Hydrangeas Galore

I’m so excited about my hydrangeas this year—we have tons of them! I don’t know what variety they are (I wish I did), but they usually start blooming around mid-August, which is perfect, as we were able to use them for our Baby Love’s baptism reception back in 2008 (to see a re-make of that day go to HERE)—here’s one of the pictures of that table/post, already graced by the start of hydrangea season at Chickadee Home Nest, even though I did the post in late July:

My birthday is in mid-August—could the timing of the hydrangeas be any better?—and I mentioned Southern Living’s tiered basket over at Ballard Designs to Mr. CHN. Well, three or four days later a package from Ballard Designs appeared at our front door :).  Sweet, sweet man. And perfectly timed to further enjoy our hydrangeas.

The possibilities with this basket are endless—it’s useful for every single season. I have a feeling you’ll be seeing a lot of it at Chickadee Home Nest.  In this vignette, the first tier holds three small medicine bottles I bought from my compounding pharmacist (!). They no longer use them for medicines and were selling them 3 for $2.95—what a deal! I hope they still have more, because I could’ve used NEED more. I digress, but I had to share my bargain. So the first tier holds sweet cuttings of the freshest and newest hydrangeas to bloom.

The second tier is cuttings of the larger clusters in full bloom, and the third tier holds three good-sized bowls full of another favorite—shells gathered over the years while on vacation—embellished with…HYDRANGEAS!

~At this point I should warn you…lots of pictures to follow. I just can’t seem to get enough of the beauty.~

No words necessary…

My favorite part of the basket is this handle…it looks like a garden shovel’s, which insinuates gardening, earth, plants, flowers…what a perfect touch!

Having ample supply of HYDRANGEAS, I moved on to create another vignette at the bar that faces into the kitchen. This time, I left the silver ice bucket and tray in their tarnished, “old” state—I liked the contrast with the fresh, white, dainty flowers, and my “perennial” favorite—a blue and white vase.

As I walked by at one point I noticed the reflection on the granite. If you’ve read my blog for a while you know how taken I am with the unexpected, fleeting gifts of shadows and reflections. They are magical moments that you’re blessed to see simply because you’re there at that precise moment.

Someday I’ll do a post that will probably be called The Saga of the Picnic Table. Suffice it to say that I now {finally} have the old picnic table that I’ve wanted for a long time, and now {finally} it’s on the patio—painted and ready for family meals, which was no minor feat (but like I said, that’s another story for another day—probably in the spring, to allow some “distance.” Are you getting my drift?? I’ll laugh about it by then {maybe}).

But I AM already enjoying the “new” picnic table, and the fact that as I glance out through the screened porch I can see it, in its soft teal splendor. Already it has served its purpose in several ways: 1. The babies have eaten there; 2. It brings me joy to see it out on the patio; and 3. It’s yet another surface to “pretty up” and make the view even prettier.

So I’ll let you guess how I prettied up my view!  Yes! Of course! MORE HYDRANGEAS!

This wood planter has seen its better days. For some reason my husband had it before we got married (did he really plant something in it?!), and that was almost 30 years ago. For the last 10 or so it’s been abandoned at the entrance to our business (empty, I’m embarrassed to say), so it’s been in the elements for that many years and then some. You know that look men give us when they have absolutely no idea what we’re thinking or why we do the things we do? It’s a look of surprise, mixed with curiosity and resignation. Well, that’s the look I got the day I asked Mr. CHN to bring the beaten-up, ugly, brown thing home. And then it sat in the garage for a year or two, but bless his heart, he never once asked why I he’d brought it home. (I, of course, knew…it was going to be a centerpiece someday! :) )  And THIS was the moment. The place. After it’d gotten a quick whitewash!

Don’t you just love the contrast of the dainty, sweet flowers against the rough wood and smooth metal strip?

And the contrasts even within the flowers themselves? Some pinkish, some white, with spots, some browning to a beautiful final stage. The stages of a flower are like the stages of a woman’s life—beautiful even as they reach their final stage.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope you’ll leave me a comment to let me know you were here—I read every single one of them, and you can’t imagine how it means to me that you took the time. And if you like what you see a lot, maybe you’d like to +1 or Pinterest them too! Thank you!

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Sunday Showcase at http://www.bystephanielynn.com

Mop it Up Monday at http://www.ishouldbemoppingthefloor.com

Metamorphosis Monday at  http://betweennapsontheporch.net/

Tuesdays at http://www.astrollthrulife.net/

Tuesdays at http://hickorytrailblog.blogspot.com

Wednesdays at http://diybydesign.blogspot.com/

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Wednesdays at Ivy and Elephants: http://ivyandelephants.blogspot.com

Thursdays at No Minimalist Here: http://nominimalisthere.blogspot.com/

Transformation Thursdays at http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/

Be Inspired Friday at http://www.Commonground-do.com/

Fridays at Feathered Nest: http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

Fridays at http://rootedinthyme.blogspot.com/

Fridays at Home Sweet Home: http://thecharmofhome.blogspot.com/

Plus I’m joining the Creative Home and Garden Hop at :

Kathy at Creative Home Expressions, http://creativehomeexpressions.blogspot.com/

Mary from Back to the Basics and Mary’s Kitchen

Alison from Mumtopia

and Lisa Lynn from The Little Homestead On The Hill

From my nest to yours, ~Zuni