Tabletop Gardening and Garden Bouquets in the Potting Shed

Happy Monday!

It’s my favorite day of the month, when I join my flower friends for Monday Morning Blooms.

You can find my friends’ links to their floral inspiration at the bottom of this post.

We’re excited to welcome Jain, from a quiet life,

who is joining us as a guest ‘Bloomer’ today!

If you haven’t visited Jain before, you’re in for a treat and will be

 wowed by her California garden and new greenhouse she designed and her hubby built!

 Jain motivated me to start blogging 12 years ago, when I followed her ‘Food for Thought’ blog,

and later joined her as a fellow Novel Baker.

She always inspires me, whether she’s in the kitchen or the garden,

so I’m thrilled for her to join us today.

Our common theme for this week’s edition of Monday Morning Blooms

was ‘Garden / Outdoors’.

The first flush of roses and spring blooms have faded…*sniff*. . . but the good news is

 that daylilies are blooming and will peak mid-June in our zone 7b garden.

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 And Endless Summer Hydrangeas are blooming!

Endless Summer Hydrangeas are a re-blooming bigleaf variety of hydrangea

(Hydrangea macrophylla) that can be blue or pink depending on your soil’s pH level,

turning blue in acidic soil and pink in alkaline soil.

For blues and purples, the soil pH should be between 5.5 to 5.8.

Use a 3-in-1 Meter to determine your soil’s pH.

You can amend your soil to become more acidic by adding composted oak leaves,

pine needles and coffee grounds, or find a soil acidifier product with Aluminum Sulphate,

following the directions on the package to produce blue flowers.

Garden lime will increase soil alkalinity and keep hydrangeas pink in color.

I’m often asked what fertilizer I use on our hydrangeas.

I use Pennington UltraGreen Azalea, Camellia & Rhododendron Plant Food,

 formulated for acid-loving plants.

I apply it at the beginning of March on the hydrangeas (as well as the azaleas and gardenias)

and then give them a second dose in July, 4 months later.

We’re in USDA zone 7b so hydrangeas will bloom until frost,

which is typically November in North Carolina.

See a fall flower arrangement with Endless Summer Hydrangeas and pumpkins, HERE.

I had every intention of photographing an arrangement outdoors,

but after cutting my flowers, the 90+ degree temperatures last week

had me dashing inside the Potting Shed to escape the heat and sun!

I picked some flowers for some garden bouquets to

fill some mason jars and watering cans.

And I planted some garden bouquets for some blooming tabletop fun!

Johnson Brothers Windsor Ware ‘Garden Bouquet’

And Johnson Brothers ‘Sheraton’

Both are perennial favorites from my dish garden with their multicolor floral patterns!

Flower pot napkin rings and garden gloves holding

flatware add tabletop gardening notes. . .

A ‘Fresh Flower Market, Seeds, Stems, and Blooms’ sign provides some tabletop inspiration

in the window ledge of the Potting Shed, propped on terra cotta pots.

A new favorite watering can is blooming with hydrangeas,

the last of the Mother of Pearl roses. . .

and Verbena Lollipop.

Verbena Lollipop is a butterfly and bee magnet and also attracts hummingbirds.

It’s a prolific reseeder and is coming up everywhere so there are plenty of blooms

for me to cut and for the pollinators to enjoy!

It grows 24 to 36 inches tall and the stems can be unwieldy, so it’s

 better suited for a naturalized area rather than a tidy or formal garden.

It can take the heat here in the hot and humid South and keeps

pushing blooms right through fall.

Flatware is buzzing with bees,

tucked in gardening gloves. . .

Coleus, Speedwell (Veronica), Lantana and Cleome were cut from containers

and join daylilies, hydrangeas and hosta leaves in garden bouquets. . .

Goblets are alight with butterflies. . .

Daylilies also attract pollinators, including butterflies, bees and even hummingbirds.

As well as lantana that is planted for the butterflies in annual containers.

Details:

Fresh Market Flower Sign / antique mall

Jute Runner / Pottery Barn, several years ago

Flower Pot Napkin Rings & Napkins / HomeGoods, several years ago

Garden Gloves / Target, several years ago

Chargers / Pier 1

Lotus Watering Can / MacKenzie-Childs

Flatware / Wallace Napoleon Bee

Goblets, La Rochere Butterfly / HomeGoods, several years ago

 Dishes: Johnson Brothers Windsor Ware Garden Bouquet

Johnson Brothers ‘Sheraton’

Visit my talented blogging friends to see their floral inspiration this week:

 Lidy at FrenchGardenHouse

Pam at Everyday Living

Jain at a quiet life

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 Between Naps on the Porch