Welcome to ‘In A Vase On Monday’ when I am linking up with Cathy at Rambling In The Garden to join her challenge to fill a vase for the house from the garden every week.
This week the flowers are from my garden and they are in a vase (or similar), but I have to admit that I did not arrange them today. I feel like I am cheating a bit this week, but time is very short in June, so I am going to show you the flowers I made for yesterday’s lunch. I took these photos for my ‘Flowers On Sunday’ post, but we had such a lovely afternoon that it lasted most of the day and it was far too late to blog last night.
I am starting today with a view from the drawing room window – this was taken at about 6.30am yesterday and the light was beautiful. You can see peony Adolphe Rousseau growing in the bed with lupin Masterpiece.
For the table I chose six of the best peony blooms and placed them in individual vessels along the table. I love this style of flower arrangement on a dining table as the beautiful blooms take up very little of the space and can easily be moved about as needed. Shown individually I think they are even more stunning than when placed in a big arrangement. On the table you can see Gay Paree and Adolphe Rousseau.
There were still some beautiful Sarah Bernhardt buds just about to open.
I chose a variety of containers for the table – a few bottles and some small silver bowls gave a good height variation.
I particularly love this Sarah Bernhardt bloom in a silver bowl.
Looking across from the dining table you can see the seating end of the drawing room. I placed two posies of peonies on the tables.
On the table in the window a mixed posy including Gay Paree, Sarah Bernhardt, Adolphe Rousseau and Duchess de Nemours.
On the coffee table an arrangement of Festiva Maxima, a pinky white double flower with crimson flecks. This peony has a beautiful old rose scent.
On the mantle the beautiful Duchess de Nemours – my Sarah Raven bowl is always perfect for flowers on this mantle.
I added a few tea lights filled with single blooms to stretch the flowers out along the mantle.
To finish tonight I just wanted to show you a close up of the Edwardian wine glasses that I was very fortunate to find in an antique centre before Christmas. I love etched glass and have struggled to find anything like this that was affordable so I snapped these up when I spotted them tucked away amongst piles of other glasses. The beautiful morning light showed them off perfectly.
I hope you have enjoyed my ‘cheat’ today. I have been very busy all day planting out my dahlias in the heat and then bottling elderflower cordial that I luckily made just in time before the flowers went over. Next week I will make sure to prepare a vase on Monday – I still have a few peonies waiting to bloom but if this heat continues I may have to chose a new flower by next week!
I hope you will pop over to Cathy’s blog to see what she and the others have made this week. There are an increasing number of us joining in with Cathy’s meme these days – please do feel free to add a contribution. I am sure Cathy would be delighted!
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Delightful. The peonies are perfect for your formal table. I can’t get enough of the Duchess de Nemours.
Thank you Susie and I agree – she is a divine peony!
I can only imagine what it would be like to have so many peonies, Julie! I think putting one stem in individual vases is very effective – it allows you to truly appreciate each flower.
Thank you Kris – this is the first year that I have ever had such a bountiful supply of peonies and I am quite overwhelmed by their beauty.
The perfume in your rooms must have been as delightful as the flowers themselves. I hope you enjoyed your day.
Thank you Christina – we had a lovely afternoon catching up with news and enjoying the sunshine and the garden.
You’re right, they are perfect for a table decoration. Very pretty Julie!
Thank you Cathy – they also lasted very well in their individual containers.
We may not all have the stylish setting that you have, Julie, but you have still shown how we can easily add stylish touches. The peonies look so sumptuous, whether singly or grouped, don’t they? Your guests must love coming to your dinners and lunches! I have really enjoyed seeing all your peonies and have to admit that my sole peony has not flowered this year so come autumn I shall have to remove soil that has built up as i assume that’s what the problem is 🙁
Thank you Cathy! If it is a mature peony I expect that is the problem. Do try feeding it as well – rose food has made a big difference to my plants, although any type of food would help. I often mix up some maxi crop in a watering can and everything seems to respond to that.
Sounds like good advice, Julie – I’m sure it must be more than a little peckish as I have never specifically fed it 🙂
Your peonies are lovely, Julie! The center looks extremely tempting as if it is a delicious dessert.
Thank you Sajina – what a lovely idea to have a peony look alike dessert – sadly well beyond my kitchen skills though!
They look great. 🙂
Thank you!
How lovely. Interesting too, that a single peony by itself can be so striking.
I adore peonies and you have captured so many so well. What a visual treat. I have a question for you. My mother-in-law passed away last week and when we cleaned out her apartment, we found three sets of the glassware you show in your photos. She has a champagne flute, a wine and a water glass with the precise pattern. Do you know if they are of value? They are lovely and yet very old-fashioned. I know it depends upon taste (and I love yours!) but I wonder if these might sell in a consignment store. Any thoughts?
Hi Susan – I am so sorry to hear about the passing of your mother-in-law. If you email me I will give you the background to these glasses – I