Hello Everyone who has taken the time from your busy schedules to visit. It’s the first day of Spring and I’m looking out at my garden where the birds are busy at the feeders. The feeders are close enough to the house that we can watch the many varieties of birds come and go. They have particular times of the day when they are more active…kind of like our breakfast, lunch and dinner schedules. The willow trees are leafing out and the phlox is blooming along with camellias, daffodils, hyacinth and tea olives. I love watching the garden come to life.
Ron and I are getting ready to teach our next set of classes: Cooking with Herbs and Slow Travel. I’ll be posting some recipes from the class on the blog. We’re still teaching via Zoom which actually works out quite well. But enough of that and on to today’s tablescape.
We used to live in Maryland and the Maryland/Virginia area has a lot of hunt clubs. The end of the hunting season is coming up so I thought I would put together something reminiscent of the outdoors, horses, stags, and foxes. They don’t actually hunt real foxes anymore.
I started with a really heavy, gorgeous, green circular tablecloth with lighter green and gold flowers shot through the fabric (thrifted). The plate stack is Noritake’s Royal hunt. This is one of my very favorite patterns and I use it a lot around the holidays due to the red and green. However, it also has beautifully painted peasants, rabbits and stags around the rim of the plate that make it perfect for this theme. It was a birthday gift from my husband this year. He spent some time collecting it from thrift stores, flea markets and antique stores. What a guy!
The napkin is placed between the dinner plate and salad plate (thrifted). On the smaller plate I have a fruit crystal stemmed bowl by Mikasa in the Park Lane pattern (thrifted). A few sprigs of Rosemary are placed on the plate to remind the guests of all the fun the past season held for them. Rosemary is the herb of Remembrance.
The wine glasses are Waterford from the Millennium Series. The beautiful crystal pairs well with Mikasa water glasses and adds a little weight and elegance to the table.
I used silver plate for the flatware in this really pretty but restrained pattern from Community called Coronation that picks up on the flowers in the tablecloth.
A simple flower centerpiece put together from some grocery store flowers and some Mountain Laurel from the garden occupies center stage on the table. A bird nestled in the arrangement reminds us of the pheasants in the china.
Tea cups and saucers are in the same pattern and also show birds on one side and rabbits on the other side of the cup.
Above are a few more views of the table setting. The rich colors of the china and the tablecloth really give this table an elegant feel. Can’t wait to sit down and enjoy a meal with friends and family. It’s been a hard Winter but we have some good memories. Sharing a meal and reminding ourselves of our many blessings is a good way to welcome Spring.
