April Showers

April Showers bring the flowers......

....and this is Garden Week in Virginia.  I was lucky enough to be invited to go to "The Boulevard Tour" with my wonderful SIL!  What a wonderful treat.

We started out here.  You can see the small front yards are often sweet little garden spots on the sidewalk.  I couldn't take any pictures of the lovely interiors...and you'll have to bear with me for these outdoor photos....I was trying to avoid getting other people ....so some of them are at strange angles.

This gives a perspective of looking down the bouldvard at the rows of homes.

Historical  information.

The stained glass windows of this home were just amazing!

You can see the house number in this stained glass panel over the door.

Since I couldn't get a good picture of the front of the house -- this sign shows a drawing of 1 N. Boulevard. Affectionately known as "the one".

These are of the side gardens.

It's also a B&B and this is the entrance for that part of the home.

Another beautiful window.

Love the red tile roof on this one.

This bright blue door was to an outbuilding that was covered in ivy.  Doesn't it look enchanted?

Outdoor garden shots.

Couldn't resist a "tablescape" photo!

Centerpiece arranged by the garden club -- all the homes were filled with some of the most amazing floral arrangements!

Even the walk way between two homes makes for lovely arrangements of hanging ferns ....

and potted plants.

This was a really striking stone home.

Loved the color of the front door.

All the garden arrangements at this home..

...were done by the son of the homeowners.....

.....and had just been completed the weekend before.

This is the back stoop of the smallest home (condo) on the tour.  There were too many people to be able to get a good picture of the front.

but, believe it or not......

....these garden boxes are in the alley!

On the way to our last house we passed by this charming lot that was "The Children's Garden"

see the little garden spots boxed off on the right?

This last home was the largest we toured.  It was stunning....and went on the market the very next day.  The guide said that it was built in 1924 and had only had 5 homeowners.  You can be the 6th if you like .....for a mere $995,000!

The back porch was adorned with silver champagne buckets filled with red tulips.

A lovely backyard filled with so many spots for daydreaming of spring afternoons in the sunshine.

As we strolled back to the car, this tree caught our eyes.  Filled with white fuzz....I'm not sure what kind of tree it is....but I'm certain one of you must know.

Just a few blocks away is the home where I lived growing up.

I loved this house and the neighborhood filled with lots of families.

They've turned the tiny front yard into a pretty little garden spot.

The front door seems to be saying, "Welcome home!"  I have many very fond memories of growing up with my brother and two sisters here.

So, how are things blooming where you live?  I hope you've enjoyed our "garden tour" .... almost as much as I did.

See ya!

Dogwood tablescape

I love the dogwoods that bloom every spring.  The first Mother's Day after we moved into this house, my husband planted a dogwood tree and we've enjoyed it every spring since 1993. 

Won't you join me at this simple Easter setting?

I found this vintage tablecloth a couple of years ago at an antique store out of town.  Last year I waited too long to use it for a tablescape and the blooms were gone.

Tabletop overview

Centerpiece overview

Last year I found these delicate goblets with cut flower designs.

My layers of dishes include a white dinner plate.

White chargers from Pier 1.

And small green depression glass plates.  

These sweet pink bud napkin rings were the perfect spring touch for the green napkins with a white organdy napkin layered on top.

A closer look at the dogwood patterned tablecloth

I added some pink azalea blooms to the dogwoods.  When you look closely you can see the holes caused by the inchworm infestation we've had this year.

Blooms gathered into a glass basket vase.

Baby bunnies hiding under the blooms.

I hope you've enjoyed this simply set Easter table.

I'll be sharing another Easter tablescape later this weekend.  We'll be having a brunch and egg hunt on Saturday with our daughters family.  That will be set with our grandtwins in mind.

See ya!