Garden Roses Tablescape

For the last few days we have been enjoying a lovely bouquet of tea roses from our small garden. They have reached the right stage of "floppy" and I want to post them before they're gone.

I kept imagining them on the table with these vintage plates that I usually save for spring (Edwin M. Knowles--don't know the pattern.) So here we all are!

I wanted the rest of the colors soft, so a white damask luncheon cloth and white napkins let the china be the star of the show.

I only have the four settings, and they are heavily crazed and darkened with age. But I love their almost fairytale pattern beneath the creamware bowls I have chosen to use on top.

I like the creamy tones together, and the little white embossed dishes tell a good story of their own. (They are vintage Homer Laughlin Eggshell Theme.) I can just see them filled with fresh strawberries and cream!

I added a couple of tiny porcelain china boxes to the table for more fancy. They are a recent fleamarket find. A vintage vanity mirror with a doily on top frames the rose bouquet set in an ironstone pitcher in the center.

The embossed goblets also carry the roses theme. A billowy sheer fabric strewn on the table like a cloud adds to the romance, but is also excellent for keeping insects at bay while you are preparing a table.

Mine is a sheer vintage curtain with a tulip motif. I have sheers with roses, but this seemed like an interesting departure. 

I adore this stage in the life of a cut rose. And it seems that only garden roses reach it this beautifully, versus the hot house type of rose from the florist. We are at a similar point in the season where the full softness of spring begins to give way to something different and more intense. 

But not quite yet. . . .

I hope you are finding a softness amidst these busy days of May!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Jacqueline

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My Romantic Home~Show & Tell Friday

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The Rose Garden in Malevik~Saturday Show Off

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Between Naps on the Porch~Tablescape Thursday

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Lavender Afternoon

I'm all ready for lavender scented afternoons. Even a single pot was enough for a fat bumble bee to stop by and join me for a few moments of her day.  

But there will be other such impromptu visits soon, and the table is set for them.

I have been mulling over a garden themed table ever since I found a couple of key ingredients. 

These fun flower pot napkin rings for instance. Only after I paired them with my ruffled PB napkins did I discover their origin. I never saw them when they were offered at Pottery Barn. I found mine at a fleamarket bundled together for only two dollars!

I feel festive, and have been festooning. Sometimes the patio umbrella pole is invisible to me, and other times I just want to cover it up. A crisp and breezy vintage white curtain does the trick today.

I started out here with a glass of tea and my new magazines and got carried away! That wonderful smell of lavender inches away from my nose may have had something to do with it. Or maybe busy Ms. Bumble. . . .

A little birdie is ready to carry a message.

Lacy white china for nibbles, and lacy white lace for show.

Such a cozy bed for your favorite silverware to lie in. . . . (I saw more of these pots for sale on ebay.)

I adore the character of old glass.

 This itty bitty pitcher at 99 cents has stolen my heart.

A little lace square that I found of late decorates a vintage wicker flower basket (new to me) that has joined the party. How I love that cheery chippy white paint!

It will be a fine weekend for visiting outdoors in these parts!

 I hope it is lovely where you are too!

Wishing you a beautiful week!

Jacqueline

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Between Naps on the Porch~Metamorphosis Monday

Confessions of a Plate Addict~The Scoop

Savvy Southern Style~Wow Us Wednesday

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The Sweetest Little Miracle

I have been waiting 48 hours for a special package to arrive and the postman has just knocked on the door and handed it over. A small miracle in itself. He sometimes leaves packages in the oddest places even when we are at home. I once found a book package from Amazon in the carport long after I had reported it missing and obtained a replacement! (But I really do support hardworking postal workers.)

The parcel has come 1,450 miles from Bella's Rose Cottage in WA, to mine in Albuquerque, NM in two day's time. She tells me that she has always wanted to ship flower buds, and is trying it out. HOW LUCKY CAN YOU GET???

The P.O. box was stuffed with paper to prevent movement of the inner box, which is also secured with tissue paper to prevent movement of the contents. Bella says restricting movement is critical.

I am holding my breath. Bella wants an unbiased and accurate report of the results, and I hope it's good!

I pull back the first layer and can feel the dampness in the tissue paper. An incredible moist and earthy scent rises up. AMAZING!

I finish unwrapping, and a trio of peony blooms emerge into the morning desert air. The stems are wound in wet paper towels and secured inside a plastic bag which has been taped closed. They are still compressed and completely closed except for one which is a little more open. My first thought is surprise that they are white. I was expecting pale pink since I have seen the beautiful blooms she posted on her blog from her fabulous Tree Peonies here, and here.  Their folded leaves remind me a little of a newborn babe.

They appear as though they can use a drink of water. And indeed all the water has gone from the floral tubes that were placed inside with them.

And then, amazingly, I notice how quickly the bud is opening, and the tinge of pink inside. What a mind blow! I am actually a bit dizzy with delight over it all.  Peonies from Bella's gorgeous garden so far away!!

Bella told me the stems were short, and so I was expecting to float them. But they are long enough for a short vase. I have chosen this bird vase because Bella and I both love birds. And how sweet and perfect anyway for Tree Peonies!

It has only been moments, and how lovely they are beginning to unfurl with their fresh drink of water.

I will bring them into the house and hover over them in amazement for awhile. What a clever girl that Bella is! And what a sweet gesture! She told me these buds were the last of her blooms. Can you imagine? I don't think I would want to give them away if it was me! *smile*

Thank you so much Bella! And a big congratulations! Your project was a wonderful success, and I am overcome by your thoughtfulness. It has been so much fun being a blogging pal with you over the last four years! Mr. Cottage says, "She must know how much you love peonies." 

Yes, indeed. And so much more. . . .

I'm so glad that you stopped by for a visit! I appreciate all the sweet comments and messages that you send my way. Our online community is filled with so much good feeling, support, and goodwill. It's a wonderful thing in this world, and I am so enriched by it.

I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day weekend!

Mine has gotten off to such a lovely start!

Jacqueline

Instant Vintage Patio Garden

We joined the hordes and visited the local nursery this past weekend. Since our patio is small, it only takes a few plants to soften things up to make the spot a pleasant sitting area.

I always go for ferns, a little bloom of some kind, and herbs. That way a pot of basil, parsley, or thyme is just a few steps away from the kitchen stove.

But I also prefer the look and scent of herbs, and their delicate flowers. A pinch of rosemary a day is like a tonic!

I keep a variety of vintage containers to pop the pots in straight from the nursery. No muss no fuss.

Every year I look for these small pots of pink gypsophilia muralis (low baby's breath) to group together because they make a cheery centerpiece, and are low maintenance. The old enamel containers have a few worn holes in the bottom for drainage so we can water them in place. We are gone a lot, and having all the container plants in one spot makes it easier for our housesitter to manage.

The small evergreens we got for Christmas are taking on new growth. They have been wintering over on the patio since then. A pair of vintage finials decorate the bancos this season.

The parsley and thyme were left neglected under the eaves all winter too and somehow made it through. Happy to be in the sun again.

A little spindly, but holding on in its thrift store container.

I planted a fresh batch to round out the pot.

We are trying out a little Mexican heather for the first time. It's rooming up with a pretty German thyme in a vintage wire egg basket for now.

I have no idea what I picked for my vintage metal garden urn. Some viney white flower, with what looks to me to be pink impatiens mixed in. Maybe you can enlighten me! I just love how light and airy it all is, and I wanted something cascading over the edges of the container. I have an upside down flower bucket placed inside the urn in order to prop the pot high enough, and just plop the plastic nursery container right in.

This year I moved this antique sun dial out into a hidden corner. I love the sentimental Robert Browning quote.

So that's how a lazy gardener does it!

(Last spring's patio is here.)

Thanks for popping by for a visit!

 We're going to have some nice times out here . . .

I hope the new week is turning out great for you!

Jacqueline

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