Shower Mom with Flowers at a Whimsical Garden Party

Who doesn’t love a garden party full of flowers?  Especially all the bright and beautiful blooms opening up right now with the first wave of spring weather (at least it’s that way here in California!). I thought a garden party would be the perfect backdrop for our Mother’s Day gathering.

Not only because it can be symbolic for being so nurturing and for a mother’s love, but also because I find it amazing that my mom is a walking floral encyclopedia!

My mom is not a botanist, but she sure can identify most any type of plant, tree or flower. It’s almost impossible to go anywhere with her and not have her identify some budding beauty around us. My personal favorite is the peony with its large, feather-like petals and hues that can be as deep as raspberry puree.  My mom’s favorite is the hydrangea.  How can you not love those large clusters of delicate flowers with such a traditional and rustic feel?

Just one pom of hydrangea can beautifully fill a vase or glass for decorating. Of course, there is also the aromatic and calming effect of lavender.  I planted three in my front yard and love the buzz of bees around the blossoms as well as the light fragrance as you walk past my front porch!  With so many floral favorites, it was hard to choose which would make the cut for this party.

Here are some ideas for your garden party tablescape:

1. Tea cups or floral dishware
2. Fresh cut flowers
3. Greenery from your backyard like Eucalyptus or lavender
4. Paper flowers and plants
5. Pitchers of water filled with mint or lemons
6. Little vases, cups or mason jars to hold your foliage
7. Pretty desserts including cakes, macaroons or decorated sugar cookies

To design this garden party tablescape, we took inspiration from the beautiful lavender bunch inside the Mother’s Day Tinselbox and created a dreamy garden party spread sure to wow your mom on her special day. We started out with a table runner of greenery.    For this spring setting, we used eucalyptus leaves sprinkled throughout fern garlands.  You could take inspiration from nature, including the fallen leaves, herbs, and branches in your yard.

Arranging your tables in the yard with all the surrounding natural beauty will also add to the ambience (kind of like your very own built-in backdrop so you don’t have to use as many decorations!), or you can bring the garden indoors if mother nature isn’t quite cooperating.

Just be sure to brush off your yard cuttings before placing them on the table.  You certainly don’t want any uninvited guests to your gathering!  Once the greenery runner is in place, you can place single blooms as pops of color along the center of the table.

Next, add in flower bouquets as a centerpiece or accents on your table.  Here, we re-purposed teapots passed down from my friends grandmother, Gigi, as our vases.  This is such a beautiful way to add an extra touch of nostalgia to our tablescape.  These teapots and cups help us reminisce about all our fond memories of our grandmothers.  We placed the different vases along the greenery and arranged our serving trays as well.  One of the smaller teapots was perfect for several sprigs of fresh cut lavender.  Be sure to vary the heights of your bouquets by stacking up coasters or using wooden boxes that can be hidden in the greenery.

We coordinated the place settings with the garden party theme by tying sprigs of lavender to the napkins with a ribbon.  A sprig of rosemary is a great alternative to lavender and a simple and aromatic way to decorate your napkins.  We used more heirloom teacups as our place settings and filled them with cut roses and carnations. The delicate and wonderful painted roses are the perfect complement the the rest of the table décor.  (And another score for incorporating sentimental items!).  Another great touch is to add a personalized photo for each place setting, as seen on Sugar and Charm .

We also added a decident and easy to make Smore Cake with roasted marshmallow frosting. Get the recipe!

Now, our table is all set and ready for our wonderful feast.  It will be a perfect day of family, fond memories and shared stories of how our moms have touched and fulfilled our lives.  We hope you have a wonderful day celebrating your mom and the mother figures in your life!

Garden Party Inspirations:

This floral garden setting stole our hearts with the photo in the cup. Sugar and Charm has 10 ideas for charming table settings. We are obsessed.

This herb wall garland by Special Occasion is so inspiring for that indoor garden party. What a great idea.

Trending wedding tablescape set right in the garden. Check out Tulle and Chantilly for more on this magical design.

If you want the beautiful blooms to last year-round, look at this gorgeous felt garland of flowers on Esty. This is from Fancyfreefinery.

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