In the Blackberry Patch
An end of summer table with Poppytrail dishes, vintage chintz, antique silver, and zinnias plus an easy candlelight DIY perfect for any tablescape.
Saying goodbye to summer is bittersweet as ripe summer berries and vivacious blooms fade to autumn’s velvety colors and spicy scents. Blackberries are one of those quintessential summer delights that never fail to remind me of childhoods spent running wild and free on the farm.
They are such a beautiful fruit — lush of color and unique of texture. The best are plump and juicy just waiting to stain fingers and delight tastebuds.
Down in the orchard below my parents’ home there’s a long hedgerow of tame blackberries that grow skyward and weep over in graceful arches. The leaves are lush and green and the blackberries ooze delicious tangy juice by July. Pickin’ is not always easy — you’ve got to brave the bees and compete with the birds, but I never could resist dashing by the hedgerow to nab a handful to or from the barn or grandma’s house.
We cut the branches back last year to reduce the weeds and retrain the growth, so our crop was meager this year, and I sure do miss ’em. I picked just enough for a cobbler last weekend, and it feels like the perfect goodbye to summer.
That’s the thing about blackberries…most everyone has a special memory of going berry pickin’ whether by the side of a country road or on a farm. There is something magical about wading through the brambles and the bees for these divine little berries!
Blackberry tableware is full of that kind of nostalgia, and I was so excited to discover these charming vintage patterns a few weeks ago: Metlox’s Poppytrail Sculptured Berry and Haldon’s Blackberry Basketweave. Both capture blackberries in elegant detail. Then on an unplanned stop at one of my favorite fabric troves, Superior Finish in Waynesville, I found the most charming fabric called Barnstable designed by Corrine Samios of Brunschwig & Fils.
I love the trellis structure and green polkadots that make up this pattern not to mention the elegant color palette of deep purple, rosy merlot, and vibrant green on a cream colored ground.
A berry happy concurrence of finds led to this elegant end of summer table!
I love the idea of a farewell summer dinner party. Set the table with pretty tableware that echos your favorites of the season and cook a meal with all the tastes of summer.
Make your candlelight as unique as your table with my DIY hurricane lantern idea that uses small planters and pretty moss. Glass hurricane sleeves enhance the candlelight and are great for dining al fresco because they will keep the candles from blowing out. Place them inside a pretty pair of planters to jazz up the look and complement your table decor. Here is a lovely etched version on Amazon.
To make these I put a block of floral foam inside each planter and then gently pressed the glass hurricane into the foam. In the center I pushed down a white candle. I filled in around the hurricane and candle with velvet ygreen moss to hide the foam and add pretty color and texture. You could also do pretty filler flower like baby’s breath.
Click through this gallery to see the steps to put these together:
In the center of the table, I filled a vase from Haldon’s Blackberry Basketweave pattern with pink and orange zinnias, mini dahlias, and marigolds from my cut flower garden. It was such a delight to be able to use blooms that I grew this season!
Available in the IG flash sale from the In the Blackberry Patch End of Summer Table on August 26,2021:
Set of 7 Metlox Poppytrail Sculptured Berry dinner plates and coffee cups
Pair of Haldon Group Blackberry Basketweave salad plates and pitcher
Pair of green and white trellis planters
Set of 5 vintage Tiffin-Francis
2 yards of Cyrus Clark Barnstable fabric designed by Corinne Samios
Bordallo Pinheiro cabbageware platter
Various vintage sterling and silverplate serving ware and flatware
Johnson Brothers The Florentine green platter
Set of 6 gold bee napkin rings
Set of 6 Lindner Sommerzauber butter pats
