Hello sweet friends. I sincerely hope the New Year is off to a good start for you!
“Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens. Your faithfulness endures to all generations; you have established the earth, and it stands fast.”
Psalm 119:89-90 ESV
To view the original post click the highlighted links.
This is the first Monday of a new year and Monday Morning Blooms with my friends. Before we leave 2024 behind, let’s review A Year of Flowers!
You will find the links for Lidy’s and Mary’s year of beautiful flowers at the bottom of this post!
A table for 2 at the Sunshine Cottage requires no reservations nor wait time… perfect for Valentine’s Day! Grocery store flowers of spray roses, alstroemeria, pom daisies, eucalyptus, and filler that reminds me of yarrow were arranged in a favorite pitcher!
After the Christmas tree was put away, RM thought the corner in the Sunshine Cottage looked bare. He cut a scraggly little tree and put a few strands of white lights on its lonely limbs. I thought it would be romantic to tie a few of our saved Valentine’s cards on its branches.
It was a cold and cloudy March day when I set my first outdoor table of 2024. With a trip to three grocery stores, I was able to find tulips, alstroemeria, and a sweet smelling filler of large bullwort, also called lace flower and false Queen Anne’s lace. To those blooms I added daffodils cut from my cottage garden and budding blooms from our Japanese Magnolia tree! A couple of moss bunnies came out to play for a joyful Easter tablesetting!
Springtime comes to life on Williams Sonoma salad plates that were offered several years ago.
With spring as our common theme, the weather cooperated and signs of spring were everywhere! Our snowball viburnum supplied large and beautiful blooms along with sprigs of Lady Banks roses and Bridal Wreath spirea cut from our garden. Grocery store mums, carnations, and alstroemeria filled out the arrangement in my paternal grandmother’s heavy stoneware pitcher!
Birds had been busy preparing their nests. Appropriately a couple of bejeweled bird trinket boxes and nests were placed on the table for more springtime charm!
Long-time readers know that sharing about my beloved Mother thrills my heart! With Mother’s Day always on the May calendar, I set a table in memory of Mother and lessons I learned from her!
The table was understated in order to allow the gorgeous peonies to be the stars. Karl Rosenfield, Sarah Bernhardt, and Festiva Maxima blooms were cut from my garden. They bloomed profusely last year, I hope for the same this year!
My favorite place to set a table is in the garden! June is hydrangea season and my dear friend, Martha, provided several varieties for my arrangement!
The late afternoon sunlight dances in the garden!
Funny memories were made with a beach-themed tablesetting! Using a vase within a vase is quite simple. The inner vase is filled with immature ‘Little Lambs’ hydrangea blooms and ‘Adagio’ maiden grass plumes to mimic sea oats that are common on our Gulf Coast beaches. The outer vase is filled with sea shells.
I love the vintage handmade shell box that I found many years ago at an antique shop! The beautiful shell platter belonged to my Mother.
August brings extreme heat and humidity. I remember it was a sweltering day when I photographed my citrus-themed table. An arrangement of limelight hydrangeas and giant yellow marigolds were cut from the garden. Lemons were placed on bamboo skewers and added to the vase!
The Italian tablecloth, with its vivid colors, highlights citrus fruit …lemons, limes, and oranges!
September is the gateway to autumn, however our Appalachian Foothills don’t normally experience autumn weather until late October! Sunflowers were still in bloom in our garden and they joined with grocery store mums, green Trick Dianthus, and alstroemeria for an autumn arrangement.
As an April Cornell Brand Ambassador, I am given the opportunity each season to select table linens. I chose this burst of sunshine tablecloth and coordinating napkins that are called ‘Antique’! It is a returning Heritage Print from the archives. I love its perfect autumn gold-colored background!
October is my favorite month and my love of pumpkins is seen here, there, and everywhere in the garden! With pumpkins as our theme, I arranged a blooming pumpkin with autumn fire sedum and chaste tree blooms from our garden. Beautiful dahlias were from a local grower. The pumpkin’s coloring reminded me of candy corn!
You may have noticed the Sunshine Cottage porch in the background with pumpkins everywhere!
The week before Thanksgiving is very busy as I prepare for the big day! Thanksgiving Eve always finds us enjoying a turkey sandwich at the kitchen island. However, that sandwich can be elevated by moving to a table for two in the Sunshine Cottage! A hammered copper pitcher seemed appropriate for autumn blooms. Dahlias, sunflowers, and gomphrena were still blooming at Deep Roots Flower Farm. A few zinnias, cosmos, and coleus were still hanging on in our garden.
Plaid chargers, pumpkin-colored dinner plates, and salad plates were chosen to remind us of our blessings and to give thanks, not just on Thanksgiving, but every day! ‘Dahlia Days’ napkins are by April Cornell!
The cottage is cozy and warm during Christmas with the twinkling lights from the grandchildren’s tree providing a sweet ambiance! Red spray roses, carnations, and white alstroemeria were grocery store finds. RM cut fresh pine and I added festive picks that I had saved over the years.
A tabletop with memories attached is very meaningful to me. I try to always include something that is special and holds sweet memories on my tablesettings!
Be sure to visit Lidy and Mary to enjoy their year in flowers!
Lidy ~ French Garden House
Mary ~ Home Is Where the Boat Is
To you my dear readers, thank you for all your visits and gracious comments on 2024’s Monday Morning Blooms. It is my hope that every flower, in some way, brought enjoyment and inspiration into your home this past year!
WISHING YOU A JOY-FILLED 2025!
Linking with: Pieced Pastimes, Between Naps on the Porch, Katherines Corner, Follow The Yellow Brick Home,
Life and Linda