High Tea and Cottage Garden Flowers

A garden brings pleasure in so many ways. One way is to share it with visiting friends; another is to bring beautiful cut flowers indoors. I enjoyed both pleasures recently when some dear fellow gardeners came to my home for high tea. Prior to their arrival, I picked cottage garden flowers to decorate the dining room. My July garden peaked late this year and my arrangements showed a large variety of blooms.

Tea time was fun. I love to set a table with pretty, English china, tea sandwiches, scones with cream, strawberries, trifle, and tea cakes, on a lace table cloth. Best of all was the conversation with like-minded people, following a tour of the garden of course.

Wonderful friends share my English tradition.

The white jug was given to me by my friend, Karen, some years ago. I filled it with phlox, cleome, Queen Anne's lace, and purple cone flower. I added spikes of Russian sage, gooseneck loosestrife, and obedient plant.

Pink phlox 'Bright Eyes' with cleome and Queen Anne's lace.

As you may remember, I removed all my echinacea after it was struck with aster yellows. I planted a different variety far from the infected bed, hoping it wont suffer the disease.

Echinacea Purple Cone Flower

For the table arrangement I used white shasta daisies, tiny yarrow, and Queen Anne's lace, punctuated with colorful nasturtiums, delphinium, and marigolds.

Table arrangement.

Yellow thread-leaf coreopsis and pink cleome also add color.

Shasta daisy is a must-have cottage garden flower

I added a yellow dill flower.

My friend Karen brought flowers from her garden. Karen introduced me to the joy of growing zinnias many years ago, but this year my zinnias were very disappointing. Hers, however, left me gasping with envy. Large and colorful, they made a striking bouquet.

 

Karen uses hosta leaves in her arrangements, to great effect. 

She decorated the mason jar with burlap and ribbon. How lovely is that?

Thank you, Karen, and all my wonderful friends, for an enjoyable afternoon of flowers, food, and conversation.

Enjoy the rest of your summer (it's going too fast.)

Pamela x

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