All the different hydrangea that bloom so profusely down here in the Cape are captivating and intoxicating. When I finished shooting the Minton Cat Plates tablescape, I plopped the big vase of pink and blue hydrangea in the middle of my dining room table to enjoy over the next few days.

I then noticed how well the peonies reflected all the colours in the stained glass chandelier.  Hmmm – gotta set another table, I thought.

The first thing was to make another couple of bouquets to frame the large central one, as my dining room table is a long oblong, rather than the cozy round table I used for the Cat Plates.  I used another handy flower arranging device called the “Easy Arranger”. And easy it is. Simply press the wire frame over the vase (or glass in this case) and hey, presto. Your flowers remain in place.

I used two of the Libbey Cobalt glasses I was going to use on the table as the vases for the smaller arrangements.

Oiseaux Bleu by Gien is a French Faience tableware. The dinner plates are plain blue & white, and each of the dessert plates has a different fruit or flower. There are six of each – fruits and flowers. I used a combination here, as I was trying to stick with a blue and pink colour scheme.  I’ve had the pattern for many years and I still love it as much today as the day I bought it. 

I set the table with eight plates, but must have forgotten to photograph one of them. Next time!

 

Who can resist blue & white? It’s a classic for a reason! Fresh, unfussy and instantly appealing.

 

This isn’t a great shot because the light is coming in the back of it, but don’t you think the hydrangea and the chandelier were made for each other?

This shows the true colours of the chandelier more clearly.

The cobalt glasses really glowed in the candlelight.

A very cosy, yet summery combination.

The hydrangea are starting to turn colour now; the vivid French blue is fading to a softer, greyer blue in some cases, and taking on a blue/green tinge in others. I’ll be setting more tables with the new palate as the season progresses. It’s a great flower for variety!

The chandelier is an antique from Elise Abrams Antiques. As a side note, our extremely patient and meticulous son, Adam, helped install it when we bought the Cape house. The little tiny screws that hold the five “tulip” pieces of stained glass were stripped, and took the patience of Job to thread into the equally little tiny frames of the light sockets. Adam persevered until it was all put together. Glenn had the unenviable job of holding the wretched thing aloft while the installation was taking place. Let’s just say that alcoholic beverages flowed once we could flip the switch and enjoy the light. Whew!

I got all of the cobalt glassware, including the open salt, on eBay. The Hammered flatware is from World Market.  The runner and napkins are from Williams Sonoma. Ouiseau Bleu is available from Replacements.com, Yvonne Estelle’s, Claude Berry and FX Dougherty (I’ve had great experience with all of the suppliers).  

So, what do you think – were the hydrangea worth a repeat?

I’m sharing this post with Between Naps on the Porch.