The summer flowering season continues, and the veranda pots have not been adversly affected by the heat. At least not yet. This lobelia is such an intense blue-purple, with the blooms cascading down the side of the ceramic pot. I love it.
The white begonia is so prolifically blooming, it has been going for weeks and weeks.
The darker leaf white begonias in the table pots are also happy.
The summer garden seems to be very late this year. By now I usually have a lot of tomatoes, but this year they are slow to ripen. It seems like these have been working on ripening for weeks. It probably hasn’t been that long, but it is later than usual. I hope I can harvest these first two cherry tomatoes soon. I like to leave them on the vine as long as possible.
The squash plants continue to bloom with huge yellow flowers that last for a few days. But still, not one single squash. While I was taking pictures, I saw a bee working on these two blooms, so pollination doesn’t seem to be the issue.
In the front flowerbed, the phlox are starting their annual show, usually appearing in August.
With the summer heat and the garden coming along, it seemed the right time for a picnic tablescape with vegetables. I began with the quilt I made for a picnic challenge in 2014. I love this quilt, and use it often during the summer months. See how I made it on my Picnic Challenge Quilt post.
Placing the quilt on the pub table, I added yellow chargers, white dinner plates and my lemon salad plates. Yellow for summer sunshine.
The lemon salad plates are nicely deep, so they hold a lot of fresh tomatoes and salad fixings.
Yellow napkins are held with cherry napkin rings. I got out the good silverware for this one.
Crystal glasses and individual salt and pepper shakers complete the settings.
The centerpiece has my yellow ceramic basket with silk flowers, surrounded by leaf dishes.
These cabbage leaf serving dishes were my mother’s. She liked to serve vegetables in them.
A little yellow tomato sits on the side, maybe to hold some toasted seeds to add to the salad, or some lemon slices for a grilled fish entree.
The windows let in a lot of light for meals. The geranium is visible on the veranda.
Those flowers are the pretty pink ones.
Jasper didn’t need a table setting to enjoy a sandwich.
In the kitchen, the orchid is still in bloom, 8 weeks now! It looks exactly the same as it did a month ago. Amazing. I keep hoping the tiny bud behind the flower will progress to a full bloom.
The candy pink calabrachoa are still blooming well, too.
And this week, the dahlias gave me another gorgeous deep red bloom.
How’s your summer garden going?
From My Carolina Home 
Your containers are doing beautifully. Mine are looking spent with the heat and no rain. Love the picnic quilt and your tablesetting, looks like summer! Happy Sunday, Carole!
I would love to leave my tomatoes on the vine to ripen but something is always taking bites out of them if I do that – with the heat I had hoped they would ripen fast and they are not – I read the heat has the opposite affect and slows them down
Lovely photos Carole! We have tomatoes, and a few are starting to get whitish, so hope to see some color soon. I was missing BLT’s last week when it was scorching hot here, but no tomatoes yet. We did finish weeding under the plum trees this week, so now back to the garden. We need to take another load of weeds to the compost site before they close it down for the regional baseball tournament. (The city’s giant bins are in the Legion’s parking lot most of the summer.)
Dear Carole, Well this summer has just been full of surprises , both inside & outside. But first I wanted to say how amazing your table settings are ! I love all of your unique odd pieces as well! So I wanted to ask you have you ever heard of the plant “Blue My Mind”? I have 5 of these cuties! Three in the front & two in the back. They have true blue flowers & are both a filler & spiller plant. On the vegies I couldn’t agree more cherry tomatoes are taking forever to ripen & on the squash I had one lonely squash hanging from the plant w/lots of yellow blooms but nothing ever happens after that. All of my peppers have grown into these weird shapes. What gives?! After dealing w/ four hornet stings behind my ankle , two mornings ago I woke up in the middle of the night w/intense itching in that same spot. Then when I awoke that morning I found not only did I have the itch but I had a very swollen, red & hot & painful foot! I never saw a spider bite though & the ice was not helping w/the swelling. So after trying everything else I could think of, Kurt gave me some DMSO, a horse serum to apply to my ankle. I could actually feel it working & the swelling went down fast! Time to go water flowers & my neighbors. We have had such intense heat around here, very sickening!
Your veranda flowers are so pretty! I’m not growing squash, but have a Jack Be Little pumpkin which has produced only one of the little pumpkins so far. It started several others, but they shriveled up, and fell off. There continue to be lots of blooms, though. My tomatoes are the same – lots of green ones, nothing ripening yet. Gardening is always an adventure!
Your table setting delights me, and I love seeing all your beautiful flowers. I have one beautiful pot that has been protesting the hot and humid weather. I keep watering in hopes of keeping it alive.
Beautiful photos. I love all the colors on the table setting.
Always enjoy your Sunday visits. The picnic quilt is such a cute idea!
Things here are fading fast. It has just been too hot and sometime you just can’t water enough to make up for the intense heat.
Your post is a delightful read and feast for the eyes. Imagine the mischief Jasper would get into if he was allowed at the table. All the unique dishes make the table so interesting. We’ve been wondering if the wildfire smoke has dimmed the sun enough to interfere with gardening. It seems to be keeping it cooler than usual.
Beautiful containers and tablescape, Carole! My containers are doing pretty well. I had to thin out my zinnias from the yard and put them into containers, and this past week’s heat had me watering them 2x/day! We had some horrific tornadic t’storms Fri/Sat and I had a few zinnia casualties, but that was nothing compared to all the downed trees, power lines and limbs throughout our neighborhood! Many still without power.
It is so nice to see your flowers and I love your sunshiny tablescape. So charming! Enjoy your afternoon! Felicia
Your blog is so refreshing and a real delight to read. I had squash plants do the same as yours for two years – lots of blooms and no squash. And then the squash vine borers appeared and the vines were no more. I guess everyone is having a heat issue. I don’t go outside unless absolutely necessary.
Your check is in the mail – or will be tomorrow. I finally found your address on your contact page.Just didn’t look far enough.
Your table setting is lovely.
Mary Ed
Thankyou for the walk through your Sunday! Lovely table setting.
While you have unrelenting heat we are having too much wet weather – so dull. It won’t be long before you are picking lots of tomatoes and squash and are trying to think of new ways to use them!
Hope your embroidery thread arrived and you are pleased with them. My favourite quilt shop is moving towards retirement and she will be so very missed. It is a beautiful shop and imports the loveliest fabrics, mostly from America. Don’t know where we’ll go when she finally closes the door.
Hi Carole, Yesterday we had a couple of friends over for an annual summertime potluck meal. I love to use my special china dishes and fancy bowls and serving plates. My snap-dragon flower arrangement added a nice touch. I was pleased with the setting and my friend immediately complimented me on the beautiful table setting. Such a nice start to our visit. Thank you for your inspiration.
Alexandria
Your summer flowers are so pretty! I love your sandwich loving squirrel friend, we have a blue heron that adopted us at the beach last week because my son in law gave him a catfish. He came by every day and hung out on the pier and the pool deck, not afraid of us at all! I love your cute picnic quilt and it was a great inspiration for your wonderful summer tablescape!
Jenna
Your blooming plants are beautiful.
The flowers are so pretty. I hope your veges produce soon. The summer tablescape looks inviting!