Romantic Spring Tablescape Ideas

How I Styled a Greenhouse-Inspired Easter Table with Perennials and Vintage Charm

When I was a teenager there were two signs that to me signaled that a person’s home was “fancy”: outdoor lighting in their landscaping and seasonal decorations changed out for every holiday. My mom always had decorations for different holidays, but we didn’t have landscape lighting – so I guess we were only half-way fancy.

Now I enjoy changing a few basics seasonally – bringing a little cheer and joy and change into our home as we move through the year. I have lots of Christmas items – collected over the years. But I’m much more minimalist for other seasons. For the most part, these changes take place in our dining room which is central in our home and is a main thoroughfare for all traffic through the house. Honestly, we spend a lot of time here – eating and otherwise!

Until yesterday, we were in late winter mode – reds and pinks from Valentine’s Day which carried us through until now…

But I’ve been needing a little spring cheer, and it was time to shift into Easter mode. And I decided that this year I wanted gardencore opulence. Now, before you think I have lost my mind, I’ve been watching Gardeners’ World and longing for the English countryside and lush greens with so much rain everything grows like mad. Have I mentioned that we had the warmest, driest winter on record here in Colorado?

So, I decided to bring a little of the English countryside to my dining room! And here’s what I did…

So, the table runner is new. But because I love a pretty thing, almost everything else was from about the house.

Well, except the plants. Let’s talk about the plants.

I dropped in to my local garden center. And here’s the thing: it’s still really early for plants here! Most places don’t get their full inventory until May, so there wasn’t a lot to choose from.

However, you can’t go wrong with violas. They are cheerful and inexpensive. So I bought two 4-packs. Plus one 4-pack of Sweet Alyssum. I tucked them all into some pots I already had – white and green.

I nestled the tureen into a nest I made from the prunings from my fruit trees. It’s just tied together with twine. Very easy!

Also at the garden center I picked up two drop-in planters with a gorgeous assortment of plants. While they didn’t have a great selection of individual plants yet, these pots are full of beauties. I wrapped their plastic pots in burlap for a softer look. These won’t stay inside for more than a week – they are outside plants. But they will stay on my table until Easter, and then it will be time to move them outside.

I started with a new table runner – green and white toile from Williams-Sonoma. Very practical – can be used for lots of seasons, but it also brings that English Regency feel which I love.

Oh, did I also mention that I am rereading the complete works of Jane Austen this year?

Yes, I’m also doing that, so perhaps this is a bit Austen-inspired, too. All that walking through the meadows and visiting grand country estates and mooning about after each other. Yeah, that’s it. This is a Jane Austen English Country Garden on my dining room table to be sure.

I also picked up this white soup tureen for FREE on FBMP the other day. Don’t sleep on a good soup tureen! They are magic! Put an orchid or, in this case, a Bird’s Nest Fern, inside and you have absolute elegance!

But a tip: don’t plant the plant into the tureen. Put it in a pot which fits inside. Tureens don’t have drainage (obviously), and that’s an invitation for root rot. If you put the plant in a plastic pot inside the tureen, you’ll have a healthier plant – and you can move it as needed. There are so many tureens out there in the world that people don’t want – pick them up and put a plant in them!

Then I stepped outside and cut some Hellebores and popped them into clear glass bottles.

I have some tiny Easter eggs that I have collected over the years. I wanted some height – and a little tarnished silver – so I put them in these antique champagne glasses which are from a hotel in Rome.

And I added a few candles – the same ones I have used for Christmas for years and years. Another tip: once they have burned down, put a tea light into tall pillar candles, and they will last forever!

I also have some orchids in bloom in the perfect purple colors, so they joined the party.

And there you have it – my Jane Austen English Country Garden table!

at the close…

My husband said, “That’s a lot of stuff on a small table.” He’s not wrong! I will need to do some rearranging before Easter dinner, but we can make it work until then, and in the afternoon light – well, it is a joy to sit here under the Egg Tree.

If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask!

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Happy Gardening!
Angela

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