Orangerie Inspired Flower Arrangement
Create an Orangerie inspired flower arrangement and luncheon table now that the sun is shining outside.
This citrus table-scape is one of my recent favorites! Perfect for spring and summer gatherings, big or intimate. Today I am excited to share a closer look at the table and some tips for how you can create an orangerie inspired flower arrangement and luncheon table! Read on!
WELCOME TO MONDAY MORNING BLOOMS.
Today, Pam, Mary, Shirley and I are so excited to welcome our guest flower friend Bonnie from Living With Thanksgiving. Bonnie loves travel, gardening, entertaining, designing gorgeous table settings and all the things I know you do, too. Be sure to visit all of them via the links at the bottom of this post. You know you always get so inspired!
The French have had a love affair with bright, juicy oranges throughout history. In 1617, King Louis XIV, who loved oranges, had the Orangerie built at Versailles to protect his 3,000 orange trees. Soon, European royalty and the elite had their own orangeries built. Orangeries weren't just big greenhouses, they were an outward symbol of prestige and wealth.
Owners would give their guests tours of their garden, the centerpiece of which was a beautifully built orangerie. The orangeries often had fountains and grottos inside, and large areas where guests could be entertained in poor weather.
Fortunately, these days we don't have to be royal, wealthy or build big garden structures to enjoy sweet citrus fruits!
This outdoor table inspired by the colors and freshness of oranges and lemons was so easy to create. I began by layering an antique French linen sheet over our back garden table. It's really the perfect backdrop, neutral, heavy duty, and washes like a dream. {no ironing either, if you take it out of the dryer immediately.}
Because I wanted to use our gorgeous white linen napkins embroidered in fresh green, I set the table with green and white dishes. The bottom plates are my "party plates" from Ikea {shocking, I know! They are inexpensive, and I am not a fan of paper plates. And not all events warrant rentals.} Sometimes a plain white plate is perfect. On top I added some of my favorite antique majolica in greens.
Glasses, again, inexpensive green glasses that I bought purely for their color. For cutlery, vintage Hotel del Coronado silver plate always makes any table happy.
Re-creating this orangerie inspired flower arrangement and table at home is so easy. Using the vintage French canning jars with lemon labels was a natural choice. You can clip off some branches from your garden like I did {olive tree} or buy some greens at the florist if you don't have anything to clip. Even better, bring a neighbor a fresh baked batch of cookies and ask for a few cuttings!
You can create your own garland by laying your clipped branches down the center like I did. I recommend waiting until as close to your luncheon {or dinner} as possible so that everything will look fresh and green.
I incorporated oranges and lemons in my arrangement, sprinkling them around the center filled with the olive tree branches.
Some of the fruit I kept whole, but others I sliced in half, their fresh smell is heavenly! I suggest you wait to place the cut ones closer to the time your guests arrive, otherwise bugs.
I wrote each guest's name on a green paper leaf {I cut it from scrapbooking paper} and used a small pin to secure it to an orange on top of each place setting.
Tulips, hydrangeas, little yellow mums and white scabiosa {also called pincushion flower} bring color on this table to life.
Don't forget to enter our Monday Morning Blooms GIVE AWAY we are hosting together with Victoria Magazine. There are four copies of their glorious new book The Art of Flowers to win!
To enter the giveaway and for a chance to win a copy of The Art of Flowers:
1) Leave a comment telling me your favorite flower(s).
2) Follow Victoria Magazine on Instagram or Facebook and leave a comment letting me know.
3) Follow me on Instagram and let me know by comment.
This giveaway is open to residents of the U.S.A through midnight April 26th.
Visit all our Monday Morning Blooms Inspirational friends below:
Bonnie - Living With Thanksgiving
Shirley - Housepitality Designs
and me Lidy - FrenchGardenHouse
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 above all uniquely yours. Visit our shop FrenchGardenHouse.com
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John
October 05, 2021
Thanks for sharing valuable information on how to create an awe-inspiring decoration with Orangerie inspired flowers.