Happy Wednesday! We’re enjoying some sunshine, lower humidity and cooler temperatures this week, perfect for dining outdoors!
The Endless Summer Hydrangeas are blooming and loving our abundance of rainfall this spring.
I cut some blooms to fill an urn for a centerpiece for the table.
Keep your cut hydrangeas from wilting with the alum-dipping method! Cut your hydrangeas in the morning with they are fully hydrated and not stressed from the heat. When arranging them, cut each stem at a 45 degree angle for maximum water uptake and dip 1/2 inch of each cut stem in alum powder, found on the spice aisle at the grocery store.
Place your dipped hydrangea stems in your vase of room temperature water (the temperature it runs from the tap). For best results, remove the leaves from hydrangeas since they cause evaporation loss and take water from the head of the flower.
A Ralph Lauren Cape Elizabeth Lilac tablecloth and napkins were found blooming at HomeGoods several weeks ago. Use your imagination and pretend along with me that the lilacs are hydrangea blooms. ;)
Mismatched vintage flatware add some additional blooms to the table, picked for a $1 a piece at an antique mall.
These big colorful hydrangea blooms make my heart skip a beat! I love how the colors of the hydrangeas change as the blooms begin to fade.
Reproduction majolica plates from Pottery Barn, flew home with me couple of years ago.
The four assorted salad plates have embossed bird designs with leaves, flowers, and berry details, in the colorful style of vintage majolica dishware.
They’re layered on Mikasa English Countryside dinner plates, with an embossed fruit and lattice design on the borders of the plates.
Table Details:
Majolica Bird Salad Plates / Pottery Barn, several years ago
Tablecloth & Napkins / Ralph Lauren Cape Elizabeth Lilac, HomeGoods
Dinner Plates / Mikasa English Countryside
Goblets / Mikasa French Countryside
Chargers / Pier 1, several years ago
Napkin Rings / Bed, Bath & Beyond, several years ago
Urn/ Retail days
Assorted flatware / Vintage
Hope you’re enjoying some beautiful weather where you are!
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Very pretty and good helpful tips! Can you believe its only 50 here between Boston and Cape Cod???? Where is Spring? Where is Summer? Good riddance Winter! Bring on some sunshine here please!
Bluetifull table!! I used your tip about dipping hydrangeas in alum last year and it worked..thank you!! Weather here has been perfect since Sunday..we haven’t ran our air since but….hot weather is returning tomorrow…hey, it’s summer, supposed to be hot! ☀️❤️😎🌻
Oh how I love those plates! … Do not know how I missed those at PB. What a beautiful table to celebrate your first “crop” of this year’s hydrangeas. In a little while, I will be out cutting some of my first hydrangea blooms this year and trying to hold back the tears of knowing that I will soon be leaving them behind. Pass the tissues please…The tablecloth is so perfect for your most charming table setting by the lake. Happy Wednesday Mary!
Beautiful table, and hydrangeas!! My hydrangeas are just budding now.
Wow those are gorgeous blooms! I am in love with that tablecloth. I’ll have to search and see if I find one! Love love love the majolica dishes!
I’m good at pretending, Mary, and yes those are hydrangeas on your beautiful tablecloth! Each majolica plate is a work of art for your pretty-in-blue table. The hydrangea filled urn is the most gorgeous blossoming centerpiece. Every time I see your mismatched flatware, I want to start collecting some.
Oh how I love hydrangeas! I’ll must try the alum. I’ve always put mine head down into ice water for a few hours or overnight and voila, looks like freshly cut flowers.
Pure loveliness. I just planted 6 hydrangeas at my new home and hopefully someday will be able to create an arrangement like yours.
Just beautiful. Enjoy these special days with the lower temperatures and humidity because the weatherman says summer will be back in Saturday. Thanks for the tip on alum. Will try it on my Annabelles when I cut some this morning.
Happy Wednesday, Mary! Your alfresco table is just so pretty! The urn filled with hydrangeas makes my heart sing. The majolica plates are the perfect addition to your lovely table linens! The weather has been so nice here with lower humidities and temps. If only it would stay this way!❤️
What a beautiful table! We have been in the 50s during the morning for the past few days. It’s glorious weather after all the rain, but more rain and warmer weather are coming. My hydrangeas are just starting to bud and are lace cap, didn’t know this when we bought the plant, but have taken clippings and now have mop heads getting buds. I love your china – every time you show a new pattern, well, new to me. I love china and silverware and would love to have more, but storage is a problem…lol. Thank you so much, as always, for such a lovely post.
LOVE, LOVE that pretty, blue, periwinkle color that moves to such a pretty lavender. It reminds me of the blue-purple cotton candy they sell at carnivals! Ha. That table cloth is such a perfect color match to the the hydrangea and the beautiful majolica bird plates. LOVE anything with birds. The Mikasa English Countryside plates with the white lattice and fruit boarder are very pretty also. It would be so fun to sit and relax at this beautiful table and stare out at the water. Ahhhh, what joy! Sure hope I have some pretty blooms this year on my hydrangeas, I gave them some good fertilizer at the beginning of spring, maybe it’s time to again. How often do you fertilize yours? Thanks Mary!
Mary, your table is beautiful. I love to set up a table on our veranda but haven’t yet because of our crazy weather. I’m enjoying every detail here. The tablecloth has such a pretty color of blue and I had to look really close to see it wasn’t hydrangeas. Of course the centerpiece is glorious! I use this same method to keep my blooms from wilting,, makes all the difference. Now, if only I could borrow your weather……..
Absolutely gorgeous — thank you for sharing!
Beautiful table setting, Mary. I love Majolica and your plates are wonderful. I will look for them on eBay and else where. Thanks for the alum hint.
Good morning Mary- What a beautiful tablescape! The hydrangeas are gorgeous. Your table is so inviting for a spring luncheon. Hope you have a wonderful day! Clara 🌻
I bought the tablecloth, placemats, and napkins last year at HomeGoods. It never occurred to me that they were anything other than hydrangeas. Glad to hear they are still around as mine have migrated to my daughter’s house.
Your table is lovely, as usual!
Bonjour Mary, Quelle belle table § très fraîche…Elles sont très jolies vos assiettes avec les oiseaux et leurs teintes sont douces. Je ne connaissais pas le “truc/astuce” de la poudre d’alun pour les hortensias : merci !!!
Encore bravo pour ce joli post et très bon mercredi…
How lovely! Those hydrangeas are beautiful. I am reduced, these days, to container gardening, but P? Allen Smith says that anything you can grow in the ground you can grow in a container, so I may try hydrangeas next year. That’s a great tip about the alum, thanks for that. Your table is stunning! You are killing me with those bird plates. So cute!
Love the table and I see the hydrangeas in the tabletopper. Blue and white, always a winner.
Be still, my soul! …. Thank you for another lovely post. This one wants to jump out and live on my patio. ;-). Enjoy!
Très jolie table bleue, je vais m’en inspirer pour mon dîner du prochain week-end. votre blog est toujours plein de bonnes idées,merci.
Bonne jopurnée
Perfectly beautiful and inviting.
Gorgeous. I love the mismatched flatware! And I’m going down the spice aisle in a few minutes for my alum. I’ve not heard this tip before. I love when I learn something new first thing in the morning.
Absolutely beautiful!!! Your floral arrangement is stunning. Enjoy your cooler weather. We are in a heatwave here. Supposed be in mid to upper 90s all week. Our normal for this time of year should be upper 70s. Oh, well…guess summer is here!
Mary, I spy your pretty gardenias! Your table is soo pretty with the lovely bird plates. I adore your new cloth and napkins. Your endless summer hydrangeas look great in your white urn.
So glad for less humidity and cooler temps the last few days. I’, enjoying it but know it won’t last.
Blue hydrangeas and blue birds always make my heart sing…Lovely post, Mary!
Such a beautiful arrangement with the hydragneas! So perfect! Love the tablecloth and it matches very well.
Mary, this table is just beautiful-as always. Thank you for your inspiration!
Beautiful!! Loving the linens!! Gorgeous Hydrangeas!
Just an incredible flower is the hydrangea!!! Yours look at peak!! franki
Beautiful table Mary. You always deliver such warming posts.
Marilyn
Mary I like the tablecloth and flowers matching. Quite lovely.
Joan
Thank You for sharing this beautiful table. I love the bird plates. Very nice.
Marion
Simple Elegance!!! I am loving it, Mary!!!
Gorgeous hydrangeas – and lovely table settings too. Looks like an amazing place to have tea!
Such an inviting table setting, your use of hydrangeas and Majolica is so fresh and pretty, just makes me want to join you for lunch by the lake. My Endless Summer hydrangeas are also full of blooms just begging me to cut a few for the house. I too have used your alum dipping method with success. Thanks always for inspiring us and sharing your tips. We had another beautiful day here in NE North Carolina with a shower this afternoon giving me plenty of time to spend in the garden.
This might be my favorite table of yours, Mary, and that’s saying quite a lot!
Beautiful blue arrangement, and I love the salad plates too !
Paula
Your hydrangeas are beautiful and they are truly one of my very favorite flowers. The table looks lovely. Susan
Spectacular colors Mary! Lovin’ the new tablecloth and pretty plates-enjoy:@)
Your blooms are beyond gorgeous Mary! I am a little jealous as mine are struggling, we’ve had very little rain…Your tablecloth is blooming beautiful!
Jenna
Those Pottery Barn plates are amazing! I missed them! I love Ralph Lauren tablecloths. They all call my name! Gorgeous blog post. Thanks!
Oh So Beautiful !!!!! Thank you for these pictures!!
*SWOON* How utterly, utterly BEAUTIFUL…sigh….I just love every inch of this table!
You had me at the majolica (of course), and yes, I can definitely imagine that tablecloth being either lilacs ro hydrangeas. Works for me!
So fresh and clean, love the look of abundance!
Beautiful camera pics. Are there any other flowers that should be dipped in ALUM?
What a gorgeous setting for your lovely table setting!
Those plates are stunning added with that beautiful tablecloth!
Thanks for the alum tip!
Does the alum dipping work on all flowers? I love this it’s gorgeous!
You have such a beautiful design aesthetic. I can look at your tables and know I would be in for great company, conversation, and food.
I enjoyed the Cabbage Centerpiece, and will try out very soon. The Tip for helping the Hydrangea blooms; Terrific! I’ll keep looking for your Helpful Ideas.