Happy Monday!
Summer is winding down, although we typically have summer weather
well into October in the southern Piedmont of North Carolina.
We spent the week of Labor Day in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains. . .
a short two hour drive, to enjoy the views as well as a temperature drop of 20 degrees,
providing some welcome relief from the heat and humidity.
I noticed the bees buzzing everywhere, busy collecting pollen and nectar
for their winter stores.
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Out of curiosity, I checked the garden.org frost dates for this area and read:
“Your risk of frost really begins around September 17 and by October 12 you’re almost certain to have received at least one frost event.”
No wonder the bees were so busy, that’s right around the corner!
The bees were loving the Cosmos that provides a source of nectar as well as pollen.
Bonus: Cosmos are relatively long flowering, easy to grow from seed and a butterfly magnet too!
You can see the pollen baskets on the hind legs of the honey bee.
Fun fact: Unlike male bees that forage strictly for nectar, only female bees collect the pollen
that serves as food for young bees.
Pollen is collected in pollen baskets, also known as corbiculae, which can account for 30% of a bee’s weight!
At times, I noticed there were bees competing for the same bloom. 🐝🐝
I took advantage of the beautiful weather and low humidity to set a summer table
outdoors that was buzzing with bees. . .
Literally at times!
This honey bee must have curious about his tablecloth doppelganger. 🐝
Regular readers know my love for all things *bee* so I was all abuzz when I found these
French Bee 9″ Salad/Dessert Plates.
A honeycomb and bee embossed metal container was a Hobby Lobby find several years ago. . .
I filled it with some garden blooms. . . Hydrangeas, Black-eyed Susan, Cosmos and fern fronds
that grow along the edge of the woods, free-for-the-picking.
Despite leaving plenty of Cosmos for the bees in the garden,
this bumble bee made a *beeline* from the blooms at the table.🐝
DIY Bee-Jeweled Napkin Rings are an easy and fun craft project . . .
They make an affordable and sparkling addition
to your table for less than the luxe designer ones they’re inspired by!
Embroidered bee napkins are framed by a laurel leaf design . . .
Bees are buzzing on Napoleon Bee Flatware . . .
And Honeycomb Goblets from Williams Sonoma were a recent addition to my apiary. 🐝
Table Details:
Certified International French Bee 9″ Salad/Dessert Plates
Black and White Checked Placemats and Bee Napkins / Crown Linen Designs
Honeycomb Bee Tin / Hobby Lobby, couple of years ago
Black and White Check Plates/ Ciroa, HomeGoods, several years ago
Bee Tablecloth and White Chargers / HomeGoods, several years ago
Honeycomb Goblets / Williams Sonoma
In about 6 weeks, the view will go from this . .
To this:
🍂 🍁 🍂
Rod and Rowena are excited that Halloween is only 52 days away!
Join them for their Blue Ridge Mountain Leaf Peeping Adventures
and a Rib-Tickling Halloween Tablescape.
They said to stay tuned for the 11th Annual Home is Where the Broom Is
Halloween Giveaway coming later this week!
🎃 🐈⬛ 🧹🕸️ 👻 🎃
We’ve had a teaser of fall weather with morning temps in the 50s that really put me in a fall state of mind!
Are you sorry to say goodbye to summer or happy to say hello to fall?
Hope you’re enjoying the last days of summer where you are. ♥
Thank you for your visit!
Sharing with: Between Naps on the Porch
Your honey bee table setting is gorgeous! I love the flower arrangement in the center of the table and don’t blame the honeybee from helping herself!! So excited for your upcoming Home is Where the Broom Is post this week!
Such beautiful views and love how you celebrate the seasons with all your tablescapes.
Love your posts so much! You always inspire me. We’re in North Carolina now, so I take great inspiration from you!
Your tablescapes never disappoint!! ❤️ those napkin holders all over again!! franki
Love the photo of the real bee atop its graphic counterpart!
ALL of your photos are stunning!
So funny that your bee tablescape attracted real bees Mary! Love the view from the table! Is that the same place you have stayed before? The porch/view/table looks familiar. I’m sure it’s not easy lugging tablescape things with you on your trip, and how nice nature provided the flowers for your centerpiece! I love the bee cloth and the bee plates. Your photos of the bee captures are incredible! I’m glad you had a lovely week and an escape from the heat. Our temps have been much cooler in the early mornings, and the leaves are falling~yes, I am ready for fall!
Jenna
Thank you Jenna! Yes, we fortunate to have friends that share their mountain house with us when they’re unable to use it. We were there for a week so it was fun to play with dishes while we were there. I hope you’re enjoying some cooler temperatures this week and fingers crossed Francine doesn’t cause you any problems on the coast! ♥
Beautiful view, tablescape! Love those bee glasses!
Good morning, Mary! I had to look twice to see that bee on bee! How adorable, as my Jacqueline would say these days. 🐝I love your additions of the salads & stemware to your apiary! We’ve enjoyed a weekend of very cool mornings here, but back up to daytime highs near 90 this week (but there’s a definite difference in the air! Still dry, but hey, can’t have everything). I often wondered as I see the bees all over the flowers just how heavy those pollen baskets must be – now we know, and we also know the females carry that weight in nature. I read someone post recently that when the autumn clematis blooms, according to the farmer’s almanac, that the first frost should follow six weeks from that date. That means October 15th for my region, though that seems a bit early!
Your highlands backdrop makes a beautiful setting for your tabletop and wonderful summer flower arrangement. As always, a stunner!
Love your table scape but how do you avoid being stung by the bees? They scare me ever since I was stung by one very, very close to my eye which needed medical attention.
Hi Barbara, That sounds so painful and scary by your eye! Not all species of bees sting. Bees will leave you alone as long as you don’t swat at them or threaten their nest or hive. That is NOT the case with yellow jackets or hornets…they will chase you down!
Mary, Your bee table is gorgeous! It’s amazing that you captured the real bee checking out your bee tablecloth. The centerpiece is beautiful and the bees enjoyed it too! I love the container from Hobby Lobby. It’s perfect for your themed table. Your salad plates and goblets are so pretty. Your DIY napkin rings look better than the expensive ones as you do such a good job on your projects. I love the way you presented the napkins; it’s a nice way to display 2 napkins which I like to use. The views are magnificent! Rod and Rowena will get their time out of the closet soon, if not already! We already have skeletons on display in our neighborhood. Enjoy your week. Clara❤️
I always look forward to seeing your amazing photographs of nature. Our summer just started here in coastal southern California with temperatures up to 90 degrees and no ocean breeze to keep us cool. Let’s hope this isn’t one of those years when it’s still hot at Halloween.
I’ve given up waiting for the physical seasons to change here to decorate inside my house, so my pumpkins have already made an appearance.
Oh Mary, those new plates are perfect for bee-loving You! Your free bouquet is so pretty and the view is exquisite! It’s so nice here today and such a reprieve from our high temperatures. I may spend every minute outside!
Mary, those mountain vieware breathtaking. We hope to get back to our favorite place this fall. Bees and butterflies are in abundance in our garden! The cosmos is so pretty and the late summer table is gorgeous! I love the new French bee salad plates and the Honeycomb goblets from WS, both are perfect for you.
This is a charming table to end the summer season. I admire your energy to load up dishes, linens, etc for a tablescape. I have thought about it, but your post may have convinced me to do it. We had a couple of mornings in the 50’s but still no rain!
Happy Monday 🐝💛🐝🖤🐝
Dear Mary,
I’m so loving your new bee post! I’m never ready for fall, always hoping for “Indian Summer” because our “warm” season is so short here in central Oregon! My friends are putting out their “Hello Pumpkin Season” while I’m still clinging to sunflowers, black eyed Susan’s, and late summer color. Maybe I will put out a dish of the green acorns my friend “picked” off a tree she found in the mountains. They are such a pretty green with their brown hats! Thank you for not rushing the season too much!
As a fellow bee enthusiast, I really love this table! The bees are really active here in coastal Georgia, too. Have a great week!
Mary I alway love your bee tables and you always introduce something new. How beautiful are the mountains around your vacation area. I love the bee on the bee…so cute. Have a great Fall.
Mary, you know my bee loving heart is buzzin about this post! I have the placemats, have the napkins, have checkered plates, have the Napoleon bee flatware, sooooo I think I need to order a set of those salad plates. Right?
Seriously, you have me clicking the link and spending money on more dishes. But I need them, right?
Thanks for this fun, inspiring post. Garden clean up starts tomorrow after an absence, so I think a new alfresco table may be in order sometime soon. Buzzing off to shop…..
Good morning, Mary! The Blue Ridge Mountains are my most favorite place to visit. I was fortunate enough to get to visit twice this summer. I’m always sad to leave, and it is my dream to own a cabin there someday. I’m so happy that you shared a gorgeous tablescape with us with that stunning scenery as a backdrop. Your bee themed tablescape makes my heart sing! In fact, I’m enjoying a cup of tea with Blue Ridge Mountain wildflower honey in it as I read this post. The honey is delicious! I always stock up when I’m in the area. Your bouquet of gathered flowers makes a stunning centerpiece. I enjoyed reading all of the bee information you shared. It is all so interesting. Those tiny creatures do so much for us. Sweet friend, I have so enjoyed my visit today! I wish you a most wonderful week ahead!
Mary, there’s nothing so refreshing as those early days of cool fall weather. They tease us sometimes just so we know to hold on! Fall is coming! Your talent continues to amaze. The joy you have in what you do is evident in every post. I’m so glad you share with us all!
Love everything with bees! Beautiful view too! We have a small cabin in northwest Georgia, only 15 minutes from home. Fall is my favorite time to spend weekends and enjoy the view.
Many thanks!! Enjoy the cooler weather!
I love how the real bee loved your tablescape!
I love this view, and I believe you have shared this vacation view before. How lucky you are, and how lucky we are, too!
Beautiful table! Thank you for the inspiration!
🐝💛
Anyone would BEE delighted to sit at that gorgeous and perfect bee-themed table, Mary!!! What a truly serene and beautiful view. WOW!
I really loathe high heat and humidity – but love autumn the best. We’ve had perfect weather for a week now and it is just so awesome. So I guess I am welcoming it. I even decorated for fall early this year. Guess I am “feeling” it with the low humidity and cool temps.
BEEEEEUTIFUL AS USUAL!! No to goodbye summer…I love summer but I also love Fall & Winter & Spring!!! I’m living for all of the seasons!!!
Mary, your view and surroundings are so lovely. I love bees too and you have captured some pretty shots. Love the bee on bee. The cosmos are so gorgeous. How nice to get away from the heat. Like Sarah, I have the placemats, flatware, some bee napkins and goblets. Those plates are so fun. I am ready to embrace Autumn.
Mary, your table is bee-autiful and your pictures are stunning! Such great shorts of the bees, and glad you don’t mind them on your table! I like bees too – from a distance. Your new salad plates are so cute and love the new WS goblets – a perfect addition to your apiary. Beautiful centerpiece and how great that the flowers were there for the picking. The views are wonderful and I hope you had a fabulous vacation.
Such a wonderful getaway and adore bees as much as you do, darling setting!.
Mary, isn’t the Southeast wonderful! I feature some of the exciting happenings in my blog