A Butterfly Meadow Tablescape and Farewell to Summer

Can summer really be over?  Surely not.  It doesn't feel like any time at all since I planted the flowers on our front porch after our Charleston trip.  Now here it is almost Labor Day weekend.  This feels like the fastest summer on record to me.  I think my dad being in the hospital for five weeks has made our family feel like we lost part of our summer.  Thankfully my dad is doing much better now.

Kathleen has issued a challenge to us for her Let's Dish party -- a "Farewell To Summer" tablescape.  I'm happy to be joining the fun this evening (even though we've probably still got some summer days ahead here in North Carolina).

Today I set the table with my Lenox "Butterfly Meadow" dishes for my Farewell to Summer tablescape.  I know all these pastel colors look a lot like spring, but since butterflies are here all summer, and they'll soon be leaving, I thought these dishes were appropriate.  I find it amazing that Monarch butterflies migrate to Mexico and parts of Southern California every fall, a trip that can be as much as 2,500 miles away.  Hard to believe something that looks so delicate can fly that far.

I started taking pictures early in the dining room in order to catch the fleeting morning sunlight.  Our dining room faces east, so it gets the early morning light, but in the summer that doesn't last long.  The leaves from all our trees soon block out the sunlight, so I have to work fast.  I love the dappled sunlight here in the morning.

I think these are such cheerful dishes.  :)  I started buying them the year I began my blog in 2011.  I had never seen them before, and I spotted some at my trusty HomeGoods store.  I did one of my first tablescapes with these dishes in the spring that year.

I only have about four, mix and match place settings, plus some napkin rings, salt and pepper, four coffee mugs, and a vegetable bowl.  That's all I need.  I pair these dishes with my Lenox "Classic White" dinner plates, which is what you see here.  The middle plate is Lenox "Butterfly Meadow Cloud," and I believe this size is called a party plate.  It's a little larger than a typical salad plate.  The smaller plate on top is just right for a dessert or bread and butter plate.  Each of the smaller plates features a different design.

Love these colors!

In addition to butterflies and flowers, the designs also include bumblebees and lady bugs -- all creatures of summer.

I use these pink-rimmed plates as dessert plates; they're also the perfect size for salads.

I was initially going to use yellow napkins in this table setting, but I went with these green ones instead.  They are the exact shade of green as the little green leaves and the green border on the napkin rings.  Damask napkins are from Bed, Bath & Beyond, and are called "Spring Meadow."

Appropriately, the napkins also have butterflies on them.  It's kind of hard to make it out, but there's one here in the center part of the napkin.

Chargers are from Pier One last year, and the flatware is Hampton Forge from Target.  You can usually find it at Target or Horchow online.  I love the ivory-colored handles paired with these dishes.

A dish for strawberries -- another of summer's sweet pleasures,

and a "Butterfly Meadow" vegetable bowl.

These are some of my favorite candles -- honeycomb, beeswax tapers.

These goblets are not fine crystal, but I think the green is fun to use with these dishes.

The antique, cut-glass pitcher was a gift from my husband's grandmother, and I've always loved using it.

The flowers came from our local Lowes' grocery store.

This summer has been one of our mildest, most pleasant summers in many years.  I've always loved fall so much, but after last winter, I'm not trying to rush summer away.  Has the summer season been nice this year where you are?

I'm joining:
Let's Dish, hosted by Cuisine Kathleen
Tablescape Thursday, hosted by Susan at BNOTP
Home Sweet Home, hosted by Sherry

Thanks so much for visiting House at Forest Manor!  I'm looking forward to seeing what you've been up to this week.  :)

Denise