Florida and Lilacs? The Color Purple? Maybe!
Friends, having a Fresh Lilac Tablescape is impossible in Florida. However, a few florists have lilacs shipped in from Holland in the Spring at about $150.00 A SPRIG! Whoa! So it is possible if you want to spend that kind of money, and I choose not to do that.
But… If you have been following me for awhile, you should know by now that if someone says : It is impossible…I am going to do my best to find a way to make it work. And who says one can not enjoy lilacs in June? If they are faux, one can enjoy them into December if desired. Sometimes that is all one needs to brighten an otherwise dull day. Spring flowers in June! Works for me.
Sadly, I really can’t make the growing of lilacs, work down here in Florida. We are way too far south as Lilacs need that brisk cold (freeze?) to produce those beautiful shades of purple clusters of flowers. However, I do miss the lilacs in the Midwest AND the fragrance of lilacs.
The Fragrance of Lilacs.
In my opinion, their fragrance is on the same level as the baking of bread aromas. I love it. Every year in May, my “only daughter” calls to say she’s picked fresh lilacs and has them sitting in vases all over her home back in Kansas. She has several lilac bushes in her garden, plus she lives across the street from Sunset Park which has rows and rows of Old Fashioned Lilac Bushes that are about 10 feet tall. In the Spring, they are laden with beautiful, fragrant lilacs.
Sad face here! First is that twinge of inhaling the sweet fragrance (from memories) and second is the realization that I can not have lilacs in Florida. But, I have found a way to have lilacs all year round….not just in the early spring. Faux lilacs have come to my home to prove it. There have been so many improvements in faux flowers these days…if you look around, you can find those that don’t look like plastic, but are more realistic looking.
I couldn’t believe it when I found these on line. (Is there any other way to purchase?). They really do look like the real thing and if you don’t take the impulse to smell them, you might be fooled into thinking they are the real deal. However, I did place a lilac scented sashay near by, and so I am lulled into thinking they are close to being real. And it certainly doesn’t hurt that I have dried lavender in the same vicinity.
So what is a Kansas girl to do when she has faux lilacs in Florida? A tablescape with a Tea Party of course! I started with my centerpiece, a vase of beautiful lilacs centered on a purple place mat.
The chargers are scalloped shaped much like a flower and then I placed a white dinner plate on top of it. I have had these pretty lilac colored salad plates for a few years, just waiting on a place to use them. I found them at a thrift shop and I don’t believe they are a set, but I really like that each plate has a delicate scene, different from the others.
I doubled the napkins, placing the darker purple napkin under the lighter lavender napkin and tucked them in a small white rose. (Yes, I could have used a sprig of one of my lilac stems…but I like to add an unexpected element sometimes…..AND I didn’t want to break up my lilacs)
The flatware is purple handled that I have had for years and I have used them in other tablescapes. They are featured here: in this purple tablescape
Please forgive the lighting…it was a gloomy rainy day which is all the more reason to have lilacs on the table. The sun kept ducking under the clouds. The stemmed goblets are also purple and I like that in this setting they look purple. I have tried to use them in other place settings and they appear almost black in the photos. If you notice the goblet nearest the camera has a bit of black shading to it.
For the tea party, I used the lavender tea pot, creamer and sugar that I have used in Easter tablescapes. I placed macarons in shades of pink on pedestals. I probably should have made my own lavender macarons…but I saw these at Home Goods and couldn’t resist the ease in buying instead of baking.
So my dear readers, no matter the time of year, Spring, Summer, Fall, or Winter, when life gives you faux lilacs …you make a tablescape like the color purple!
Song of Solomon 2:12
“Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.”
Have a great and glorious day!
Such a sweet table, Kari, and I love that you added the scent of lilacs to the table as well as the flowers. I often use faux flowers myself and I wholeheartedly agree that they can be beautiful substitutes. I especially love that your table is purple! A totally underrated color in my opinion.
thanks Sandra for stopping by and for your sweet comments…I have to say I put faux flowers in my outside planters and they look so pretty from the street. With this Florida weather, I just couldn’t keep them alive (unless they are in the ground as a native bush or tree.).LOL Have a safe and wonderful 4th….🥰🇺🇸❤️🤍💙🇺🇸
Lilacs are a favorite of mine, too, Kari. My neighbor cut their back so much last fall (granted, it was getting as tall as my house!) so no blooms this year, but it’s right outside my door and I expect it to go wild next spring. Your table, as always, is gorgeous. Love how you even tied the chargers into the theme. Those are gorgeous faux lilacs, too. I was going to suggest a drop of lilac essential oil somewhere on the stem or deep within (so it doesn’t stain the bloom) for fragrance, but I think your sachet is brilliant!
On another note, thanks for your comment on my Emmy Awards post and I have to tell you, I laughed and laughed at your panty hose story! Hugs, j
Oh Jeanie we have to believe that we older people were put here on this earth to teach the younger generation and sometimes, I get carried away if I feel the need to make a point. If I had the time and space I would tell you the long story of how I convinced a young girl behind the counter of Dairy Queen why the pennies she dropped in my malt were a bad thing. I could have just said give me a new malt but I had to make a point that I am sure she never forgot. She kept saying, “I washed the pennies off.”…I convinced her (and all the other people waiting in line) by speaking slowly and distinctly (much like Julia Sugarbaker on Designing Women)…”you don’t understand…you dropped them in my malt!” and I had to repeat that phrase each time she tried to hand me back the ‘washed pennies’. Needless to say, her manager walked by and overheard the conversation and she apologized, grabbed the malt and dumped it and got me a fresh one. LOL Have a beautiful day.🥰
Gorgeous table setting
Thank you Rebecca….I wish I could organize my dish pantry better as I have had those lilac salad plates for years and just discovered them hidden away in their little nook. It was like Christmas in June for me. LOL Have a wonderful day. Blessings always
My dearest Kari, I love your lilac tablescape! I agree that faux flowers have made a huge improvement over the years. The transferware is gorgeous, I have been thinking I need some lilac salad plates (actually I don’t need any dishes)! The teapot is so pretty and is perfect for this lovely table. I am a fan of macarons. I would eat at least three at your tea party. I always enjoy a visit to your table💜 Blessings, my friend!
I would love to have you to tea Pam…and though I know how to make macarons, it is so much easier to buy them already made… but we together could really make a dent in them couldn’t we? LOL. I am trying to convince myself I do not need or want anymore dishes. I try to say that several times a day as a mantra. We shall see how that works out. LOL Have a beautiful day and stay cool.🌸🤗❤️
Beautiful! I love the lilac transferware dishes, not easy to come by! The faux lilacs are pretty. My lilac didn’t bloom this year, as it was nipped by a mid-March snow & frost. I have pruned it and it’s growing again, looking forward to next year. My mother grew up in Rochester NY, where they enjoyed a lilac festival in spring. They remind me of her. 💜
Rita I think our mothers and grandmothers all loved lilacs… but they are susceptible to early frosts…My daughter knows how much I love lilacs and several years ago when we went up to see them in the spring…she picked lilacs and put them in a vase along with bridal veil spirea and brought them out to our motor home at our camping site. I was thrilled with the surprise. Yes, I have never found other lilac transferware, I am sure it is out there but not readily available. thanks for your kind comments. 🥰
Oh, Kari, I’m a Kansas girl through and through. I love lilac bushes, but for some reason I couldn’t get them to grow in Missouri. I tried. I love your purple tablescape. My grandmother, aunts and mom had lilac bushes and I loved their smell.
Sandy
I just love the smell of lilacs Sandy and I am surprised you could not grow them in Missouri. Perhaps Lilacs make me think of my grandmother too…I really miss her…she loved roses too. thanks for stopping by and I wish Ron a happy Fathers Day.🥰
Kari, you made it work with the pretty faux lilacs along with a scent nearby. I shudder when years ago I thought plastic flowers could substitute for the real flower. Today you need to touch or smell to detect that faux flowers aren’t real. Love all the shades of lavender and purple and especially the salad plate shown in picture following the double napkin picture. Even though your lavender macarons may have been tastier, I like the contrast of the pink.
Hey Jan…thanks for stopping by and you are correct…faux flowers have improved over the years. I remember an older dear friend in N.M. who used to place (sporadically) one stem of “plastic flowers” in the snow and they stayed looking forlorn in the red, bare caliche (clay) when the snow melted. She and I used to laugh at how fake they looked….she didn’t care…in fact she did not cook and her husband of 50 years did all the cooking. She would say…”where in the marriage license did it say the wife has to cook?”
I loved her and miss her wonderful sense of humor. Friends are so special and I consider you my friend, though we have never met…Hugs and blessings always and Rock Chalk Jayhawk… this year is our year???🤗💙🏀