Alfresco Summer Dining & Floral Tablescapes

Alfresco dining is one of the great joys of summer and home entertaining has seldom been as popular, with more Brits enjoying their gardens and outdoor spaces than ever before. Dining outside offers wonderful tablescaping opportunities, with fresh flowers and plants the obvious choice of decor. Here, the experts at Pelargoniums for Europe look at how you can make a table fit for a King as the days get longer and summer nights beckon. 

With their abundant, multi-coloured blooms and drought-tolerant properties, geraniums and pelargoniums are the ideal adornment for place settings and beautiful centrepieces. Whether it’s tea for two or a picnic for 20, sundowners with friends or a family Sunday lunch, a romantic tête-à-tête or full blown wedding party, geraniums will deliver the joy that the occasion calls for.

For the perfect summer table decorations, all you need to do is place one or more geraniums in attractive pots on the table. Napkins decorated with geranium stems at each place are the finishing touch.

Versatile and long-lasting
Whether as potted plants in pretty containers, cut stems in vases, or blooms scattered loosely on the table, geraniums are ideal for floral dining décor. As well as classic upright geraniums, butterfly and noble varieties also make beautiful centrepieces. A vase, geraniums and a few twigs or grasses; that’s all you need for a summer centrepiece to brighten up any table and, with the right care, you can enjoy a lush flowering potted geranium for many months.

In addition to the types above, hanging varieties also make excellent cut flowers. Geraniums can easily cope with having their stems cut, as it actually encourages them to produce even more blooms than before. A round wicker tray of cut geraniums and drumsticks (Craspedia globosa) in small ceramic vases is a good example of a cut geranium arrangement that will brighten up any table.

Vintage-style upcycled table displays
In the vintage style, cottagecore table design (see attached image), the lush blooms and bright colours of cut geraniums look exquisite in dainty cups and small glass vases. Twisted candles in brass holders provide additional colourful accents, while grandma’s china and cutlery add a nostalgic touch.

A homemade tiered stand of vintage cups and plates, topped with a glass vase holding a vibrant posy of geraniums, will be a lovely highlight of any summer table display. Using cups and plates of different sizes, a hot glue gun and hot ceramic glue, making the upcycled decor idea is super easy.

Balcony Life

With profusely blooming flowers in varied colours and shapes, low-maintenance geraniums transform sunny balconies and terraces into heavenly retreats. Geraniums also do well as cut flowers. As the plants continuously produce new flowers from spring to autumn, cutting flower stems is no problem at all.

All you need to do is get pouring – whether it’s tea, Pimms or champagne. Cheers!