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| Oak leaf Hydrangea Bouquet adorns library book table. |
When I got into my car after shopping at Sprouts this afternoon, the thermostat read 111 degrees. Time to move indoors, I say. More specifically to my living room which now houses the massive hydrangea bouquet I dried this week... and promised to show you in its domestic environ. I guess it's the voyeur in all of us, but I am often asked to share the inside of my home as well as the gardens, so here is a peak if you are at all interested. Less VERANDA or SOUTHERN ACCENTS MAGAZINE than it is a composition of hand-me-downs and things I love: white slipcovers, books, linen pillows, maps, topiary...books. I like to think of it as possessing a certain Nancy Meyer's IT'S COMPLICATED vibe, (though I must tell you MY potager on this blistering July afternoon bears nooooo resemblance to the picture perfect potager in said movie.)
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| It is positioned to be a focal point on the table and in the room...holding center stage. |
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| It is surrounded by some of my favorite gardening books. |
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| Looking from the direction of the dining room, the bouquet holds its own with the other room elements. |
But the dried bouquet does look fresh (as fresh as a dried bouquet can look) in its new situation in the middle of my large Round Book Table (I wrote a blog post about it here... where you can see many other seasonal arrangements that have occupied this pride of place in the past.)
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| Good reading lights are essential when you have this much to read! |
I arranged the huge blooms in a massive wooden trug (and one of the most favorite gifts I I've ever received...thank you, Suza) that was perfect in scale and earthiness to suit the flowers.
To give it even greater stature, and to make book selection easy without disturbing the blossoms, I placed the trug on a like-colored wood cake plate in the center of the table.
The table holds a rotation of gardening and garden design books that I refer to frequently. I change the selection fairly often, usually with the seasons. Their beautiful images and inspirations literally help me survive our long hot summers. The bouquet will remain handsome for a very long time...usually I toss them the following season when I can replace them with a new generation of blooms, and/or when I feel the others have gotten too dusty :)
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| It wouldn't be a room of Linda Vater's without a topiary somewhere. Oh, I also adore monograms. |
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| My essentials: books, flowers, comfortable chairs, a fire....and one of my men keeping me company. |
So there you have it, as promised. The ultimate destination of this
grand arrangement. And I hope you enjoyed a peak into my living room. Please do let me know if you did and if you have any interest in seeing more...AND if you might guess where the Christmas tree goes.
Stay cool and hydrate everyone. And if you are reading this from a cooler, more comfortable clime, I tell you this: plbbbsttt! ... and send some of it this way!