TIME FOR VIOLETS

About the time the calendar said spring was here,

we got a freeze which really damaged my garden.  

The lilacs had started to have buds and leaves and

now those parts are quite brown so this year who

knows....we just take it as it comes.  In the meantime

we will cover the table with violets:

I have loved violets all my life.

Because I have such a fondness for old vintage linens I decided to set my table with an old

1950-60's violet tablecloth, an embroidered

topper, etc.

 

Someone very sweet must of made that

little violet doily above.  I love it.

I hope your springtime brings some violets!

CHRISTMAS DOWNSTAIRS IN THE TEA ROOM

 

It's always fun decorating

 downstairs

in the tea room. 

I have both English bone china Christmas

teacups and saucers and also 1950's

luster ones from Japan.

I just was blessed to give away some

cups and saucers and tea mugs to

several young ladies this week

because they are getting interested

in Afternoon Tea.  I just have more

than I need for sure so I was 

privileged to share.

The stockings I made from an

old quilt back in the 1970"s:

QUEEN ELIZABETH II TRIBUTE FOR THE 70th Platinum Jubilee

 I just can't let this week go by without

a tribute "Tea In The Garden" to Queen

Elizabeth II for her 70th Platinum Jubilee.

It is a beautiful day and has been really

lovely all week with totally tolerable

weather unlike the 3 days of above

90 degrees last week.

I am sharing my cups and saucers

that show the progression of Kings

and Queens after Queen Victoria who

I am very fond of so just as a reminder

I present Queen Victoria and

 Prince Albert.  I have a collection

of these pieces that were sold at

the Great Exhibition in 1851.

After Queen Victoria's reign with Prince

Albert, her son Edward VII became the next King joined by Queen Alexandria , followed by George V and Queen Mary  and then

 King Edward VIII who abdicated the throne.  A younger brother George VI became King and was married to Queen Elizabeth 

 and then Queen Elizabeth II became

 Queen in 1953 joined by Prince Philip.

I only have one cup and saucer

 of each King and Queen.

I made some cupcakes using a cake recipe

I tried a while back.  The cake wrappers were

a gift a long time back from another blogger

Judith Rogers from Ontario. 

I love my Victorian tipping teapot I have

had for many years as I purchased it in

Houston, Texas years ago.

My garden is transcending right

 now as spring flowering is over 

and summer flowering

is just getting started.

This has certainly been a busy week

for the Queen and I hope she gets lots

of rest now that the festivities are

 coming to a close.  I hope I listed the

royalty correctly but If not - let me know

 and I will correct it.

Also, I hope you will check out my

magazine publication on MagCloud.

After admiring and purchasing Carolyn Aiken's many 

publications for years, I decided to try one which for a 73 year old woman was really a challenge to the brain.

Miraculously, I got it done.

ENGLISH KING AND QUEEN TEA COMMEMORATIVES

I have recently re-watched the PBS movie

Victoria and also other past versions

about Queen Victoria.  What a fascinating

person she was and what about her amazing

husband Albert.  He was a great man of

integrity.  If you have looked back and

studied the many Kings of England,  you 

know that was often not the case.

I have been enjoying a display of my King

and Queen tea wares this winter in my kitchen.

I change this display regularly so then

 other types come up and these go back down
 to the basement tea room. I also made an
 ephemera  medallion but I know I overdid 
this one so others won't be quite so full.  

My Fulton friend, Karen who I met through 
the Tasha Tudor Facebook Group when
  I lived in Colorado Springs,  got me 

interested in the Victoria and Albert

 lusterware pieces that were sold at the 

1851 Great Exhibition.  Prince Albert was

 in charge of this event and oversaw the project.

  After reading about the pieces which were

 sold as souvenirs at the exhibition and after

seeing Karen's collection, I was smitten!

I have acquired a few pieces.

If you purchased something from the UK,

you know the shipping is what drives your bottom line up.  I was able to find this Staffordshire figurine in Georgia, USA

 so that helped a lot.  

Another friend, has one of these I 

had admired at her home.

I just added a 9" plate
 which arrived from
England to my 
collection:

Queen Victoria became Queen when her

 uncle, King William IV died and he had no 
living male son as heir to the throne. Two
 of her other uncles also did not have
 legitimate male heirs so it passed to her.

 She was only 18 years old.

She served as Queen from 1837 to 1901 and her name is why it is called the Victorian Era.

Her son Edward the VII became King in

1901.  His wife was Alexandra. 

 He served until 1910 and we call his

period the Edwardian Era.

Next we have King George V and his wife

 Queen Mary. If you saw the Downton

 Abbey movie, they were portrayed in

 the story.  He served from 1910 until 1935.

Remember the Titanic went down in 1912.

So who comes next?

Remember the King who abdicted to

marry a divorced American woman?

King Edward the VIII was on the

throne for a brief period and then

George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

If you saw the "King's Speech"

that would be George VI.

He served from 1935-1952

And of course Queen Elizabeth - 

the present Queen and longest

 reign to date!  I have really enjoyed

reading about all of these but find

Queen Victoria is a favorite.

If you saw the PBS Historical Documentary

"The Wedding"  - you probably found

it fascinating like it did.  I have watched it

several times lately.  I could barely
keep up with all the history in "The 
Queen's Palaces" about the 3 royal 
residences.  

I need to say - I may not have everything

100% correct in this post. I am learning.

Just let me know if something is wrong.

Are you interested in Queen Victoria?

SUMMERTIME "Tea In The Garden"

If it does what they say, the temperatures 
are dropping this week into the 80's so it
 is a perfect time for another tea in the
 garden.  It has been a while since it was
 cool enough to set up outside.

Please pour yourself some lovely tea.
It is Yorkshire Gold loose so you can
use the strainer to catch the grounds!

My garden is making it's transition into
 full blow summer now.  We had a cooler
than usual June and I have enjoyed my 

"Endless Summer" Hydrangeas.  
When I bought them in 2016 I was told
 by avid Iowa gardener, Beth Jordan that
 they don't do well in our above
 90 degree temperatures which is oven the
 case June through August.

She knew what she was talking about but
it seems if you can get them through the
first few years - they will survive and 
bloom after all.

I have several American Beauty Cups and
Saucers and I sure think they are wonderful.

Right now the coneflowers and monarda are the flowers that sure don't mind the heat. 

 The zinnias are coming along and 
the limelight and strawberry hydrangeas.

I am also sharing this photo of an unusual
 bird at my finch feeder the other evening. 
 I have recently started bringing the feeder in at night because I kept finding it empty
 every morning - as well as
 an empty hummingbird
 feeder.  This "bird" arrived early before
 dark so now we know!