Happy Tuesday! I hope you all are staying cool and enjoying these July days!
“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
Micah 6:8 (ESV)
Welcome to the July edition of Tea on Tuesdays!
Mary and I are welcoming our special guest, Shannon from Belle Bleu Interiors. Shannon is a fellow tea enthusiast and a lovely friend!
I chose the hottest day, so far this summer, to set a table in the garden! The temperature was in the upper 90’s and the triple digit heat index was
stifling! With the extreme heat, iced tea was definitely in order!
“A big glass of sweet iced tea will not solve the world’s problems, but it does make me forget they exist until the glass is empty!”
~Butch Richardson
Most often when setting a table, I find inspiration from table linens, dishware, what is blooming in the garden, or a special memory! Zinnias are in bloom and were begging to find a place on my tea table!
April Cornell’s ‘Zinnia Bouquet’ is a water-color inspired tablecloth design of one of April’s paintings. It is a favorite summer tablecloth and definitely when zinnias are in bloom!
Blueberry tea hit the spot on this hot afternoon. I made a simple syrup of sugar, a squeeze of lemon, and blueberries. The berries were heated on the stove until the sugar was dissolved and the blueberries began to pop!
Butch planted three blueberry bushes four or five years ago. The first couple of years they didn’t produce a single berry. But this year, we have a bumper crop!
With all of the fresh blueberries, they were the inspiration for the sweet and savory tea offerings!
“By July, a damp Southern heat had settled down on the town like warm sweet syrup.”
~Marti Heal
I baked fresh blueberry bread and Butch gave it a five star rating! Not only is it a great teatime treat, but perfect for breakfast with my morning coffee!
Hydrangea Paniculatas are in full bloom in our garden…Little Lamb, Vanilla-Strawberry, and Limelights! They provide a beautiful background for a tea table!
Blueberry crostini was quick, easy and delicious. A bakery baguette was sliced, brushed with olive oil, and toasted in the oven. Blueberries were heated with honey until they began to break down. Softened cream cheese was spread on the bread and then topped with the blueberry mixture, fresh berries, and a sprig of thyme. I discovered the recipe here.
“I knew then that sweet tea embodies all that is good about the South and its hospitality. Life’s too short not to enjoy, and it’s too short not to have sweet tea.”
~Rick Bragg
This is the second year that we have planted marigolds from Johnny’s Seeds. Their blooms are large, unlike the marigolds you can purchase at garden centers. The plants grow really tall and bloom prolifically!
I am unsure when or where I found this majolica divided serving tray with the sweet bird in the center. Having never been shown before, it was put into service to share the marigold blooms. After I finished photographing the table, I placed the majolica tray of marigolds without water in the Sunshine Cottage. The blooms still looked perfect three days later!
You can see the tall orange and yellow marigolds in the background of the cottage garden.
“July is hot afternoons and sultry nights and morning when it’s joy just to be alive. July is a picnic and a red canoe and a sunburned neck and a softball game and ice tinkling in a tall glass. July is a blind date with summer.”
~Hal Borland
You are invited to teatime with Mary and Shannon. Click on the links below.
Mary ~ Home Is Where the Boat Is
Shannon ~ Belle Bleu Interiors
I can’t believe that Mary and I have been sharing our love of tea for three years. We will be celebrating our third anniversary next Tuesday, July 22nd with a special giveaway! We hope you will join us for teatime memories from the past year and for a giveaway!
Thank you for your visit and most gracious comments. Wishing you a joy-filled week!
Linking with: Pieced Pastimes, Between Naps on the Porch, Katherines Corner, Follow The Yellow Brick Home,
Life and Linda
Good morning Pam and happy Tuesday. Everything looks beautiful and yummy. I planted those large head marigolds this year and they are easy to grow and so pretty. We have a lot of wild life near us and they keep the bunnies from eating my flowers. Have a lovely week. Hugs. Kris.
Thanks so much, Kris. Don’t you love the large marigolds?! Happy week to you💕
I absolutely love the beautiful stemware glasses! Everything is so beautiful and welcoming! And I really enjoyed all the quotes, too. God bless you with a wonderful day!
Thanks so much, Cheryl. May God bless you, dear one!
Good Morning Pam! I checked my links this morning and then was out the door to walk the dogs at 6:05 and do the bare minimum watering in the garden. To say it’s pore-cleansing outside is an understatement! I’m showered, back inside in the comfort of the AC and drinking some iced hibiscus tea and I’m wishing I had a slice of your delicious blueberry bread to go with it this morning! How wonderful to have blueberry bushes, does Butch have to net them to keep the birds and other critters away? Your crostini sound divine too as does your blueberry tea. Your tea setting is beautiful in your garden with the backdrop of hydrangeas! The big white blooms provide a wonderful illusion of cool even when it’s sweltering outside. I so admire the sweat equity you put into your outdoor tables in your garden…I don’t have the stamina for heat like I used to and just can’t do outdoor tables with the heat index in the triple digits.
Love the color from your zinnias and marigolds and I didn’t know there were varieties of marigolds would grow that tall with blooms that large! I’ve heard they attract ladybugs which are wonderful for keeping the aphid population down. Have you noticed more ladybugs in your garden?
As always it’s a treat to join you for tea. Stay cool and wishing you a wonderful week. 🌸💗
Thank you, Mary. It has been amazing that the birds have not visited very often to the blueberries! So far, no net required. The marigolds do seem to help keep the aphid population down. Butch has to stake the marigolds because we constantly have wind living on this hill between the mountain and the river! Stay safe in the AC 🫐💕
Good morning, Pam! This entire tea setting is so enchanting! The photographs are stunning with all the saturated colors. Your gardens make such a lovey backdrop for your tea table. Blueberry tea sounds delicious and all of your blueberry treats look scrumptious! I would love to have a slice of blueberry bread this morning. The zinnias are so pretty and the AC tablecloth is beautiful. Thank you so much for inviting me to join Mary and you for tea. It was so much fun and brightened my week. Have a wonderful day, and stay cool sweet friend!
Thank you, Shannon for your comments that warm my heart. It is always a joy to have you join us for tea! Stay cool and Happy Tuesday!
What a “sweet” tea party, Pam! Besides the beautiful setting and of course, the tea, the treats look just fantastic! Should be prime blueberry season here soon and I can’t wait!
Thank you, Jeanie. I wish you lived close, I am giving away blueberries! Happy Tuesday!
Good Morning, Pam.
What a lovely table you have set outside. I’m so sorry it’s sweltering hot there. That blueberry iced tea is perfect for cooling off.
Your blueberry crustini sounds so good. What a treat they would be with my morning tea. I am swooning over your zinnias. All of mine drowned. We had so much rain and cold temperatures into June that they could not germinate.
Your AC tablecloth is such a pretty watercolor of garden flowers and zinnias.
I also spied your green Depression glass pitcher. It is gorgeous!
Enjoy your blueberry crop. Happy Tuesday!
Thank you, Nancy. The heat and humidity in the South is oppressive! I actually overheated while photographing the table and had to sit for a few minutes in the AC in the Sunshine Cottage. A glass of blueberry tea certainly helped 🫐 Happy Tuesday!
Good morning, dear Pam! Oh I wish I had some of your blueberry delights to go with my coffee as I read this! Your AC tablecloth is perfect to go with the zinnias and marigolds. I did not know marigolds could get that large. Ah, Sweet Tea, the elixir of life! If a doctor ever says I must give it up, it will be a sad day indeed. I remember Kelley and me trying to explain to a waiter in Scotland the concept of sweet tea with ice…it did not compute! Stay cool!
I wish you could join me. I think you would love the blueberry tea! The Johnny’s Seed marigolds are amazing!
I will never forget being on a school trip with Seth to Europe and he realized there was no sweet tea and little ice in a soft drink. First thing he did upon arriving back to the Atlanta airport was find sweet tea!
I LOVE this table Pam! The way you styled the giant marigold blooms in the serving tray, so different and eye catching! I am a color lover so I love this colorful garden scene 🌺 A lovely spot to sip sweet tea and have blueberry treats! {I spied my hydrangea pillow in one of the chairs 😊}
Good morning, Jenna. Thank you so much. Yes, I have two of your hydrangea pillows that occupy the cottage every summer. I love to bring them outside when I am setting tables!
What a lovely table Pam and I have shared my love for zinnias just because they were my sweet mother’s favorite…now I love them too. I looked at those large marigolds in Johnny’s catalog and almost ordered them…now I wish I had. I have to ask you…do you have a long way to tote your table “stuff” from your home to your beautiful sites? It looks that way from Butch’s aerial photos and if so…WOW I admire you and your stamina in this heat. Love blueberries but have never had much luck with them…it would take so long to produce and then the berries on the bushes were sparse. Blueberry envy here. Have a beautiful and glorious day my sweet friend. Hugs
Thanks so much, Kari! I tote very little from my house to the garden table. I have most of my tablescaping ‘stuff’
in my cottage which is only a few steps away. If you were closer, I would share blueberries! Wishing you a glorious week, sweet friend!
Gorgeous 😍 I always look forward to your posts. l always anticipated what verses from the Bible you will you. Thank you and God Bless.
Thanks so much, Rebecca! Blessings!
Oh Pam, your tea setting is so picturesque! I love how you get your inspiration from your table. I am so envious of your zinnias, marigolds and those heavenly hydrangeas. Your blueberry tea sounds so refreshing (love Bruce’s quote!), your bread looks scrumptious and those crostini are so pretty! I’d love to sit at your pretty table and sip from those colorful stemware. Thank you for sharing the joy of teatime in your garden.
Thank you, Kitty. The blueberry tea is really refreshing! It would be a treat to have you join me, Kitty!
Oh my! That tea looks so delicious. I’m going to make it! The blueberry bread sure would be good anytime. The AC tablecloth is worthy of hanging! July is what I dream about when it’s cold and snowing. The heat is to much for me now but I still love how it feels on my skin. We had a terrine storm this Friday. It wiped out everything, I got an inch of rain in just over 10 minutes and hail that took bark off a tree. I e been cleaning up ever since. I cut back what was left of two large urns with hosta in them hoping new leaves will put out and I fertilized them too. We have to take the good with the bad. Like Butch a glass of iced tea takes the cares of the world away while I’m enjoying sipping it. Thank you for all the pretty you shared today.
Oh my, Alice the storm sounds terrible. I am so sorry you have clean-up. I wish Butch and I were there to help you. The tea was truly delicious. As always, thank you for your sweet words that warm my heart. Take care of yourself❤️
Pam, your al fresco tea table is beautiful! The zinnia tablecloth and the actual zinnias are colorful and delightful! The majolica bird serving piece is so pretty. The blueberry treats as well as the tea look refreshing and sound delicious. The marigolds are bountiful and so big! Hope you are staying cool in this hot weather! Take care. Clara❤️
Thank you so much, Clara. I am doing my best to stay cool. Take care ❤️
Blueberry iced tea yes, please! Your tablescape is a naturally elegant feast for my eyes – cheers to your artistry!
Thanks so much, Mary! The blueberry iced tea was perfect for a very hot day!🫐
Pam, I’m a day late to your sweet tea party. I hope you still have a slice of that blueberry cake. Looks yummy! I never tire of joining you in your beautiful garden setting. The zinnia linen is so pretty. I recently had brunch at a friend’s on her lovely terrace. Zinnias from her garden were the centerpiece and when I left, she sent me home with a vase of zinnias.
I always love your visits and you are never late! I am so glad your friend sent you with a vase of zinnias. They are a happy flower!
What a cheerful and colorful Tuesday Tea (on Thursday, I’m late!). Love the zany colors of the AC tablecloth against the actual zinnias (and great choice for the drinking stems!). Your blueberries taste as good as they look, I’ll bet. And those marigolds – wow! I thought they were zinnias, so tall!
Thank you, Rita. The blueberries are delicious. We are picking baskets and giving them away. It is unbelievable how the bushes have produced this year. Maybe all the spring and early summer rains!
Oh my Pam, A++ for setting a table with a heat index in the triple digits! But you would never know from how cool and fresh the table looks with your beautiful garden in the background. The AC tablecloth is so cheery and the perfect backdrop to showcase the zinnias and marigolds (wow, they are big!). The blueberry bread sounds delicious and the crostini looks divine. The blueberry tea sounds wonderful too. Have a lovely rest of the week – hopefully with the AC on!
Thank you, Kim. I think I am getting too old because the heat is really tough. Our blueberry bushes are producing more than ever before. Happy Weekend!
Wonderful and colorful post! At this moment at my country, I really need a big glass of sweeted ice tea!!! God bless America.
Your table looks so inviting, Pam–as always. But I don’t know how you worked in such heat! ‘Love Butch’s quote about sweet iced tea. As for Marti Heal’s quote, I’d change that part about southern summer heat like warm SWEET syrup to summer heat like warm, STICKY syrup! Nothing much sweet about it unless you’re in a swimming pool! Also love those large marigolds. They remind me of dahlias–one of my favorite flowers.
Thanks so much, Nancy. I think I am getting too old to brave the heat! The large marigolds are really beautiful.