The Garden Glamour blog is the "little black dress" for an entertaining lifestyle. The "must read" postings offer inspired stories about horticulture; garden art; Garden Design. My passion for beauty & culture celebrates artful products;Exterior & Tablescape Designs; book reviews; homegrown food & drink; Garden-to-Glass Finishing Touches; & funny, insouciant anecdotes about the humbling, glorious & glamorous world of Gardens!
As September waned, I enjoyed the luxury of determining, “What would be the theme for my latest table design?” I was leaning into a Halloween look. No, Too early for my style. But no denying autumn was upon us; twilight and evening darkness sneaking in… hmmm. Then a light bulb went off. Literally. 💡
I could celebrate the power of light and its casting off the dark, along with its illuminating symbol of the spiritual, the divine, and oh yes, intelligence. In my mind’s eye, I could see the design “performance” lit up by Kleig lights.
I couldn’t think of a better day to announce my garden-to-table inspired Tablescape Subscription Service than Earth Day.
I honor the inspired miracle of gardens and plants and nature and love…
I so love gardens, garden design, food and drink and artful hospitality -- which naturally evolved to designing and creating tablescapes.
Setting the table is setting a mood.
Not sure how to match your dream to the tabletop?
Allow me design a beautiful tablescape for you.
For as long as I can remember I’ve been enchanted by the luxury of hospitality.
What could be better than taking the time - yet another luxury - to show your love to family and friends with good food, drink, desserts, wine, and the glory of a glamorous table setting that whispers and winks, “Welcome! I cared so much about our soiree that I created this special homage to making our memory one to cherish, delight, and remember. “
I keep a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson on my work desk: “Love of beauty is taste. The creation of beauty is art.”
Tablescape designs are surely works of art.
And their beauty is in the details. Like a good cocktail, quality ingredients matter; they showcase a distinctive table decor’s creative design and underlying story theme without screaming it - using layers of compelling nuance, that appeals to our all our senses, and of course, whets the appetite.
How did I come to this artful passion?
I tell stories.
I’m a writer and a garden designer. Both endeavours, at their very best, tell a story. Offer a unique and personal narrative.
I’ve had the privilege to travel the world; to be astonished by presentations at first-class hotels and homes. I attend countless lectures and tastings.
So that experience and study inform my hospitality narrative, for sure.
I am also passionate about being creative. and I adore the arts - from fine art painting and sculpture to garden art and culinary art and the domestic arts to music... And all are essential to memorable, artful table designs.
(You can read more about me and my background - just to assure you of my hospitality and design bona fides - with some links below. But first -it’s all about you.)
Soon, my table setting decor evolved -- from setting a “proper” table for a sit down meal - dinner, brunch or a garden tea party or a “Ladies Who Lunch” or a soaring summer BBQ and picnic.
I found my love knew no bounds!
In time, my table setting became more of a curated display. Not only did I showcase seasonal flowers, but holiday-appropriate or themed treasures on the table that are meant to surprise and delight.
While I’ve been designing table looks for me and my garden design clients for some time, it wasn’t until last year that I was encouraged to expand this experience.
I’d been asked to provide presentations on how to design tablescapes. I was honored to showcase at the “What’s New, What’s Next” at the New York Design Center.
And the fun of receiving OMG feedback on social media - pushed me.
Increasingly, I was blogging about the table designs and posting on social media.
Then, just like that, Tablescaping has become a burgeoning phenomenon. Some have called it the lost or overlooked art.
Whether lost and rediscovered -- or a new love -- I’m thrilled to provide you with a Tablescape Subscription service.
I want to make your Tablescape design a customized hospitality experience for the way you live. The ergonomics of designing and arranging the elements of a heart-clutching tablescape composition does not have to be intimidating when you entrust me with your occasion.
I’m your Tablescape design partner. Few domestic pleasures are more satisfying than luxuriating in the table art every day. No special occasion is needed! You can treat you and your family and friends to this affordable extravagance.
A well-designed tablescape is luxury entertainment that creates a memory of emotions and a sense of place.
How it Works:
You can establish your subscription series with whatever frequency works for you.
Every quarter. Every month. On demand. It’s up to you.
You can email me your project details. Tell me what is the holiday, occasion; the date(s,); along with an image or two of your table or dining buffet island - indoors or out.
We’ll set up a phone call, email, and/or Facetime session. Whatever works with your schedule and preferred way of communicating. We’ll talk about your style; what your dreams and fantasies are for the occasion.
I’m your designer. I work with your hidden creativity.
We can work with items you have. No china? No problem. No crystal. No worries.
Plus, I love to repurpose things -- think toys, linens, name tags, vases, music boxes, watches, keyrings, games, books, origami, mirrors, and flowers! This is elegant and fun.
I can also shop for you - I gather items from estate sales, online design sources, as well as my New York City sources - the floral district and trinket shops - to the goldmine of shopping second-hand shops.
It’s a little secret (shhhh) that from Brooklyn to renaissance and antique shops, I find a cornucopia of items that are glamorous but that previous generations can’t pass on. So they end up in second-time-around shops or flea markets or online.
My curated discoveries add that sparkle and intrigue and delight to make your tablescape a hospitality tour de force.
I edit the tablescape composition - with as much or as little of your direction that works for you - to charm, enchant, and intoxicate you and your guests.
My ideas along with your taste, will transform your tablescape and entertaining into a sparkling, inspired experience.
And you can tend to your hosting with nary a worry.
I place the order and manage the shipping details.
You approve everything before the order is placed. If we need to order or buy anything.
The purchased tablescape decor items arrive with a map or outline sized to your table so that you just need to place the items in the designated spot as indicated on the map guide - kind of like a coloring book game. You can keep the items and will be charged or you can return them - as a kind of leased-for-fee design project.
The living items such as flowers or fish - you keep :)
Finishing Touches Workshop at Atlantic Highlands Arts Council, Sunday, December 10, featuring Hospitality and Garden Design Specialist, Leeann Lavin -- (me!)
Just in time for the season of entertaining, eating, and drinking, the Atlantic Highlands Arts Council announced its Holiday Workshop, scheduled for Sunday, December 10, 3-5 pm; with a cornucopia of elements:
Tablescape Design
Create a Craft Cocktail
How to Set a Table
This is a fun, creative, Hands-On, DIY workshop, designed to inspire a memorable Tablescape design that will delight your family and friends.
What’s a Tablescape, you ask?
Although tablescapes often adorn the center of the table, they are more than centerpieces.
A tablescape is an overall look that addresses the entire table or serving area and complements its surroundings. The art of tablescaping makes your guests feel welcome and relaxed.
This is my entrance Welcome Hostess composition featuring seasonal chile peppers in black urns, dried hydrangea fro the garden, grapes, crystal, silver, the scent of fresh apples in a glamorous Murano glass bowl, & the holiday hostess cocktail: Applejack, lapsang souchong simple syrup, sparkling apple cider.
Tablescapes bring your event together with color, style, whimsy, and dimension.
It tells a story of the season; making an impact and creating a strong story – whether its modern or traditional – it’s all about the ingredients.
It’s eye-candy for your table!
"Our tablescape presentation offers attendees a primer on how to choose color, texture, and visual stimulation, which in turn leads to fun and interesting tableside conversations,” said Mary D’Agostino, the Atlantic Highlands Arts Council. “The combination of a photo-rich presentation and the hands-on element is a double header – a great opportunity to learn first-hand how to create a sense of balance, harmony, and personal style to suit your celebration.” Mary offers that this is a perfect meet-up workshop to be enjoyed with your family and/or friends.
I always recommend greeting your home guests with a special, mixed cocktail -- in a punch bowl or beverage dispenser so that your guests can readily get into the festive spirit without wondering what's appropriate to ask for, or checking to see what everyone else is drinking (is it wine, beer, or martini's??) or whether you're pouring their drink -- so the ready-to-go drink is fun and easy -- and elegant.
So too the Workshop kicks off with a segment about creating a delicious and elegant “Garden-to-Glass” holiday cocktail, "Heart of Gold" and food pairing,
New York's Leyenda Brooklyn Cocteleria Craft Cocktail Mixologist Jessica Wohlers, and me, will demonstrate how to take your cocktails to the next level with a tasting!
And I'll show a collection of garnishes from herbs, jewelry and candy, as well as other fun, decorative embellishments
along with a primer on how to make a Simple Syrup.
The next segment of the Workshop is a presentation I've prepared with lots of images and suggestions on how to build a tablescape of your dreams. Everyone loves looking at inspiring, Pinterest-worthy creations, yes?
Next, we'll explore the hands-on workshop element where you'll get to use ingredients you bring -- attendees are encouraged to bring their tablescape ingredients to design a memorable look.
So, stir your imagination and design with intention; here's where you can let your decor ideas come to life.
I encourage attendees and at-home designers to explore your late autumn garden and yard - it’s beautiful! The added benefit is you get to enjoy your garden and maybe even discover plants you didn't think about at this time of year. There are flowers, twigs, seed pods, ornamental grass, and more.
Or, you can use grocery store bouquets, or favorite blooms from the florist.
Use whatever strikes your fancy or captures your eye.
Still wondering what could work? This time of year I reccomend any of the following:
Japanese Maple
Beauty Berry
Kousa Dogwood
Heavenly Bamboo/Nandina
Viburnum
Virginia Sweetspire
Redbud
Magnolia Leaves
Carnations
Roses
Seeded Eucalyptus
Gather accessories you have around the house – or head to your local craft or garden center for:
Vases
Urns
Lights
Mirrors/Trays
Table runners
Jewelry
Glitter
Artificial Snow
Cache pot/fruit bowl/sleigh -- a vessel for cuttings
“Animals” - toys - gift boxes
Accessories or Collectibles
Or anything your heart desires….
The Arts Council will provide buckets for the fresh plant material, tables, scissors, glue – and the Finishing Touches Cocktail.
The fee for the three-hour hands-on workshop, tutorial, and cocktail tasting is $40.
Register online at the Atlantic Highlands website: aharts.org, starting Monday, November 27, or in person at 54 First Avenue (Tuesday-Friday 1-7 and Saturday & Sunday 10-3). Or call!
Space is limited.
The Atlantic Highlands Arts Council is located at:
The mission of the Atlantic Highlands Arts Council is to strengthen community through the arts. We are a 100% volunteer 501(c)3 non-profit organization that believes in the power of the arts to transform and enrich communities. Our primary function is to develop and execute events and arts related activities for the benefit of our community.
This Halloween season I wanted to celebrate the spooky season with a bit more refined, glamorous tablescape and hallway greeting than the usual gourds and orange pumpkins.
I was looking for a refined “adult” version of happy trick or treat.
I wanted it to be more about the art of tablescaping for this most favorite holiday. (Did you know that, in fact, Halloween is now only second to Christmas in terms of popularity?)
Given that Halloween has, at its core, dressing up in costumes, it only seems apropos to “dress up the table and noteworthy home spaces with some inspired, seasonal masquerade.
Especially when the harvest season screams out for luncheon, dinner, and cocktail parties to celebrate the abundance we enjoy and share this time of year.
So let’s delight in dressing up. Our tables, our home. It's all about entertaining in style.
I began my Halloween tablescape and home decor compositions as I always do -- by dreaming a bit.
And by answering the question: “What story do I want to tell?”
Tablescapes, of course, are more than mere centerpieces. The overall tablescape look comprises the entire table, amplifying an event or holiday or your guests -- with your personal style, color, and dimension.
It tells your story; your fantasy… While making your guests feel welcome and relaxed.
The visual stimulation of a compelling composition sparks fun and conversation.
Good tablescapes create a sense of balance, harmony and personal style.
For my tablescape design this year, I was drawn to artful skeletons - more as sculptural objects.
I went for the skulls, especially... Skulls and skeletons can be pensive (Rodin?!) or rather sweet - even humorous.
In terms of color, witchy black was the spooky shoe-in, right? Dark, mysterious - and sophisticated.
To harmonize, I thought the color gold and gold accent pieces would add that touch of elegance, along with the basic black.
I use the tiny white (battery operated) string lights for most every tablescape. The evening twinkle is frothy and romantic - and can stand up to our cityscape view that sparkles out on the horizon - seemingly within reach.
And I always create a trompe l’oeil or a kind of “vehicle” that allows me to hide the battery pack for the two light strands. After all, we’re creating illusion..
For the last tablescape display, I used the decorative blue box designed to look like a grill - that the wood fish came in which styled perfectly with the fish and beach composition - complete with live Beta fishing fish in their own four, individual glass vases with plants.
What could I use for the Halloween to hide the battery pack in?
Keeping with the gold color and elements theme, I repurposed two small gold urns and topped the batteries with store-bought mini green and gold gourds that caught my eye at a store.
It’s always best to lay out the designs and look on the table; then determine what you have in your own decor inventory or household items that could work in the design. You’ll be surprised how many items can be repurposed.
Next up is to make a list. This keeps you focused when you get to the store and become overwhelmed or distracted by displays there.
My initial ‘search and shop’ was in a local store where I could get those spiky succulents.
There, I also found perfect small black lacquer pedestal urns - (they looked as if the front porch big urns had incubated teeny offspring!)
The shiny, black urns were perfect: size and price wise so I got four - two for the table and two for the entranceway.
I also found spiky air plants to use.
I got small chile plants -- one with yellow pepper plants and the other with purple pepper plants.
I was building the composition.
I bought a black, felt “spiderweb” table runner.
I got packs of “eyes” to place inside the web. This is a whimsical element that is so much fun when dining. All those “peepers” looking back at you!
I also got eyeball rings -- where the eyeballs actually roll a bit - and placed them on the runner, too. Fun as a kind of kooky cocktail ring!
Skull banks worked - just like the fish banks for the previous composition. The point here is not to limit your design to items that are expressly made as decor - but to think of elements that can add charm and style - whatever their original utility might have been.
I placed the plants in two of the black urns. In turn, I placed them on the round mirrors. The mirrors amplify the main element’s value in the composition.
I wanted gauze to add that spidery look and to help cover the lights’ “wires” but when the party store didn’t have the gauze - I just went to the pharmacy and bought a roll of gauze (for a lot less money) and wrapped that around the urn and over the lights.
Then I placed teeny, tiny skulls around the mirror, on top of the gauze.
You don’t see the wires and at night when it’s lighted -- the illusion is dramatic and elegant.
I also spray-painted four artificial pumpkins gold (no real pumpkins that would go bad and get mushy on the table)
And I purchased the most adorable (to me, anyway) gold insects for the four corners of the spider runner. I figured they could work for a multitude of future tablescape designs.
Creepy, elegant, fun.
When all was in place, it just needed something more. As if a hand was directing me, I was compelled to turn to the fireplace and shazaam, targeted the four wrought iron candle holders. Perfect! They and their gold, battery operated candles were soon transported to the tablescape. That finishing touch completed the look.
Halloween Tablescape Luncheon
For a “Ladies Who Lunch,” affair, I found mini pumpkins in the garden and used them for the name placeholders.
Black napkins and gold napkin rings accented the table look, as did the ceramic gourd soup bowls (Williams-Sonoma).
Even the seasonal biscuits from the “Spice Whisperer” Lior Lev Sercarz’s La Boite was wrapped in the pumpkin hue. (See the wrapped box on the table).
We enjoyed Lior’s biscuit treats as part of our dessert.
The seasonal menu included most everything from our garden: onions for the French Onion Soup: (Photo courtesy of Angie Lambert)
We enjoyed Mother’s homemade bread, and garden-fresh eggplants for the Eggplant and Pasta with truffle buffalo mozzarella entree.
(photo courtesy of Angie Lambert)
(Photo courtesy of Angie Lambert)
(Photo courtesy of Angie Lambert)
I couldn’t resist making my trademark punch with garden ice floating ring for the Ladies Lunch.
(Photo courtesy of Angie Lambert)
I used Mint as the frozen in time greens. This you must start a few days ahead of time, freezing distilled water halfway in a bundt pan. When frozen, place your greens or flowers or whatever you want that will amplify a party theme - on top of the half frozen mold.
Then, fill the bundt pan with more distilled water to help cover the greens or flowers. Some will stick up from the mold -- which makes it all the prettier.
As the ice melts, the greens stay in the circular shape -- so that it comes to rest in the bottom as the punch is consumed. Lovely…
Ladies Who Lunch guests: Angie (L) and Maria enjoying the smoky punch.
For Halloween, I had to try the dry ice to produce a holiday, smokey drama.
I ordered the dry ice from our local Party Store. They told me I had 15 or 20 minutes to experience once I broke up (be sure to wear winter gloves) and ignited the dry ice with water.
It lasted longer than that but be advised.
The result was even better than I hoped for. It was giggling-good!
I encourage you to try this hostess treat for your next party.
Garnish the punch cocktail with fresh, local green apples.
Entry Hall
For the hallway table, I already had two “hands” that look like Thing from the the long-ago TV show, “The Addams Family.” (They’re creepy and they’re spooky…)
For the entry hallway, I was inspired by those “menacing-looking” spiky, small succulents.
Heading to our garden, I cut the spent hydrangea macrophylla -- the ‘Lady in Red’ cultivar offers gorgeous petioles and a red-veined style that I interpreted as a bit of blood-red color that paired well with “eyeball” picks decor for the vases.
I purchased glow-in-the-dark rubber-like “insects” that rest on the prickly succulents and red-swirled Murano glass bowl that is perched atop the antique Asian table there.
The “Thing” hands are sparkly, with an insert for a candle; I put little light globes in them.
And behind the bowl I placed white globe battery lights that I had previously purchased for holiday decorations.
The hallway table has black wrought iron sconces topped by battery operated candles - so with a few masks and tiny tin buckets filled with candy treats -- along with the shadow art the sun etches across the walls there - it’s a welcome Halloween tableau.
The little spiders are available in black - for the tablescape - and orange - which complemented the saffron/orange in our garden room so I strategically placed them on the spiral staircase. Whimsical!
Front Door Entry
For the front door entrance’s black urns -- one on each side of the front door - the ferns are still looking good in this warmer than usual weather (I read today of ‘Hotumn’) and I already had two happy witches from years past. So I nestled our girls in among the ferns.
To add to the look, I got two of those Mexican, Dia de los Muertos skull heads to place in the big urns along with the witches. I love their colorful look and the significance that they represent prayer and remembrance of family and friends who have died.
The PS / funny part is that the squirrels knocked out one of the skulls - but the glue job made it only all the more realistic!
Boo to you! What will your table be wearing for Halloween?
Please join me at In House Kitchen, Bath and Home for a very special presentation.
Acclaimed interior designer, Toni Sabatino and I will present a Wood-Mode sponsored glamorous cocktail party!
While sipping two special cocktails from my book, Finishing Touches and the Art of Garnishing the Cocktail, and nibbling on lots of special food pairings from the book - learn how design, ingredients, tablescapes, and creativiy come together for a Finishing Touches lifestyle.
One of the seasonal songs that keeps ringing in my head is the refrain, “It’s the most wonderful time … of the year.”
While it can be somewhat unnerving for us horticulturists in the northern temperate climates when the season demands we change out our sunscreen for windscreen and bandanas for winter scarves, I honestly embrace the opportunity to design something different than the garden beds brimming with perennials, annuals, trees and shrubs for my garden client’s exterior -- and bring the garden to the interior designs.
I’m excited to create seasonal container compositions, entrance decor, and tablescapes -- showcasing the beauty of the garden and how plants -- and bit of fantasy -- can help tell their personal and family stories.
Every design is different. No two garden clients’ look is the same -- each is unique because we are all special in our own way -- just as a plant or blossom is..
This season, one of my dearest garden design clients --and a muse -- needed to prepare for a one-two series of family gatherings: for both Thanksgiving and again for Christmas and Hannukah. What good fortune!
So too, there was a series of design and work stages in a series to produce the look she was hoping for.
We started by walking the property and noting where she wanted to change and boost the look. That turned into establishing a border garden on one side of the circular driveway (curiously, the other sides all possessed border beds of mixed plantings.)
Wow -- this area would be brought up to par. More on this later.
Welcome Entrance Design
In terms of the welcome entrance decor, I started by creating a private Pinterest board for my client to respond to. I selected a number of images that we could use -- a little of this, a little of that, and of course, adding our own personal touch and her special personality and taste -- that is her love of beauty.
Once we had a working composition, I set out to source the material to create the design.
That included the floral district in New York City -- those that Martha and Ralph Lauren use for their compositions - not far from my Gotham apartment - in addition to local craft stores, our own backyards and gardens, too.
My client and I determined we’d use/repurpose lanterns I suggested and she purchase some years ago from Restoration Hardware to highlight the pool.
I placed two of the lanterns on each side of the door, filled the bottoms with unpopped popcorn, and loaned my flameless candles that work on timers.
That was backed by two very large flameless candles that my client already had.
In addition, I made three sheave designs for each side of the door -- two each of wheat-color stalks of cereal grass and the center was her favorite color (besides white) of a potato vine bright green.
It was an elegant composition even before I did the posts and door frame!
Later, I wrapped the posts in a spiral of burlap ribbons overlaid with gold silk flowers and berries. Over the door we hung faux Chinese Bittersweet berries -- that glorious, rich, cinnabar, smash-pumpkin hue. Brilliant -- and glowed off client’s signature hair color.
The door was caressed / wrapped in a kind of spun white and gold microfiber that has a life of it’s own -- all the better to nestle sweet moss-covered little bird’s nests and gold and white feathery little birds, perched in the nests and looking to welcome guests in a regal “love-bird” kind of way.
The custom-made pumpkin topiaries are tiered like a three-layer cake.
For the designer pumpkins I used ghost, Cotton Candy, Blue Moon, Pump Ke Mon (white with green or yellowish stripes), white, the Tiger Tiger and very stylish Brode Galeux d’Eysines -- an heirloom pumpkin from France that boasts a pebbly texture that makes you want to almost pet the pumpkin!
I chose a mix of pumpkin styles with each layer a smaller size to create four distinct pumpkin topiaries.
We created this layered look by drilling a hole into each of the pumpkins in a set, then inserting a rod to hold the topiary together.
I then “gilded the lily” -- hot glueing a mix of adornments: silk, seasonal flowers, leaves, ribbon, acorns from the property, grass head plumes, and ivy.
Cinderella should’ve had it so good!
We anchored silk leaf “ropes” around the bespoke address light posts on the street side.
And wrapped a bit of it around the statue of Alice in the Alice in Wonderland garden (all dressed for the occasion to greet her former mistress, the client’s talented granddaughter).
The entranceway was special, seasonally-appropriate and looks good in the day or glowing at night.
Tablescapes
In the same way, when asked to create a tablescape for the dining table using a crystal vase that measured just shy of a foot tall, I started by selecting some photos to post to the private Pinterest board in order to gauge the client’s reaction to a look and style.
I knew we should do a mix of ornamental and edible - given it was for a Thanksgiving celebration - so it should be about the harvest.
I also knew the flora from both silk and fresh can be maximized. This means the look can be de-constructed as the fresh flowers wane and the guests depart for home (whichever comes first!)
I created a series of low vases to surround the tall centerpiece (they can take away that away to foster easy table conversation) and still keep a pretty, glamorous, tablescape.
For the centerpiece it was a mix of rich hues: purple, bright green, pink, lilac, blue and white and gold was agreed upon.
For the small vases, it was gold football mums, magnolia leaves, and luscious as a candy apple rose called, Rose-Cherry Brandy whose gold amplified the mums and the delicate cherry color complemented the centerpiece -- and the red wine served up in the wine glasses.
Here too, I shopped the markets in the floral district in New York City where … plus sourced the fresh flowers from a local florist and flower friend. I picked them up from her storybook home cum workshop and home-crafted greenhouse.
I filled the small vases with acorns, fragrant star anise and the fresh flowers.
I arranged the centerpiece with the silk flowers: ranunculus - green and burgundy red, peony, followed by the fresh: amaranth - red and green, roses, sea holly, ranunculus, two kinds of kale (love that frilly, ruffled leaves look). On site, I added the silk edibles: artichokes, clementines, and a few real purple turnips.
Around the centerpiece I placed faux grapes, gold baubles and beads to add just the touch of elegance this truly glamorous tablescape demanded.
In a room this grand, tall centerpieces can be almost be necessary.
And yet, those low vases facilitate the conversation - so good to have both low and high tablescape designs to accommodate guests.
Cheers to seasonal plant decor, tablescapes that sparkle and Finishing Touches. Remember, the eyes eat first - so be sure to design your home to welcome your family and friends with beauty and love.
(Photo courtesy of Angie Lambert) 
(Photo courtesy of Angie Lambert)
(Photo courtesy of Angie Lambert)
(Photo courtesy of Angie Lambert)
