At the beginning of the month I was running through ideas in my mind for this month’s Styling The Seasons. May is a month I associate with religion – making a May altar as a child, the first holy communion being held – and with the Maypoles in Bavaria. All in all, a lot of white and blue.
I was mulling over possibilites for styling a surface in the house, but then life took over and there was no time for pondering frivolous things like that. The Bavarian’s birthday was approaching, as were Father’s Day (a Thursday in Germany, but also a bank holiday and the start of a four-day weekend for the children), and Mother’s Day. With all of that, plus us eagerly awaiting the birth of a new niece or nephew, things got a bit hectic round here.
At one stage I found myself in the garden, pottering and tidying and doing chicken stuff (I do a lot of that these days) and I was struck by the scent of the lilac from our two trees. At this time of year the weather can be so mixed and we have had years when the lilac was ruined by wind and rain. So I headed straight over and cut a bunch of it. Right below the white lavender were two tulips, straight as pokers, with purple and cream marbled petals, so I picked them too. A snail seems to have attacked one, but that’s nature. It doesn’t take from the beauty of it, for me at least.
And with that I had my styling for May. Natural, easy, simple.
Simple is good, especially at times of chaos. That’s when I crave simplicity.
A battered watering can of richly scented flowers from our garden, set atop our outdoor kitchen cupboard – a kitchen that is simple and basic too.
Simplicity – that’s what summer entertaining is all about, for me. Whether I am cooking for my family, having coffee with friends, a quiet drink in the garden with the Bavarian or a cuppa on my own with a book, keeping it simple is the main thing.
There are two more bank holidays to come this month along with having a visitor to stay and packing for some short trips of your own. Life will remain hectic for a while yet.
But for the moments in between the busy days, I’ll be keeping things simple.
Gorgeous and so pretty! I have just bought some and it smells AMAZING! Love the colours so much in this. Jess xx
Isn’t the scent of lilac wonderful?
I was so pleased with how this turned out, especially since it was all spontaneous.
Lilac is so dreamy isn’t it? I feel like I don’t see enough of it these days compared to when I was growing up. These look perfect in the pretty watering can, as though it was always meant to be Xx #HomeEtc
Isn’t it just, Lins! Luckily the street we live in was built in the ’50s and a few of the houses still have old fashioned gardens, ours included, with lilac, roses and fruit trees.
Completely beautiful! I love how you can find yourself doing something you normally do but when you stand back for a second it suddenly becomes rather beautiful – this is the perfect example and those Lilacs are to die for x
Thanks Katy. It is great when that happens, isn’t it?
Just stunning! I love lilac although I’m yet to see any this year so this is perfect. Now I’m just closing my eyes and imagining the smell… 🙂
Thanks Philippa. The smell is wonderful, isn’t it?
Loving the use of the watering can as a vase, sometimes the most everyday, functional vases are those that are the most striking 🙂
Thank you Kay. You’re right. I have an old ceramic coffee pot without a lid and it is one of my favourite vases.
Thanks for linking up #HomeEtc xx
No thanks needed Jess 🙂
I’m so with you — Lilac flowers smell AMAZING don’t they?! Just heavenly!! Love this post Fionnu — your blog is looking beautiful at the mo! These pics are lovely! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂 Caro x
#HomeEtc
Aw, thank you Caro. That means a lot coming from someone with such a pretty blog!