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A French-Inspired Garden and Home by Judith Stringham

Simple French Country Fall Kitchen

Sunday, October 24, 2021

The last simple bouquet of blue and white hydrangeas sat on my French Country kitchen island as summer slipped away and Fall arrived. While most people decorate for Fall with traditional shades of orange, yellow, brown, and beige, I favor using the blues and whites that are part of my everyday decor year round. 


Keeping with French Country style of understated elegance, there were no elaborate displays for Fall in my kitchen this year. 



S I M P L E

F R E N C H  C O U N T R Y

F A L L  K I T C H E N   






Instead, a simple hydrangea arrangement on the kitchen island was surrounded by my favorite blue and white dishes. On the kitchen shelf high up on the stone wall was another simple grouping of two preserved boxwoods and a hand carved bird. 




No pumpkins, chrysanthemums, or cornstalks announced Fall's arrival. Fall came quietly with little fanfare. The temperatures were still in the 90°s (F), with summer weather still the norm. Only the date on the calendar marked Fall's arrival. Without a calendar no one at my house would have known the season was now Fall. 




While the shelf on the stone wall was decorated minimally for Fall, I do have special plans for the shelf during the Christmas season. Christmas will not arrive quietly. 




The week Fall began Trader Joe's had beautiful blue and white hydrangeas that made a stunning large display on the kitchen island.  




Portmeirion's Botanic Blue china plates and tankards surrounded the hydrangeas. 




The windblown appearance of cyclamen in the design is a subtle nod to Fall's blustery days, still yet to arrive in our part of the world. For now, we are enjoying butterflies and bees swarming late blooming flowers. 

 


My potted hydrangeas on the porch that survived the February winter storm and bloomed this Spring and Summer have gone completely dormant. Very likely, the plants will never recover to bloom again. 

The hydrangeas from Trader Joe's provided one last look at hydrangeas this year. 

There are no better flowers to bid farewell to summer than one last gorgeous bouquet of hydrangeas. 


Hydrangeas . . . 
for a simple French Country Fall kitchen 


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We continue to enjoy the last days of summer weather here, with temperatures expected to hit 90° (F) for two more days before daytime highs fall to the 70s. Fall weather may arrive!