I’m not often a fan of painted glasses, but something about these appealed to me.

The birch trees are nicely rendered, and the spacing lends a scalloped feel to the shape of the glass, though it’s a visual trick.

Online, it looks like the rim of the glass is curved.

Not so, I discovered when they arrived. I did wonder what it was going to be like to drink from an undulating rim! That settled, I began to plot the table setting.  Flowers first, naturally.

The rich gold of the roses contrasted sharply with the deep rust and pale yellow of the daylilies. They’re tricky flowers to use in an arrangement as they close up as the day draws to an end (hence the name).

Add in a few Annabelle Hydrangea and some Japanese Maple leaves and we’re set. Arrange, admire and take the photo. Quickly! 

Merletto Aqua has been getting a workout this year. I used the soup bowls…

…and the dinner plates with Twig flatware in rose gold from World Market.

Farmhouse Napkins from Pier 1 (still available) and grapevine napkin rings echoed the deep tones in the flowers and the glasses.

Ontario is known as the “land of the silver birch”. Native to Canada, they were the first to spring up and re-forest the ground after all the damage from acid rain in the 1980s.

I’ve always loved the papery silver bark, which glows luminously in the dusk. Purists describe them as  “weed trees” and they are prone to bugs. But they’re kind of magical – a ghost tree.

It’s been such a hot summer in Canada, our leaves are not producing their usual quality of rich colours, but are simply turning brown and sloughing off the trees. It’s not a complete capitulation, but a bit disappointing. So I’m glad to have the painted glasses to serve as a reminder.

You take your blessings where you can find them! Some flowers from the garden, a mellow sunny day, a little tableware arrangement and voila. Instant fall.

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

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