Tea in the Garden

A few months ago, I hosted a Garden Tea Party to raise money for the local community garden.

It was so much fun getting everything ready to be just perfect for this event.

come on in

I hung different tea-cup posies along the path to the back porch. Several ladies examined them very closely to find out how I have done it:
I used the different china tea cups and saucers from my collection, added water and flowers, and crossed ribbons under the saucers to tie them up on shepherd's hooks and tree branches.  I did add a dab of hot glue at the bottom of the saucers to secure the ribbons.

I added table cloths and cut flowers to the different sitting areas throughout the garden.

and the guests were greeted with Tea-Champagne:

Pour  jasmine infused ice green tea to a champagne flute and
top off with Prosecco.
Add a fresh raspberry and a mint leave as garnish.

Tea in the Garden

The house bar was transformed to tea bar with an assortment of flavored tea bags, diverse sugars and of course hot water, as well as iced tea, soda and fresh coffee for the non tea drinking guests.

A tea party is not complete without cucumber sandwiches and petit-fours

I calculated 6 to 8 sandwiches per person. Besides the cucumber sandwiches with cream cheese and dill, we had chicken salad with cranberries and pecans on whole wheat and ham & cheese on freshly baked croissants.

For the blueberry and the cranberry scones I offered homemade strawberry jam and my favorite Devonshire Cream:

4 oz. mascarpone
1 cup  heavy whipping cream
1 teasp vanilla extract
1 or 2 tablesp white sugar
optional: zest of lime or lemon
beat it all until it looks like soft whipped cream

As dessert there were the petit-fours, brownie bites and  chocolate decorated strawberries with flavored sour cream:

I mixed 1 cup Sour Cream,
1/2 cup brown sugar and
2 tablespoons Cointreau.

For background music I decided on Rondo Veneziano, an Italian chamber-music orchestra, specializing in Baroque music with a modern rhythm, and as intermission I asked a friend to recite the Ballad 'The Wreck of the Hesperus' by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

It sure was a perfect Tea in the Garden party :-)