Though inland far we be,
Our souls have sight of that immortal sea
Which brought us hither.
~William Wordsworth, Intimations of Immortality
Side Note ::: My father enjoyed reading Wordsworth's poetry. I now have what I always thought was 'his copy' of Wordsworth Complete Poems :/ turns out he was borrowing the book while he was dating my mom, because it has 'property of _________ University' stamped on the inside. I guess he was trying to impress mom with 'his' poetry!
Let's gather in the garden and imagine the salty air and ocean breeze, with the sound of seagulls in the distance. Tonight I will share with you an easy to recreate Seaside Garden Centerpiece. Soon I will share the table we will be dining at.
I envision our dinner on the patio of a garden home set in The Hamptons. Table is a large, rustic farmhouse table, with benches and cozy chairs (to linger in as the sun disappears) . . . I don't ask for much do I?
I am using my imaginaaaaaaation of what the setting for our dinner will be like.
I typically imagine the centerpiece for a table before I even plan what I'm going to cook (yes, I am the sister who likes to set a cute table).
After all, the centerpiece is the crown of your table.
So let's gather our materials to make our latest crown . . .
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1. Variety Pack of Moss ($5.99 at Hobby Lobby, use 40% coupon)
2. [Coronado] Stone Planter and plants (keep reading for choosing plants)
3. Assortment of shells in a variety of colors (if possible, otherwise -- use what you have)
About 1 1/2 to 2 cups of sand.
4. Candles a must on ever table I set -- because everyone looks better by candlelight.
Please please use unscented when choosing candles for a table.
5. Small ornaments (I keep some non-Christmas-y ornaments unpacked to use throughout the year)
6. [Stiletto] Glass Pedestals -- to raise the candles up & away from the plant & moss.
and the most important piece to pull it all together . . .
an iron garden [Charles Street] Planter |
I imagined airy or wispy plants, or even tropical plants, will be appropriate to mix and mingle with shells.
I approach my container gardens just as I do my door buckets -- I'm looking for a little Spiller (to tumble out the sides), the height of Thriller (to catch the wind and gather attention), and a bit of Filler (to fill in the gaps in between).
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1. Filler = Palace Purple Coral Bells (love the hint of purple with the green & gray)
2. Thriller = Autumn Fern
3. Spiller = Goldilocks Creeping Jenny |
Before you add your soil. Line the
stone planter with a coffee filter to stop soil from falling through the drainage hole.
It works like a dream!
Next, come the seaside details . . . play around with it until your happy. I don't want our guests to look up from their takeout dinner amazing meal and see dirt . . . so I am adding some sea shells.
Next we get mossy -- softening the hard surfaces of the stone, metal and glass.
Second, rip open your variety bag of moss, and simply start placing it on top of the metal and the base of the glass. I used about 1/2 of the bag and I probably used too much. The purpose of the moss is not to cover the base, just soften it.
Almost done . . .
. . . add your candles (the pillar candle is from Michael's and it came with the twine 'bow'.), add a few small shells, starfish or ornaments if you have them handy. Add larger, more ornate shells to the base.
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| Ta Da! A new CROWN for your table! |
I move the 'crown' to the server, while I set the table :)
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| The lighting is better here on this overcast day . . . so I think you can see the detail a bit better.
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Of course . . . we all look better by candlelight . . . and I must admit . . .
I love the textures of the moss and the sand paired with the metal and the glass.
I hope this tutorial inspires or encourages you to seek out an unusual
centerpiece CROWN for your table as we welcome summer.
A few additional notes about the items used . . .
The Charles Street Planter can serve many purposes. I use one to house my kitchen canisters during many months of the year . . .
. . . just pop out the removable tray and place on top of the flipped planter. Of course you can dress-up and personalize the removable tray with a piece of linen or fun party napkins . . . and
many other uses (besides being your table's CROWN or your patio's planter).
The
Gramercy Beverage Server is also versatile. This ceramic server can be used for both hot or cold beverages and comes with a cast iron stand as I used here . . .
. . . When not used for entertaining, it becomes an adorable cookie jar . . .
. . . just by turning it around. You can even write on it with a Sharpie or dry erase marker. I prefer to use a sharpie -- and all you need is a squirt of Windex to remove it!
A HUGE Thank You for Stopping In and following along -- or skipping to the end (I understand you're busy ;). Hope you have a wonderful day -- and don't forget to stop back in to see how the Seaside Garden Table turns out!
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