Garden Friends Luncheon, May 25, 2017

The Garden Friends Bible study group met for lunch to have a fellowship time before we begin our summer break.  I was blessed to gather these priceless friends around my table.  Today I set a table for 8 in the dining room.  Come on in and join us!


It's Spring, and the perfect time for a celebration of color...


 and what says Spring?...


...more deliciously than...


TULIPS!  Thank you Whole Foods Market.


Of course, there were other pretty blossoms to be shared!


Now sometimes we need to amend the soil first, so I started with the Vietri charger,...


...which added just the right finish to the Mottahedheh Light Blue Lace charger.


Today's blooms are brought to you courtesy of the Spode Chelsea Garden dinner plate blossoms...


Close enough to smell the flowers


All good gardens need pretty ground cover, right?  Today it was the Reed & Barton Grande Renaissance flatware.






So many pretty posies...


There's even a tiny blossom on the Madeira linen napkin.


My wedding crystal Lalique Trèves wine was a fitting addition to the Waterford Simply Blue,


Amethyst,


Pink, 


and Lime garden art.

 And of course, one must have glorious potted plants.

Herend Queen Victoria...

So many incredible details

  A garden to be enjoyed any day of the year laid on a lawn provided by the Williams-Sonoma jacquard linen tablecloth.


Do you find inspiration for your garden while looking in magazines, or at a flower show perhaps?  Now you see where I found mine.

I'm always seated at this end of the table...a great view of my garden, but mainly closest to the kitchen.  Do you seat yourself in a place that allows you quickest access to the kitchen, too?

Every lovely bloom needs to be adequately watered...I like to place decanters at my table for my guests to be able to refill their water goblets without interrupting their conversations.

 Another delightful Garden Friends gathering.  Let me know if you're coming through our city on the prairie.  I'd love to set a lovely table just for you, and I know that my Garden Friends will join me to make you feel welcome.  There's always room for another blossom in my garden!

This week I'll be joining:

Inspire Me Tuesday with Marty @ A Stroll Through Life

The Style Sisters Centerpiece Wednesday linky party

Tablescape Thursday with Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch

Mother's Day

Mother's Day 2016, made me very happy.  I had been unable to sustain enough energy to entertain larger groups for what seemed like way too long.  This day I felt like my life might be returning to something that looked like normal.  I was so excited to gather our family around our table to celebrate such a sweet holiday...Mother's Day.  I set a table for ten in the dining room.  Come on in...

 Mother's Day...an opportunity to invite the men in the family to sit down at a completely feminine table.


I knew that I wanted to use the Williams-Sonoma matelasse tablecloth.  I like the texture, and it doesn't hurt that I rarely need to iron it!  I found it on eBay, and I use it often.  It's really not long enough for my new dining table, and I don't care!  That's how much I love it.  Some day I'll find one that's the 144" the table needs.


Mother's Day and Spring...a perfect match...new life and new beginnings...delicate blooms...pinks and greens...oh the possibilities!


Come a little closer and have a better look...


Always a regal base for any place setting...the Mottahedeh Blue Lace charger plate is flanked by Horchow's hot pink flatware.  Howchow called this a red.  I disagreed but kept it anyway.  I use it fairly often, and I'm still looking for a red flatware pattern.


I adore the Royal Doulton Lowestoft Bouquet dinner plate.  Did you happen to notice the wavy scalloped pink line just at the top edge of the verge?  That simple little detail adds so much interest to this very English design.  The whole design just makes me smile...so old fashioned, yet timeless.


  I alternated the Waterford Simply Lime and Pink goblets along side our Nana's antique French crystal goblets.  I wish that I knew more about her crystal.  It's so special.  Nana also provided the Limoges open salts.  It's always a treat to use her lovely things.  Seemed appropriate for her to be represented at our Mother's Day table.

                         
I probably was slightly carried away with the candlelight for our luncheon.  I just loved the way it made the crystal dance.  I've had the Val St. Lambert candlesticks for decades, and they remain one of my favorite decorative elements when creating a centerpiece...minimum effort for maximum effect.


As happens frequently, my centerpiece is really a no brainer...the crystal candlesticks...votives from Dollar Tree...


...Lenox china urns... and Hydrangeas from my garden...let me say that again...Hydrangeas from my garden.  I am not a talented gardener, and I have fought for years to finally have a number of precious Hydrangea plants that are actually flourishing  in our yucky red clay earth.  You would have thought that I had won the Westminster Flower Show.


Oh...and the Herend Rothschild Bird tureen, found during a great sale at a local jewelry/gift store.


A combination of pieces lovingly collected over time often make the best centerpieces, and we only have to shop our closets.

Delicate lady-like touches...


...to celebrate the important women in my life...the moms in our family.

I pray that each and every mother knows that she is truly appreciated and loved as we celebrate this year's Mother's Day.  I miss my mama every day, and I can't even measure what I would give to be able to share this day with her and honor her one more time.  HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

This week I'm joining:

Tablescape Thursday with Susan @ Between Naps on the Porch

The Scoop #274 with Stone Gable

Centerpiece Wednesday with The Style Sisters