Hello Dear Readers!
Happy Monday and Happy First Day of July!
The first Monday of the month means it is a beautiful Monday
as I share wonderful floral inspiration along with my amazingly talented
Monday Morning Blooms friends, Lidy, Mary and Pam.
Our common theme today is garden urns.
Their beautiful images and links to their posts are below.
I have not done many outdoor posts since being at the Berry Patch House.
So today I am . . .
Bringing The Outdoors In
Into the sunroom.
The Berry Patch House does have a wonderful sunroom
and it was great that I was able to put my potting bench in that room.
I went into the “storage abyss” and found an urn that I have had for many years.
I purchased it at one of my favorite antique shops in Florida, which unfortunately
is no longer there. That sweet couple who owned it retired.
That shop was 5 minutes from my former house in North Central Florida.
This pretty urn/planter is made by the Wheeling Pottery Company,
in Wheeling, West Virginia, circa 1890 – 1910.
One day when I visited that antique shop, the sweet couple just returned
from a buying trip in Pennsylvania.
They said that it was one of their favorite states
to go antiquing. It is actually mine too!
I was watching her hubby unload the truck
and he had this urn/planter in one hand.
I immediately asked if it was for sale and if so, how much?
She stated that it had a little chip at the top, so how does $10 sound?
Sold!
The urn/planter had a great home in my Florida Sunroom.
When we moved to N.C.,
you could find it often on the front porch filled with mums
or whatever flowering plant was in season.
I frequented that shop often.
You probably think it was because I was such a collector
especially back then of 30’s, 40’s and 50’s dishes
(depression glass, jadite, fiesta and more).
However, maybe it was because I loved chatting
with this lovely lady who knew so much
about antiques and I loved hearing her stories.
I also loved going throughout that shop
which was a Victorian home of over 100 years old,
located in the historic district of that town where I lived.
Walking in and out of the many rooms in that house,
admiring the beautiful architectural
moldings, windows, and wonderful creaky floors.
I loved it when I would walk into that wonderful shop,
they greeting me by my name
and say, “hey, I just got something in that I think you would love”
and they were usually right!
I miss those quaint shops.
Seems like there are more and more antique malls, with the
booth owners never there and just someone
at the common register there to take your money.
I love interacting with people. I think I get some of that from my mom.
She never met a stranger.
I have my watering cans in the sunroom here at the Berry Patch House.
I grabbed one of the cans that has a wonderful label and placed it next to the
flower arrangement creating my garden theme.
It was then I had an epiphany.
The label on the watering can said “Wheeling”
Made in Wheeling, West Virginia …. the same as my urn/planter!
I must say that I have never paid much attention to the hallmark on the urn,
until I placed the flower arrangement in it. Serendipity happened, I must say.
I bought the watering can several years ago,
antiquing with my friend Mary Alice in Lemoyne, Pa.
So who would have thought that these two items
would meet together after so many years!
Happy together!
Now let’s talk flowers . . .
The flowers that I selected for today’s Monday Morning Blooms are:
Alstroemeria
Daisies
Gerbera Daisies
Hydrangeas
Lilies
Mums
Hope you enjoyed my story of “serendipity” today
and of times past. Those days of the “thrill of the hunt”
and I still do love that “thrill of the hunt!”
I’m not an eBay kind of person, unless I need something right away.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Now it’s time for you to enjoy my fellow flower friends’ beautiful creations!!
The following, as always, are filled with the most
wonderful floral inspiration to present to you today.
The links to their posts are below their images.
Mary ~ Home Is Where The Boat Is
Pam ~ Everyday Living
Lidy ~ FrenchGardenHouse
and Me! . . . Housepitality Designs
I wish you all a most beautiful day!!!


What a beautiful urn Shirley! I love her blooms as wells as her history and her shape. What a bargain, I would have fainted at the price! The transfer floral design is so pretty too. Love the serendipity of your watering can too! I named one of our baby squirrels ‘Wheeling’ after I found the nest in my watering can by the Potting Shed. 🙂 I hope you were home and able to enjoy those gorgeous lilies as they opened up! Thank you for the beauty this morning. I love starting my Mondays with my flower loving friends. ♥
Thank you Mary..and yes, I now remember the baby squirrel you named Wheeling!
After creating the arrangement, I gave the flowers to a friend as I was leaving town and did not get to
see the lilies bloom…however, someone else did have that pleasure! Hope you had a great 4th!
Happy Canada Day! Beautiful arrangement and thoughtful and sweet words about the dear couple in Florida.
Hope you had a great Canada Day Susan!!
Shirley, you are a great story teller and I love your memories of the couple who owned the lovely antique shop. I miss those days of quaint shops with interesting shopkeepers. The urn is so beautiful and the price was definitely a steal. Your choice of flowers is perfect for bringing the outdoors inside your sunroom, I still swoon over your potting bench! What fun serendipity pulling out your watering can! It is always a pleasure to spend Monday Morning Blooms with my flower loving friends. Wishing you a fabulous week and a lovely 4th of July!
Thank you dear Pam…hope you had a great 4th!
Another beautiful floral vignette and it’s great that you can remember stories along with your finds. Yes, you rarely see the booth owners these days and now with so much on line shopping many smaller shops are closing down. I love the thrill of the hunt.
Kim…I so know you love the “thrill of the hunt” Thank you!
Your florals are beautiful and I love the urn that they’re in. What a great story and I like how you wove in a bit of your past! That’s pretty neat how the watering can was made in the same area. Serendipity indeed!
Liz’s recent post…Patriotic Vignette #2
Thank you Liz….so enjoyed your Patriotic vignette!..hope you had a grand 4th!
So serene and pretty Shirley, and your memories of one of your favorite shops are lovely, chatting with the store owner and visiting as well as shopping! Your Wheeling vignette in the sunroom is delightful! I hope you have a wonderful 4th week and Happy July!
Love your little story of the serendipity of the meeting of the two Wheeling pieces, Shirley! A pretty arrangement too.
Shirley, I inevitably pick up my phone each morning to check the time because I cannot see the clock on the bedside table. That’s because my hubby doesn’t put his pill bottles back into the little basket that I’ve provided. Imagine that. Wry smile. Once I’ve checked the time, I check my FB notifications. When I see that I have one from “Housepitality Designs” I get up…because I know that I now have to retrieve my tablet for a bigger, better, view. I enjoy your posts so much! Like you, I love the thrill of the hunt for treasures, and I felt like I was right there with you, hearing those creaky boards under foot.
Beautiful urn and story about buying it. I love your choice of flowers. I wish I could see your arrangement again when the lilies open up. It will smell wonderful.
You did a great job keeping us interested weaving your story to the full reveal on your pretty wicker potting bench.
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I love serendipitous stories and know your pieces are happy together! Your arrangement is so pretty!
Thank you JoAnn!
Love your vase and the flower arrangement is stunning, as all your arrangements are. I wish I your knack for arranging flowers.
Thank you so very much Gail!
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Together again??? Perhaps is what your watering can and urn are saying. LOL I loved your story and II love your flowers. I like that you used blooms from your lilies as they give a different texture to your arrangement. Just gorgeous. Thanks for sharing.
Kari
Thanks so very much Kari!!! Hope you had a grand 4th!
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