With the bounty of produce at hand, summer is an ideal time to bring the garden indoors and enjoy the benefits of nature’s bounty at your table…especially in the air conditioning!
My inspirations often stem from interesting places and the springboard for this tablescape was a green plumb. The vibrant green yet soft and strong simultaneously led me to think of the different shades of greens that abound. Table linens depicting exotic summer flora and fruit and napkins in an ochre chartreuse proved the perfect pairs for the green inspired tableau.
Though the linens boast gorgeous colors in vivid rich hues, a simple gathered arrangement of garden greenery and faint colored blossoms was ideal for the centerpiece. Using a silver plateau inverted to hold oasis, I mounded and layered leaves of variegated hydrangea, acuba, hosta, fern fronds, and pale blue lace cap and ‘Ayesha’ hydrangeas. The tapestry of greens and soft florets were grounded with creams of ‘Annabelle’ hydrangea that carried the cream theme into the cream glazed earthen ware from Provvista Desgins.
As for other elements of the setting, the garden inspired natural theme was continued with hydrangea leaf chargers, arrayed in concentric rings around and under the plates. Since the wild green plums were the inspiration for the tablescape, bowls brimming with the tart fruits served as perfect take home gifts for guests and place settings.
When I was growing up I knew all the best places to pick blackberries within walking distance of my house. Wild blackberries are relatives of the rose, and like rose bushes, blackberry bushes or brambles have thorns making the prize difficult to reach. But so worth the effort. I had a basic formula that I kept to back then--one berry for me, one for the bucket, another one for me, another one for the bucket. Somehow eating them while picking them, they tasted even better than when eaten at home. Of course it also lead to purple stained tongue and fingers as evidence of my consumption. 
Summer makes me want to grill everything, it makes dinner so simple to execute. Picking a protein is the biggest decision. Once that's settled it's easy street.
With my garden laden with cherry tomatoes this year, I've tried to come up with different solutions for using them in recipes besides eating them raw as fast as they ripen. Last year I made cherry tomato salad, but even then the plants were so abundant that I fed my coworkers with tomatoes for weeks upon weeks. This year, my cherry tomatoes are the only ones that haven't been affected by the blight, which has caused havoc on farms in the Northeast. Some farmers have now resorted to burning their crops. Luckily the disease hasn't been so drastic in the small scale. This year I'm keeping all the tomatoes to myself.
My friend, Lynn, rubs up with mosquito spray and grabs a bucket as she heads out each year at this time to pick wild blueberries. She's been doing this for years, so it doesn't take her long to pick enough of those small, sweet berries in her secret spot to make at least a couple of blueberry pies. And, she makes the world's best pie crust. This year, she brought me a small pie that was perfect for my husband and I to share. We savored each bite of flaky crust that held her homemade wild blueberry pie filling. It was absolutely heavenly.