W ell Contained A few blooms and a beloved kitchen object can make magic
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By Deborah Salomon • Photographs By Cassie Butler
h my. What would Granny say? Those are purple petunias growing out of her 100-yearold stewpot. She’d probably say, “Sure, honey,” since old-timey Southern cooks stuck garden flora — daffodils and daisies, zinnias and lupines — into whatever container was handy, often milk bottles and Mason jars. The look endures. Interior designers scavenge yard sales for these homey vessels which, like the label ends of wooden fruit crates, have become valued kitchen décor. Don’t stop at milk bottles; glass and pottery pitchers add panache to stems. Anything pewter sets off purple irises exquisitely. Geraniums blooming in a chipped enamel stockpot, begonias in a kettle, herbs sharing a heavy stoneware mixing bowl and pussywillow branches lying in a worn wooden biscuit tray go beyond decoration. Remember the massive aluminum double boilers with long handles? Perfect for a pair of Gerber daisies or forced hyacinth bulbs in the spring.
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Raid kitchen cabinets for delicate teacups to hold transplanted violets. A glass Perrier bottle with a single wildflower or chive blossom sets a continental tone, as does a Chemex wasp-waisted coffee carafe with tulips. Metal oatmeal and saltine tins look handsome filled with dried flowers. Containers don’t have to be antique: a tall stainless steel asparagus steamer, wine buckets, olive oil and cobalt-blue water bottles all suggest creative arrangements. Think Van Gogh or Monet. And so, what we have is the pot calling the kettle ... pretty. PS Reversible blue “Williamsburg” quilt provided by At Home & Southern Pines Paper Co. All sizes available at store’s location, 168 NW Broad Street. “Giselle” Funktion paisley tablecloth, “Thyme” stripe ticking cotton woven rug and Indian print parasol provided by Mockingbird, 240 NW Broad Street.
July 2012 P������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� PineStraw : The Art & Soul of the Sandhills