Christmas Tablescape

The holidays are my favorite time to decorate our home and tables.  I have amassed a collection of dishes from my mother, thrift stores and my own purchases over the years.  

I'm in my late 60's now so I'm out of the acquiring mode and have parted with some sets but enjoy mixing and matching  collections I've had for years. 

I love getting different looks by layering different patterns together.  I have favorite holiday dishes and use them every year.    

I inherited tablecloths for almost every occasion from my mother-in-law along with some lovely sterling silver.      Although our Moms have been gone for a number of years I feel they are with us on special occasions when our table is set with family pieces.

We celebrated my youngest son' s birthday this weekend and also had an early Christmas dinner with my son who lives in Florida so I set our formal dining room table.  Always special to have my sons together to gather around our family table. 

 

Wishing everyone a blessed holiday season and 

Merry Christmas!

Fall Colors

My favorite season is fall with all the warm colors in the garden against a vibrant blue sky.  These photos are from my garden over the past 2 weeks.  

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! 

Fake Spring

 

We have several more weeks before it's "safe" to plant annuals in my zone.   The weather has been crazy, one day it's 80 and the next in the 40's.  There are some hardy perennials that can go in the ground now and I found several plants to add to my borders.

I have a red columbine that has done well through our heat and winter so I was happy to find some purple columbines to add to my border.

Limegreen oregano

I also found a more hardy oregano that I have planted several years ago and it has done well as a colorful ground cover and has spread nicely. 

Avanti Daffodils

Daffodils are blooming throughout my garden and I love having different varieties to enjoy. King Alfred has large bright yellow cups.  

Sweet primrose

Things are starting to wake up and it's fun to go out in the garden to see the progress.

 

Hyacinth

I love this time of year! 

Hurry Spring!

 It warmed up to 70 degrees yesterday and even though it's back down to 30 this morning, we got a nice touch of spring weather to come!  I was outside running errands and found the prettiest yellow tulips at Trader Joe's.  

Lenten Roses and daffodils are blooming and our fescue grass is just starting to warm up.   I can see tulips starting to emerge and love the color they bring to the garden.  

Lenten Rose

Our average  last frost date is about April 5th so I still have over a month before I can plant any flowers but I am starting seeds this week.

Lenten Rose

I had a great success starting 'Lady in Red' salvia as well as 'Pink Sunday' salvia and 'Mealy Blue' salvia seeds last year and will definitely plant again. 

Lady in Red Salvia

I'm so excited with a new growing season to plan and plant some new plants as well as tried and true varieties. 

Merry Christmas

 Christmas is almost here and even though I started decorating the day after Thanksgiving, I finally finished this past weekend.

I don't change my decorations too much from year to year but I do edit and I don't put out everything.  I alternate some decorations so I don't get too bored with the same old things.  

Our home is filled with traditional decorations and lots of red and green.  I decorate with sentimental ornaments and keepsakes from our family, friends and trips we've taken.  

When I set our table it's a mix of family pieces handed down and things I have collected over the past years. 

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!