Join me for with a little woodland tabletop and dish fun in the Potting Shed and to escape the heat, if only in our imaginations. . .
My inspiration came from our Blue Ridge Getaway over the 4th of July holiday, where we escaped to North Carolina’s High Country, enjoying delightful 70 degree days in contrast the our 90+ degree temperatures here at home.
A jute runner provides a foundation for a mossy runner for a little woodland landscape on the Potting Shed countertop, with sprigs of fern, ivy and tree slice chargers.
Twig flatware is set for woodland dining. . .
A cluster of wild mushrooms have sprung up on an ivy leaf plate . . .
Edith Holden’s The Country Diary of An Edwardian Lady is a treat with its illustrations of flora and fauna if you enjoy nature and gardening, best enjoyed in the comfort of your A/C!
I picked up a copy of The Country Diary, along with The Nature Notes of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden, from a used book seller several months ago. Beautifully illustrated, her “nature notes” from 1905 chronicle months of the calendar year with anecdotes, folklore, and poems, and are accompanied by her watercolor paintings of flowers, plants, birds, butterflies and landscape scenes of the British countryside.
Have a virtual seat and watch the Watauga River stream trickle by. . .
Johnson Brothers Friendly Village ‘Willow by the Brook’ salad plates provide a pastoral setting to pair with barns, farms and bucolic scenery of the High Country.
Linen lace trimmed and green foliage napkin are nested together with woven rattan napkin rings . . .
And a cloche tops the plates and nest.
A mossy runner in the window ledge provide a spot for green and brown transferware . . .
And limelight hydrangeas blooming by the Potting Shed are filling in for rhododendron in bloom in the mountains along the woodland trails.
A blooming Johnson Brothers Staffordshire Bouquet teacup is filled with fern fronds and moss for a little woodland setting.
Teacup / Johnson Brothers Staffordshire Bouquet
White Dinner Plates / Paula Deen Whitaker
Wild Mushroom Placecard Holders / Williams-Sonoma, several years ago
Tree Slice Chargers / Bed, Bath &Beyond, several years ago
Arbor (twig) Flatware / Pier 1, this spring
Napkins / Pier 1 and Pottery Barn, several years ago
Rattan Napkin Rings, Ivy Plates, Jute Runner / Pottery Barn, several years ago
Moss Runner / Hobby Lobby
Cloches / retail days
Assorted transferware / antique malls, consignment store
Hope you’re staying cool and finding a way to beat the heat!
Thank you for your visit, sharing with:
Tablescape Thursday,
This is a simply magical post! Thank you so much! Aaah…
Where did you get your twig silverware?
Hi Vickie, All the sources are always listed at the bottom of the post. The twig/arbor flatware came from Pier 1 this spring.
Beautiful! Thanks for sharing the pictures of the wood wonderland!
Beautiful and so peaceful…thanks, Mary.
Ahhhh, yes! I love a good escape, and this one is perfect. I love the way you have woven in the photos of your mountain get away with the delights of the tabletop details in the garden shed. You are the best, Mary, a master at all you do. I’m feeling cool and refreshed!
Just so beautiful! Thanks for sharing
This is the first time I have left a comment but please know that I truly enjoy your posts and splendid pictures! I have saved many on my Pinterest pages because they provide so much inspiration for me as well as so much beauty. And your wonderful doggies make me smile too! Thank you thank you thank you!!!
Thank so much Barbara! 🐾🐾
This is wonderful. I love the idea of being in the cool woods while we’re hitting near-100 temperatures here in Austin. I found the WS mushroom card holders on eBay. They’ll be great for spring and fall tables. Is the leaf plate Fitz & Floyd, or Pier 1, or another brand? I could use some of those too and I really like how you styled them together.
Thanks Tamara! The ivy leaf plates came from Pottery Barn several years ago :)
Thank you! I’ll check eBay for them. :-)
So restful….tfs
Triple thumbs up…however that might be possible! 😆
I really enjoyed this post, thank you!
This is charming! May I ask where you found those adorable mushrooms?
Thanks Laura, They came from Williams-Sonoma several years ago they’re place card holders. 🍄🌲⛰😀
So breathtaking…and I took many!! We are being annihilated by Japanese beetles…do you’al have that problem?? H*E*L*P!! franki
Thanks Franki, Yes the Japanese Beetles are feasting on everything here unfortunately. 🌱🌻🌺
There is a spray called Bonide Japanese Beetle Killer that I bought at the local garden center. They assured me that it was safe for bees if I used it when bees aren’t active in the morning and evening. It has totally gotten rid of the beetles and my roses are coming back!
Bonide Systemic Insect Control contains the active ingredient Acephate. Acephate is a non-selective insecticide that can kill any insect that comes into contact with treated areas.
Hi Franki, I did a search and found a BT spray for Japanese Beetles, beetleJUS!™. It’s organic and safe for the bees. The only drawback is that it looks like it could be pricey, depending on your infestation. If you read the info on Bonide Japanese Beetle Killer, it states that it is toxic to bees.
Love Blue Ridge getaways in the middle of NC summers! Your pictures are gorgeous and love, love, love the tablescape! I’m a mountain girl at heart and this woodland post is so inspiring!!
Thanks Stacey, I could pack my bags and move there until the end of September!
Mary, how refreshing! I feel like I have been on a cool walk through the NC mountain woodlands. By the way, are your chargers actually tree slices or did you purchase them? We have so many trees that have come down in our woods that we could make our own.
Hi Darlene, My chargers came from Bed, Bath & Beyond, but you certainly could make your own.🌲😀
I love everything about this post! A welcome break from the record breaking heat in Central Virginia!
I’m 20 degrees cooler just by reading (enjoying) your post.
Thanks for this cool and relaxing post in our 100+ heat index here in eastern NC!!! I can feel the water of that stream on my feet. Your table setting is beautiful. You find such nice books…I need to check out used book stores. I set up my potting shed a few weeks ago and just open doors every morning….too hot to play in there.
Thanks Nancy, a lot of sweat went into this post! Hope you and I both enjoy a drop in the mercury sometime soon. Happy Potting 😊
I am going to return to this breathtaking and relaxing post at the end of any high stress day! I feel so at peace after viewing all the glorious, natural beauty. Thanks so much, what a great way to start my day. :) What a pleasure!
Thanks so much Jan, come back anytime! 🌲⛰😀
Have on!y !ived in N.C piedmont for 4yrs and love it but this summer is just about doing me in. Your blog was just what I needed to cool me off and realize my husband and I need a trip this weekend to the mountains. Thank you so much for the beautiful photographs and your amazing tablescape interpretations.
Hi Kathy, I hope you get to escape to the mountains. The high in Blowing Rock this weekend is 75 which sure beats 95 degrees here.
Your post was so refreshing! All your post add a sense of something desired. Thanks for making my days. What and where was your shop in your retail days. I’m sure I would have loved it like I do Dutchmans!
Johnson Bros. Staffordshire pattern of teacup was my first dish collection,, before we could afford China. Always regretted letting them go. Great to glimpse the pattern again! Love your vignettes! Love my NC mountain woodland retirement home and never seem to want to leave!🏡
I love how your trip inspired you, Mary. The pictures and your theme follow beautifully!
Mary, thank you for the cool refreshing treat on this hot muggy Georgia day!
Looking at the pictures of Blue Ridge cooled me down 5 degrees. Thx
Gorgeous Tablescape as usual. I am from Charlotte and we visit the mountains frequently. Your pics of all that Blue Ridge beauty make me want to jump in the car and head up there out of this heat right now!
Love your post today, grew up in the Virginia Mountains and reminds me so much of home. Thanks Mary.
So much inspiration. The twig silverware is my favorite!
~Mary~
Very pretty setting in the garden shed and N.C. pictures are wonderful ! We really do have live in an amazing country of beauty !
Paula
IN
p.s. we like to cool off in the U.P. !!
Thank you, Paula ♥ What is the U.P.?
U.P. is the abbreviation for the “Upper Peninsula” of Michigan. My husband and I visited there last week over the 4th of July holiday. Loving your beautiful table and nature display for this post! Thank You!
Your post has my husband and I ready for a trip from the coast to the mountains! Your talents are certainly evident in all the beauty you see in nature and how you carry them over to let us enjoy! Cooler mountain temps would feel heavenly right about now with this NC heat and humidity raging! Enjoy your blog immensely!
Thanks so much Linda! I hope you and your hubby are able to escape the heat. :)
Mary, thanks so much for yet another lovely blog! You are so clever and creative! Everything you do becomes a thing of beauty! Thanks for sharing with us!
The mountains of NC are the perfect pace to go in the HEAT of July. I love your combining the photos of your trip with the table! Just beautiful! Thanks for sharing this.
So, do you have air conditioning in that shed or not? I apologize in advance because I know you went to a lot of work putting that tablescape together, but would you really eat with all that on your table? I like nature, but I may have to say that I may not be the nature lover compared to others. The moss, book and mushrooms would be too much for me personally. However, I’m glad you have all that artistic ability…I don’t have any vision or creative side…I’m just boring and too particular.
No, I don’t have electricity or air conditioning in the Potting Shed. The table is a vignette with the moss, fern and ivy sprigs added to tell a story. It would be hard to drink with moss and ferns in teacups. :)
Well done Mary! Your mountain trip was very scenic and you really captured the beauty of it all in our sweet garden shed! I LOVE ferns and when I bemoan the fact that I don’t have enough sunny spots for more flowers, I do comfort myself with my pretty ferns! I too have the mushroom place card holders. :) I think Paula from IN was referring to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula when she said the U.P.
Thanks Cyndi, This Southern girl is not familiar with the U.P. but it looks beautiful and the weather sounds divine! It’s going to be 95 today with the heat index over 100…I’m melting :)
This post really wowed me; almost like a fairy garden! I live in the Pacific Northwest and LOVE green and ferns…. I probably don’t write you enough to tell you how much I adore your gifts of inspiration and creativity. Your pictures of your travels are so interesting, Thank you for sharing!
Susan
Thanks Susan! We’ve only had the opportunity to visit the Pacific Northwest once, would love to go back! The Willamette Valley is on my bucket list :)
Mary, your vignette speaks cool mountain water and winds blowing against my face…it is going to be hot here today. I love how your woodland table was inspired by your trip…magical! We went to The Swag near Waynesville, NC in May. The inn sits at 5000 feet. We loved it so much we have planned to return in September. It was unknown to me and I read about it in Victoria, it is truly a mountain gem!
Mary, beautiful setting and pictures!! Love the Blue Ridge or for that matter any mountains…my favorite thing is the Friendly Village..have always wanted a set but just don’t know where to put it…I love all the moss ideas the stores have now..like your table runner. The moss always comes in handy to fill in a fairy garden until plants start to spread..while you all are fighting the Japanese beetles, I’m fighting the horn worms on my tomatoes and peppers. The BT (bacillus Thuringia) will kill the beetles and the hornworms but as soon as it rains you have to apply again..so far we have picked off 13 worms because it keeps raining here and BT is not cheap!! Anyway, enough of my tragedies…your pictures are spectacular..you certainly have an eye for photography..thanks for sharing and keep cool!!!
Beautiful as always. I look forward to your posts to see how you have again styled the shed. Thanks for sharing!
Enjoyed that–bought the books
Refreshing and beautiful to see all the spots you visited! The vingette is wonderful too. I wish I had a spot like yours for vignettes. You have the perfect spot! I’d be copying all of yours because they are all so beautiful! Such talent you have! Japanesse Beetles always ruin my summer. Not only are they annoying but they scare me to death, they are so big. I use BT on my tomato plants but you do have to apply every 2 weeks or so. Does not kill worms on contact. They have to eat the sprayed leaves to be effective. So I guess you would need to spray the whole yard to keep them out which is impossible. They are always flying around from other yards etc..
Mary, you are single-handedly educating about half of America in the arts of Flower arranging, table decoration and the joy of entertaining on a scale easy to cope with. You also opened my eyes to realize the treasures around my home that I take for granted and have since used when setting a pretty table.
Country Diary was given to me as a gift when first published – it travels with me!
Thank you for all your creativity and sense of beauty. You are a Treasure.
Really sweet table setting, more inspiration as usual. The weather on your trip sounds perfect, my ideal temperature. We are into the smoking hot time of year here in Boulder including scorching sun at this elevation. I get a little grumble-y about it. Love those fern napkins. I saw cute twig flatware at World Market, too.
What a beautiful posting this is!!!! I want to be there…..
Oh Mary, you have truly captured the woodland feeling in your potting shed, it is sheer delight! The way you have interspersed your trip photos with the potting shed made me feel that I was truly walking through the woods! All your incredible details, I can imagine little garden fairies flitting about and adding a piece fern here and there! I read the comment about how can you possibly eat with all that stuff, and it really cracked me up! I hope your heat wave breaks soon, I can’t imagine playing in your shed without AC, but I guess it’s like going to a spa and bonus burn of a lot of calories!
Thank you for a lovely walk through the cool woods!
Jenna
I love tour woodland tablesetting, Mary! How perfect that you interspersed your mountain vacation pics with your table pics. Mountain vacations are my favorite and seeing your creation in your potting shed brings me such joy!