A summer picnic tablescape for Canada Day

Pandora's Box - Summer Blues

Me and My Captain - Florida Blue Crab Summer Tablescape

From My Carolina Home - Welcome Summer Tablescapes

The Bookish Dilettante - Summer Tablescape:  Old Glory
My Thrift Store Addiction - Summer Picnic Brunch under the Texas Mountain Laurel

Red Cottage Chronicles - Lemon Tablescape for Summer

Hyacinths for the Soul - Long May She Wave

Celebrating Everyday Life - Create a Chic Seashell Table Setting This Summer

Dinner at Eight - A Summer of Colors

Bluesky at Home - Pretty Table for a Ladies Dinner Party

Wishing you many summer blessings! By the way, the as I close this post, the humidity has arrived!

🌿🌺🌿🌺🌿🌺🌿🌺🌿🌺🌿🌺🌿🌺🌿🌺🌿🌺🌿🌺🌿🌺🌿🌺🌿

Summer Celebrations

Welcome to my garden and a tablescape set just for you. Summer has not officially arrived on the calendar yet but our weather in south Alabama says summer has arrived. My garden is shady so I invite you to have a seat and let's visit. 

I am participating in a Summer Tablescape Blog Hop sponsored by Rita @ Panoply. There are 23 table stylists participating in this blog hop. You can find the links to their tablescapes at the bottom of this post.  Please leave them a comment so they will know you enjoyed their post.

My hydrangeas are blooming and I had a delightful time cutting blooms and making an arrangement for this small table in my garden. 

It has been a number of years since I had enough hydrangeas to make a large arrangement and still have  other blooms left in the garden to enjoy. I look forward to my hydrangeas blooming all year.

 This tortoiseshell vase is one of a pair given to me by my daughter-in-love's mother. I wish she could be here and have a cup of tea with me. I used the tortoiseshell vase in another tablescape here.

The cheetah dishes are fun to use and work nicely with the tortoiseshell vase. I've been amazed at how many accent colors work well with these cute dishes from Hobby Lobby.

The checked tablecloth was also a gift, from my husband's aunt when she downsized. I'm getting a lot of use from the things she passed on to me. Thank you, Joyce. I loved the pattern and color play it added to the tablescape.

 The bamboo flatware is new for me. I have secretly wanted some for years and when I found them on sale I gave in. I love the variety and texture it added. I keep learning that all the elements of design each play an important part in design but I think texture really makes a difference. The vintage brass teapot is another example of variety and texture pleasing the eye.

This little bistro set from Lowes bought years ago normally resides on my porch but I could not resist a photo op in front of the hydrangeas. These hydrangeas are an old variety named Nikko Blue.
"In early June the world of leaf and blade and flowers explode, and every sunset is different." John Steinbeck

Memorial Day was on May 30th. It is the day we honor those that have fallen in the service of our country. We had an informal dinner party for six for the occasion. It had been so long since we entertained because of all the problems with Covid. It felt so nice to have friends over again. Our menu was: Rack of pork, potato casserole, green beans, and Key Lime pie. 

I did a smaller than usual arrangement for the table so as not to impede conversation and enjoyment. You will chuckle at this comment from my husband. As I was setting the table, he said, "Now Bonnie, don't get carried away. Just keep it simple! "
Summer has two patriotic holidays, Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. Memorial Day kicks off the beginning of summer. School is out. Life is at a slower pace.  Picnics, ballgames, swimming, biking, hiking, camping, vacations, and on and on will be happening. Let the celebrations begin. In the tablescaping world, the sky is the limit for your imagination in planning a fun summer tablescape. Enjoy the links below to jumpstart your imagination for a summer tablescape.
Click on the links below to view the blog hop tablescapes.

Pandora's Box - Stars, Stripes, and Checks - A Summer Tablescape

Bluesky at Home - Easy Summer Outdoor Table Ideas

Life and Linda - A Taste of the Tropics

 Plaid and Paisley - Yellow and Blue Alfresco Setting

Everyday Living - Celebrate Summer With The Red, White and Blue

Panoply - Summer Garden Party Tablescape

Hyacinths for the Soul - Tis the Season of Patriotic Tablescapes

Home is Where the Boat Is - Anchors Aweigh on the Pontoon

Debbee's Buzz - Botanic Garden Floral & Butterfly Summer Table

My Hubbard Home - Easy Alfresco Dining Table | Tips for Summer

Me and My Captain - Camping, Fishing And Summertime Fun

Thrifting Wonderland - Butterfly Garden Table Setting

My Thrift Store Addiction - Honeysuckle and Hydrangeas Summer Tablescape

The Little Yellow Corner Store - Sweet Old Summertime

Red Cottage Chronicles - Dining Al Fresco - A Summer Tablescape

Celebrate and Decorate - Inspiration for Designing a Bright and Cheery a Summer Citrus Tablescape

From My Carolina Home - Summer Sunshine Tablescape and Hop

Living With Thanksgiving - Summer Celebrations

Zucchini Sisters - Red and White Tablescape in the Park

The Bookish Dilettante - Beach Reading Tablescape

The Painted Apron - Let's Go Fishing

Belle Bleu Interiors - A Summertime Luncheon in the Garden

Dinner at Eight - Summertime Blossoms on the Table

Have a great summer.

Late Summer Tablescape

 A centerpiece of peonies was the inspiration for this summer table on my patio. Today, I am joining 20 other bloggers for a late summer tablescape blog hop sponsored by Chloe Crabtree @Celebrate and Decorate. Throughout the year, Chloe has tablescape themes that inspire amazing creativity. Friendships have developed and it is inspiring to be part of such a talented group.

These English hand-painted butterfly plates went perfectly with the pink peonies. There is a story about the plates I will tell later in the post.

Each plate has a different butterfly and flowers. The scalloped edge and two green borders are so pretty to me. I layered the plates with another gold-bordered plate to accent the gold in the butterfly plates and gold flatware.

My mother's Fostoria Meadowrose wedding crystal from 1945 felt right for this tablescape and I always love using it.

I added ferns from my garden in the flower arrangement to pick up the green in the plates. I really wanted some fuchsia napkins for this tablescape but none were to be found in our little town.

 Butterfly napkin rings complemented the butterfly theme.  It would have been fabulous if a butterfly had landed on my table while I was photographing it!

My granddaughter was visiting while I was styling this tablescape and she wanted to have a tea party.  We actually did before I dismantled the table. It was a hot day and she suggested having ice cream. It was a great idea to have something cool. We enjoyed eating our chocolate mint ice cream that just happened to match the butterfly dishes but we were not dressed for photographs. However, the ice cream inspired another tablescape........ fast forward a month.

In the summertime, I crave ice cream and chocolate mint is a favorite. Add some pound cake and I am a happy camper.

I have a friend who is an antique dealer. She brings back many lovely things from trips to England. I was pleased to buy these butterfly plates from her that inspired this tablescape. My eye went right to the plates as I viewed her new purchases. I immediately began planning a tablescape in my mind using the plates in front of my summer phlox before I purchased the plates.  If you live near Atlanta, her booth, The Spence Collection, shows monthly at Scott's Antique Market. Her Instagram account can be viewed here. 

Bougainvillea placed on the napkin added another pop of color and took the place of a napkin ring.

Phlox is a perennial that faithfully delights year after year in my garden. You may remember me mentioning my sweet garden helper cut my phlox down with a weedeater before it bloomed last year. So I am very grateful to have it blooming this year. It makes a great cut flower and multiplies. Soon I will have enough to move to another spot in the garden. 

I love this sheer embossed vintage tablecloth. It was used here some years back for a Valentine post. Pink lemonade, chocolate mint ice cream, and pound cake are refreshing and make a good summertime treat served in the garden.  Thank you for joining me today. The blog hop schedule with links to other summertime tablescapes is listed below. Stop by and leave them a comment. I would love one as well.  Wishing you a lovely week. 

Monday

Debbee's Buzz | A casa di Bianca | Red Cottage Chronicles | The Little Yellow Corner Store | Sweet Pea

Tuesday

White Arrows Home | Living With Thanksgiving | Life and Linda | Everyday Living
Corner of Plaid and Paisley

Wednesday

Home is Where the Boat Is | Celebrate & Decorate | Panoply | The Painted Apron

Thursday

Intelligent Domestications | Sweet Sensations | Our Crafty Mom | Bluesky at Home

Friday

My Thrift Store Addiction | My Family Thyme | Katherine's Corner | Zucchini Sisters
Follow the Yellow Brick Home

Summer on the Patio

We spend many pleasurable hours on our porch and patio year-round. Right now the weather is perfect for relaxing.  Today, there was little humidity and  it was fairly cool. It would be a stretch to say it is summertime quite yet in south Alabama but I am serving watermelon and iced tea that are quintessential summer favorites. Join me and a group of talented tablescapers for a blog hop celebrating summertime sponsored by Chloe Crabtree @Celebrate and Decorate. Thank you Chloe, for sponsoring these hops which are so much fun! The schedule and links for each day this week is listed at the end of this post. Each blogger has a unique style that you do not want to miss. Inspiration abounds!

I adore flowers! My arms laden with flowers, I announced to my husband that he didn't have to buy me a Mother's Day gift because I had already bought mine! I could get used to having fresh flowers all the time. 

This tablecloth that I found at Home Goods instantly spoke summer to me. The soft pinks, apricots and blues and greens provided plenty of possibilities for styling. Trying to use what I had I was pleased that my aqua Paula Deen plates worked well as did my trusty, reliable cutlery and glasses, which I use quite often. New to me is the water hyacinth placemats that give texture and anchor the place settings. View another summer tablescape with these dishes here.

I love this vintage crisp white napkin with the sweet lace and embroidered flower.

 The lone blue and white, checked placemat placed under the flowers I found at Big Lots.  I sure wish there had been more. 

Mother's Day this year provided the best selection of flowers I've seen in our little town! I was very excited to find peony or parrot tulips (not sure which), apricot, and pink roses, and pink hydrangeas all at my local Publix grocery store! I added a few gardenias from my garden that had opened a little early. There are many buds which are ready to open. The scent of these flowers has been so lovely.

I settled on this white pitcher as a vase after trying several containers which did not please.

It was hard to wait for the light to be just right to photograph the table. Does that happen to you?

I wish you could smell the fragrance of the flowers. It is quite nice.

This is a new color combination for me that I've not worked with before for a tablescape. It's been fun to do something different.

I am definitely ready to invite some friends over while the weather is so nice! 

Thank you for visiting today. At the bottom of this blog post, you will find my Instagram pictures. I would like to invite you to join me there as well as on Pinterest. Please feel free to pin from this post. I would love that! ❤️

Leave a comment so I will know you visited me. I am honored you stopped by today!

Now, enjoy all the tablescaping blog inspiration below. 

Monday 

a casa di Bianca | My Thrift Store Addiction | Bluesky at Home | Celebrate & Decorate

Tuesday

Everyday Living  | Life and Linda | Knock it Off Kim | Home is Where the Boat Is  

Wednesday 

The Painted Apron | Me and My Captain | Debbee's Buzz

Thursday 

My Family Thyme | Living With Thanksgiving |  Zucchini Sisters 
Follow the Yellow Brick Home | Panoply

Friday

Sweet Sensations | Chasing Quaintness | Katherine's Corner | Corner of Plaid and Paisley