Summer Outdoor table

One of my favourite times to host a dinner party is when our backyard flowers are at their peak.

I'll start by picking my flowers early in the day.

I always put a small lap blanket over the chairs of the ladies for the cool evenings.

If there are going to be four of us I'll use two table runners to reach across.

I'll then use placemats or charger plates and put my china out, napkins and silverware and leave the crystal until just before guests arrive.

We have a heater in the middle of our table and at first I didn't know where to put the flower arrangement.

I make four small arrangements and put them in small jars, placing them around the heater stand.  Roses, climbing hydrangeas and what ever else happens to be blooming fills the air with natural beauty and fragrance.
All summer long the arrangements take on different hues and textures, depending on what is blooming.

I never worry about taking my fine china outside.  I chose this china pattern years before I got married and in our  36 years of marriage,  it has been used to make my guests feel like they are worth fine china.

If you haven't used your china in a long while...
call your friends over and tell them...
they are worth it!