A LATE WARM DAY IN OCTOBER FOR "Tea In The Garden"

I follow our local weather with a  

10 day extended forecast and I noticed

that today there might be weather in

the 60's so I got everything ready in hopes

 of doing one more "Tea In The Garden" -

taking advantage of the late afternoon

weather.

I was surprised to find some flowers 
still in the garden - at least enough
 for this bouquet.

I recently noticed this Game Series Spode
 set was used in the humble hearth kitchen
 of the Drew family (Tim and Margie) 
who were tenant farmers as part of Downton Abbey.

Some people dread cold weather but

I do appreciate the 4 completely different

seasons here in Missouri.  This week our
temperatures are going into the 40's.

I chose some fall tea wares to

enjoy today!

I have my Downton Abbey cookbook out and looked for a recipe for Potato Leek Soup although I wouldn't do it cold as suggested by Arsene Avignon, the Sous Chef at the Ritz.

Remember during the class with Alfred he asked the students what the name was changed to and Alfred did not know the answer (Vichyssoise).

Our butterfly bushes were loaded with action today.  They have continued to bloom because I deadheaded them all summer.

I hope you have a lovely week ahead.

AN AUTUMN "Tea In The Garden"

This summer has been so busy running

in all sorts of directions so it is time for

me to get back on track here and do a

"Tea in The Garden" again.  If I have
counted correctly (?) I believe this
will be something like #168 for me:

It seems like blogging has lost it's charm
among many and not so many read
blogs anymore.  I must confess that this
summer I started to drag with posting.

We are happy to be enjoying some lovely
weather now in the 60's to 70's which is
really quite shocking.  We find ourselves
getting cold.  You know, you get used to
whatever you have and then you either
freeze or burn up accordingly.

My garden was chosen by some moles to

tunnel through but I'm hoping they get

rather bored and move on.  At the end
of the season I have some lovely blue
hydrangeas on the other side of the pond.

Please help yourself to some tea using the
silver plate strainer.  Have a nice Scottie
 Shortbread cookie too!

This old teapot must of been loved because
it has a lot of crazing but that's all right.
  I am drawn to old worn things.

 I hope you enjoyed our little tea time today....

VICTORIA MAGAZINE'S PLUM TEA LOAF for "Tea In The Garden"

Today I thought I would bake the Vanilla and

 Earl Grey Plum Tea Loaf found in the

 September 2019 issue of Victoria:

I was anxious to enjoy my new book

too from Victoria Magazine:

Please pour yourself a cup of

tea and look at these beautiful

photos of England:

This plum tea loaf has 5 wonderful ripe

plums baked right into it and the icing

features Earl Grey Tea.

This summer hasn't been quite as

hot as other summers in the last

few years.  That's ok with us!

The recipe can be found

 on page 106 

of the September issue.

If you love England (and

I know many of you have

been there) you will love

this book:

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!

DEVONSHIRE TEAPOT for "Tea In The Garden"

With temperatures in the 70's and lower

80's we know we should enjoy this lovely

weather while we can so why not

 set up a little tea time in the garden?

I have set up our little tea
 on the patio
underneath the deck.

I have been so excited to recently

find my teapot I was looking for a long

time.  The pattern is Devonshire brown 

which was one of Johnson Brothers old

1940's patterns.  The transferware  design

is reminiscent of the 1870-1880 Aesthetic

 Period of the Victorian Era.  They were
recently featured in the March/April
issue of Victoria magazine.

My garden has left spring behind now and

is "recharging" for summer.  It is very green but now we are waiting for the hydrangeas to take off.   I have found some of the Endless Summer ones that are in the shade are starting to bloom.  They really aren't

 fond of the Missouri July and  August heat that stays in the mid to upper 90's.

The hollyhocks have come up by our mailbox:

There are pink, white, peach, and fuchsia ones!

I hope you enjoyed our tea in the garden today!

 We enjoyed seeing our Grandson

 Pete Canfield graduate  from High 

School recently with a full scholarship

 to the University of Missouri.

Out in blogland I saw at least

 one other lovely Tea In The Garden:

Karen had a Peony celebration tea: