Dahlias and Gourds

Before I say anything at all, I must thank you!  Wow!  You have truly spoiled me with all of your sweet comments!  I am terribly sorry that I have not been able to respond to them all.  I am way behind, but please know that it is always a treat to read each one!  You are very much appreciated!  Thank-you!

My aunt and uncle's garden was abundant with gourds this season so they gave me a few!  I was so excited to get them as I didn't grow any this year.  I only had enough room for pumpkins in the garden, because the vines can overtake each other and they can cross pollinate.  I think next year I will try gourds instead, who knows maybe every other year.  

I piled them in an antique French soupiere.  I collect these French soupieres and I love their simple white lines.  I am currently looking for a tall primitive hutch to display them.

I plant dahlias in my garden every spring and I love how they make a showy appearance in the fall.  I picked a couple of the bright red blooms for my table.  And just in time too as we have had several hard frosts the last couple nights.  They are delicate and didn't survive the frost.  They look so sad and black now in my garden.  I will soon dig up the bulbs to store for the winter until next spring.

My growing season is officially over but at least I can enjoy these blooms for the next couple days!

In my last post, I showed you my table centerpiece of bittersweet and ironstone milk pitchers stuffed in an old apple basket.  When these dahlias fade, I will move the basket back to my table.  That is one thing that makes bittersweet so grand, it lasts a while!

Thank-you for the gourds, Uncle Duane and Aunt Ellie!  Also a gigantic thank-you to Lucy of Craftberry Bush for featuring my fall decor on her lovely blog...

and Kristin of My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia...





AND  Jennifer at Social Salutations!





Thank-you, THANK-YOU, ladies!  You made my week!  I will be back soon to highlight two of my favorite gals and more touches of fall around our house!  See you soon!



Have a wonderful weekend,




Maria ~Rusty Hinge




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