I am so excited to welcome you here today! Some of you who follow me on Instagram might remember that just before our Stay At Home order began, we started re-doing our back garden. Luckily, garden contractors can still work here in California, so our garden is actually in place by now. We have the basics in, and John and I have been planning out our "new" garden, I'll share the garden in another post soon. We had a French Garden planning luncheon in the back.
Please join us.
WELCOME TO MONDAY MORNING BLOOMS!
These Mondays are my favorite Mondays of the month, as we all join my good friends Shirley, Pam and Mary for floral therapy. I'll share their links at the bottom of this post, they always deliver beautiful floral inspiration you won't want to miss!
I'm ready to jump into spring, and a life in the garden! Sun. Birds singing. Beautiful flowers. We are just beginning spring here in Southern California, the trees are leafing out, the hydrangeas are just beginning to bud, and the birds are chirping! These days more than ever, as we are sheltering at home, I am so thankful for our garden areas. A place to enjoy the beauty God has created, to hear the birds sing, and to know that life goes on.
For our planning luncheon, I layered our small table on the back patio with a blue paisley tablecloth.
In the background, you can see my little French Garden House, and the old gingko tree with the bench built around it.
Since we've been on Stay at Home orders, I've not bought any flowers, and none of our flowers in the gardens are blooming quite yet. Except for this beautiful purple Santa Barbara Salvia Leucantha, or Mexican Sage Bush.
I'm making do with what we have, you too? Luckily, what we have blooming is delightful! I cut the flowers from the front garden. This plant blooms constantly from now all the way through fall here in our coastal garden.
The vibrant purple flowers are an appealing color combination with the antique French enamelware coffee pot . The flowers tend to droop, but oh that color! And the leaves are velvety too.
I used the tiniest antique flower frogs as place card holders for the gilded bee place cards.
The blues of the cotton tablecloth and napkins are a perfect mix with white and soft grey in the paisley design. Since we were having a salad and bread, these deep antique Victorian French plates are just the right touch for this garden planning session.
I love the French hand painted plates with blue delphiniums on the rims. Sadly, there were just two that survived over 100+ years, but two is better than none!
Under the old gingko tree, our bench is a favorite place to sit. The antique quilt adds a little softness, the pastel colors are sublime.
The tall pink blossoms are part of our Les Belles Fleurs faux floral collection, they'll be added to the line soon. Just a few in an antique French enamelware body pitcher lends a touch of spring to this corner.
A white painted vintage wicker tray is so charming and handy to take drinks and glasses to the garden for an alfresco meal. I served the fresh green salad from an antique French canning jar, the dressing in the French white pitcher.
One of the napkins keeps the rustic bread warm, all wrapped up on an antique bread board.
I used a few antique brass hose nozzles and sprayers as decoration. It's a garden planning luncheon after all!
I hope you are able to get out into an outdoor space soon to inhale the fresh air, watch flowers bloom, and hear birds sing!
These are challenging times, but we will get to the other side of it. I wish you a joy filled week with more blessings to count than you thought you would have.
Thank you so much for joining me today. Please be sure to visit my friends! Their links are below.
SHIRLEY at Housepitality Designs
and me, LIDY at FrenchGardenHouse
Please share with us some plans you might have for your garden, your balcony, or patio, or even a window sill, if that is where you "garden", we'd love to hear about it!A BIENTOT
Shop for the best in French Antiques, furniture with the patina of age, vintage accessories to delight you and your family & friends, and French Country utilitarian pieces. Treasures that make your home fresh, beautiful, inspirational and uniquely yours. Visit our shop FrenchGardenHouse.com
27 comments
You have created a corner of heaven right in your own backyard Liddy! The purple flowers are show stoppers, and beautiful with the vintage plates and pastel palette you’ve used throughout your garden~ I noticed the hose nozzles right away, what a fantastic addition to the gardening theme, along with the many other pretties! Your wicker tray of wine and salad is charming. Thanks for the peek into your beautiful space and let’s hope we can all throw a party soon!
Lidy, I can’t wait to see your garden grow in and watch it as it matures. Your garden planning table is so delightful and a lovely place to have salad and warm bread. I hope you will share your plans with us. The Mexican sage bush flowers are beautiful placed in the French enamelware coffee pot. The brass nozzles and tiny flower frogs are a wonderful addition for the garden lunch. The bench surrounding the ginkgo tree is the perfect spot to sit and take in the view, we have two ginkgoes that we planted several years ago that are very slow growing. It is always a pleasure to join you for flower inspiration and Monday Morning Blooms my friend. Happy Monday!
This sounds like so much fun. I had planned a spring celebration luncheon with my sewing group for May 7 before all this began to happen. I have garden areas or rooms with seating and was looking forward to having my friends over. But I am putting food on hold. Still working on yard.
You always create such beautiful table settings, I imagine just sipping a cup of tea in that lovely space must be so uplifting in these times. I had a little chuckle and thought I wonder how many millennials would be able to identify a flower frog or garden hose nozzle! Enjoy your little bit of France in your garden.
Love the salvia on the table, Lidy! The flower frogs and nozzles are the perfect accessories for the garden planning theme, and the wares from your online shop are gorgeous, as always.
It is so gorgeous,Lidy! The tablecloth, the flowers, the setting… Perfection! Would love a place at your table!
I so love your beautiful “planning table” I can just see you and Mr. FGH sitting out in your beautiful FGH backyard and dreaming and planning of a new FGH garden. I so love your tree that gives shelter and a place to rest and contemplate and enjoy the view. The table, oh the table with those gorgeous plates and beautiful antique French treasures.I bought a French picnic basket while is France years ago and it is sitting in the foyer waiting to find a home. I love your wicker basket…As always a gorgeous table and beautiful flowers…you are the master of thinking outside the box…Continue to stay safe and healthy and enjoy the transformation of your gardens. Always a pleasure to join you for Monday Morning Blooms. I love my flower friends!!