Easter Lunch In The Garden

WORDS:: Chyka Keebaugh

PHOTOS:: Lisa Atkinson

Easter is one of my favourite holidays of the year, and not just because of the abundance of chocolate! This year i decided to take Easter lunch outdoors in an intimate setting.

It's the time of year (like Christmas!) that I wish the kids were still little so I could go to town with decorating the house, over-filling those Easter baskets and sprinkling my home with woodland bunnies. But why would their ages stop me? I am still excited about setting up the perfect Easter lunch, this time with a little garden twist...

The traditional Easter Sunday lunch doesn't have to be a stuffy affair. This year I am taking it outdoors and setting it amongst the gardens, where the real bunnies play! As you know, I am an avid collector of (rather, hoarder!) pf plates and one theme I am always on the lookout for is bunny plates. Side plates and dinner plates that are adorned with bunnies, ceramics painted in leaves and garden scenes...where do I stop? I love my plates to tell a story on the table, for the napkins to continue that colour theme and for the table to bring it all together. This year I picked up some gorgeous plates from Pottery Barn and they set the style for my outdoor Easter setting.

First, I covered the table with moss. I love using this as a base for an outdoor table as it wows your guests. I get mine from Flowers Vasette and it comes in a bag-full, almost like sheets, so it is very easy to use and move around. To get the full effect you don't have to cover the entire table as i have, even using moss as a centrepiece is a dramatic statement. I then surrounded the moss with little feathers, eggs and nests made from dodo vine. This creates a gorgeous little scene and without being traditional, is still a nod to he history of Easter itself, which amongst other things, symbolises new life and rebirth.

Instead of using cut flowers, I went to the local nursery and bought small punnets of pansies to fill the space. These went straight on to the table but you could also leave them in their pots surrounding them with moss. I love the thought of planting the pansies up in tall glasses or small vases down the centre of the table; there are so many ways you could style it. The great thing about punnets of flowers is that they can be planted in your garden afterwards. No wastage here!

Because it is Easter, I can’t resist the idea of giving everyone at the table a beautiful egg with a gorgeous ribbon to tie it all back together again. What do you think?