Viola!! Violets!!!

It had been several days since I had taken a stroll through the gardens, so I grabbed a cup of coffee and hurried out before I had to meet someone for a design consult.  I was so shocked to see that in two days the wild violets had appeared and were looking so incredibly lovely.  I hurried back to the house, took this violet patterned china out of storage, threw it on a tray and made a trayscape.  Here's my disclaimer: this is a phony tea party!  I would have loved to have called a friend, but I just pretended today.

A few years ago, Atlanta Ballet had a guest choreographer in town to set work on a piece.  Her name is Violette Verdi and she is the dearest, tiniest, sweetest little French woman you ever met.  I decided to invite her to tea and used this china.  She actually cried when she saw what I had set up for her!  It was a very special day for both of us, I assure you.

I made a tiny bouquet of violets and tied them with twine from the potting shed.  Here they are placed on a lavender napkin.  I sort of feel weak at the knees when I see a violet bouquet, because I remember my Daddy gave me a violet corsage for Easter one year.  Lord knows how my mother kept it fresh until I wore it!  They wilt so easily.

This is just a twig votive holder that I plunked a plant that I dug up into.  I returned the plant as soon as I finished the shoot.

Here's the sugar bowl with it's gold trim.

The spoons are from my collection of silverplate.  See how I just keep the basic shape similar and mix them up?  These, to me, are so much more interesting than the matching silver, which I almost never use.

The empty acorn hat in this photo makes me smile.  This sort of represents one season slipping into the next.

If I had shot later in the day, these sweet flowers would have been a little more open and their heads would have been a little higher.

Looks like I have a lot of cleaning up to do in this garden!

The angle of the sun actually washed the color in this one out a bit.

I just had to get this fleeting moment in the garden.

There is something appealing about the beautiful silver tray sitting on the rustic zinc table on the "dining pad" in the garden.

I have to be sure to grab a friend for a real tea next year for violet season!  I'm off to meet a client.  I hope she'll understand my slight tardiness.

I'm posting at

http://www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

for Susan's Tablescape Thursday blog party.