Celebrate Mother’s Day with a Flower-filled Table and Strawberry Bellinis

Create a flower-filled table to celebrate Mother’s Day. You’ll find flower arranging tools and longevity tips to create an arrangement using grocery store flowers and centerpiece for a spring table. You’ll also find the perfect celebratory cocktail for a spring brunch and to raise a glass to ‘Moms’, a Strawberry Bellini!

Happy May!

It’s one of my favorite days of the month, when I join my blogging friends

for some flower therapy and Monday Morning Blooms!

We’re excited to welcome Jennifer at Celebrating Everyday Life

as a guest ‘bloomer’ today.

If you haven’t met Jennifer yet, let me introduce her. She is talented writer, photographer, designer,

and podcaster and was an event planner for more than 20 years.

Her work has been featured in magazines and websites including Southern Living,

Martha Stewart Weddings.com, Country Living, Southern Lady and The Knot, among others.

You can find the links to my blogging friends’ floral

and table inspiration at the bottom of this post.

Our common theme for May’s edition of

Monday Morning Blooms was ‘Mother’s Day’.

This post contains affiliate links. For more information see my disclosure policy.

To create my flower arrangement, I started with a white tureen (used for flowers more often than soup ;)

and a favorite flower arranging tool, chicken wire.

Chicken wire makes it easy to support your flower stems and is reusable,

making it an eco-friendly alternative to wet flower foam.

Cut your chicken wire at least 4 inches wider than the opening of your container,

so you have some excess wire to bend and hold against the walls of your vase or container.

I like to use a coated / painted chicken wire which is rust-resistant after repeated uses.

I purchased a white painted chicken wire several years ago, which has since tripled in price,

but this green coated wire is available and the color would blend with your flower stems.

If needed, you can use waterproof floral tape across the opening of your container

to keep the chicken wire from lifting as your arrange your flowers.

I used an assortment of grocery store blooms for my floral arrangement. . .

Charmelia, hydrangeas and tulips.

I started with the Charmelia as a base of the arrangement.

‘Charmelia’ means “charming beauty,” and is a relatively new introduction to the flower market.

It has up to 20 blooms per stem and a long-lasting vase life, with

 the added bonus that it doesn’t drop its flowers!

The leaves of Charmelia remain a vivid green for an extended length of time,

so it serves as foliage and flowers in the arrangement.

Next I tucked in four hydrangeas, two blue and two white,

shifting the Charmelia so the hydrangeas fit in the sides of the arrangement.

 It’s always a race in the spring see who can get to the tender new growth

on the Hosta in the garden first, me or the bunnies! 🐰🐰🐰

I was happy to find they hadn’t decimated the Hosta patch

and cut a few leaves to add to the arrangement.

When arranging tulips, remove the outer leaf or any leaves that are tattered and wilted.

Vase life for cut tulips is 3-10 days, depending on variety, care and maturity.

Here are few tips to help extend the life of your flowers in your arrangement:

Cut your flower stems at a 45 degree angle for maximum water uptake and

remove any leaves below the water line.

 Always add floral preservative packets to your vase water.

 If you don’t have any floral preservative, you can make your own with this easy formula.

 Check your water level to top it off as needed; hydrangeas in particular are thirsty flowers.

Change your water every other day if possible, to reduce bacteria and extend your flowers’ vase life.

This is a Pubic Service Announcement for your flower arrangements:

To get the most bang for your buck and vase life from your flowers, use

Crowning Glory, an anti-transpirant spray that seals in moisture!

It dries clear and is safe to use on all flower types, especially beneficial

for flowers that are prone to wilting due to moisture loss, like hydrangeas.

I’ve had flower arrangements last two weeks using Crowning Glory!

Note: You still want to change your water to reduce bacterial growth and so there is no odor from your vase water.

Crowning Glory will dry within 30 minutes to an hour, depending the temperature and humidity.

Note: Wait to spray roses with Crowning Gloray after they are open

as it will prohibit them from opening further.

Here’s a fun fact about tulips that you may or may not know:

Cut tulips continue to grow in the vase and will gain an inch or more in height after being cut!

Tulips are both geotropic (bend with gravity) and phototropic (reach toward light).

The photo above was taken two days later than the one above it.

A favorite spring floral tablecloth provides a foundation for a flower-filled table.

Matching napkins and floral napkin rings provide more blooms. . .

As well as rose chintz salad plates,

layered on MIkasa Endearment dinner plates.

Mix up a celebratory cocktail in honor of Mom, sisters, girlfriends

or yourself for Mother’s Day. . .a Strawberry Bellini, a perfect

spring cocktail for brunch, a bridal shower or strawberry season!

These pretty (and fragile!) stems were my dear mother-in-law,

Betty’s, wedding crystal pattern, circa 1950.

 ( Lakeside Table with Portmeirion Botanic Garden and Blooming Photo Frames for Mother’s Day )

Betty was the life of the party and my hubby and I have lots of happy memories

of enjoying a celebratory Mimosa or Bellini

with her on Mother’s Day and on birthdays. ♥

If you’re not familiar with a Bellini, it’s made with peach pureé and Prosecco,

invented in 1948 by Giuseppe Cipriani,

founder and barman of the legendary Harry’s Bar in Venice.

Mix up a strawberry version in celebration of spring!

You can use frozen strawberries for the convenience if you prefer

and the sparkling wine of your choice.

Make your strawberry purée mixture a day in advance and store in the refrigerator

until ready to serve.

Strawberry Bellini

Makes 4 servings

1/2 cup Simple syrup

16 oz. (1 pint) strawberries, fresh or use frozen, thawed

Strawberries, Violas and Mint Sprig to garnish glass, if desired

1 bottle sparkling wine of choice: Prosecco, Sparkling Rosé, Cava or Champagne

To make simple syrup:

Add 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water to a small saucepan

and heat over low heat until the sugar is dissolved.

Transfer to a container and allow to cool completely.  Store in refrigerator.

Method:

Purée strawberries with 1/2 cup of simple syrup in blender until smooth.

Strain through a fine-meshed strainer; discarding seeds.

For each serving, fill Champagne flute or glass 1/4 full of purée

(2 to 6 tablespoons depending on preference and size of glass).

Slowly pour sparkling wine into the flute to fill. Gently stir to blend.

Garnish with the whole berries, and organic viola if desired, and serve.

Raise a glass to toast and celebrate ‘Moms’ everywhere!

🥂 🍓 🍾

Table Details:

Tablecloth, Napkins / Ralph Lauren Antibes Floral Red, HomeGoods

Dinner Plates, Cups & Saucers / Mikasa Endearment

Salad Plates / Gracie China Rose Chintz

Floral Napkin Rings / Consignment store

Crystal Stems / Danish Princess by Heisey, 1939 – 1957

Tureen / Mikasa Antique White

Flatware / Mikasa Cameo Gold

Visit my talented friends and table stylists to see their floral inspiration this week:

Lidy at FrenchGardenHouse

Pam at Everyday Living

Jennifer at Celebrating Everyday Life

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