Garden Tea Party

My niece turned 10 today. Since she's now all grown up (in the double-digits, after-all), she decided she wanted an elegant birthday party instead of a "kid party". So she decided on a garden tea party. We almost had a crisis on our hands when she finally realized (after months of planning) that there was one problem with her plan - she doesn't like tea! Fortunately, her older (and more practical) brother had a solution...just serve icecream in the teacups! Whew - crisis averted. So the plans continued and today the day finally arrived. I had the honor of providing the garden...

Here are the girls with their dresses and china. My nephew served as their butler.

(none of these children live with me so I think it's safe to post a few pictures of them...?)

Super looking, elegant. I like the different idea instead of the same ole, same ole.

Their table was set up on my streamside patio...

enjoying their "tea"

They managed to be little ladies for about a half hour...then the rest of the time they ran around barefoot and tried to catch my frogs...

oops wrong one

How lovely! Can I have my birthday party there too? ;0 I love the shot with the girls by the pond.

What is the hosta with the white center and dark green margins, and how is it possible that there are no slug holes? Mine are all being devoured!

Sitting on the bridge...

Oh how lovely. She must have been thrilled with the whole affair. A perfectly wonderful spot for an elegant gathering for such charming young ladies, minus the frogs of course. Glad everything went off well and the ice cream in the tea cups deserves a special something for your nephew I think. They both have a really nice aunt too.

It started raining so we moved indoors and there was dancing and live music...

party favors

the birthday girl (pretending she has just been awarded a bouquet of flowers for her fine performance)

It was a fun day. But now we're all ready for a nap.

Noreaster, I'm afraid I don't have a name for you. I bought that hosta quite a few years ago, long before I knew it was important to know more than just that it was a hosta. I have never had a problem with slugs for some reason. Hopefully it stays that way since I have dozens of hostas!!

ngam - yes, I did do something special for my nephew. I didn't think he'd want a potted plant so we got him some special things we knew he'd enjoy! They are both great kids.

Songs that was a great idea for a party!!!! I love it!! The girls look like they had a great girlie fun time! And what a beautiful setting to have it.....

Okay, SongsOfJoy, now we ALL want to have our birthday's in your 'tea' garden! And, I wouldn't mind being 10 again, so long as I could skip to the ageas I liked on my way back to...where I am. :-)

Oh, Songs, ditto to what noreaster and morrigan said about having birthday tea parties there in that idyllic setting. Maybe you could do that. Rent out your garden for special events. Probably a lot of DGers could do that from what I've seen on these sites, there are some absolutely gorgeous gardens.
Thanks for sharing her special BD with us. Glad the weather cooperated, too.

Songs: I especially liked your party favors - that's a fine thing to encourage the young ones to garden!!! Bless you.

Dawn, the girls had a great time. I was really happy with how well it went. the forecast was predicting thunderstorms all afternoon, but thankfully they held off and it only rained a little bit toward the end of the party.

morrigan, I know what you mean. Seems like just yesterday I was 10 - how time flies. I'd want to skip over a few ages also though on my way back to where I'm at now! My niece has shown a real interest in gardening. She frequently likes to help me and is learning some of the latin names even. She actually requested that all her gifts be garden related so that she can start her own. I didn't know how the other girls would feel about their favors, but they all loved them. I did, of course, also get the usual candy grab-bags ;o)

Jan, thank you. I've actually been wanting to have a garden party for a while now. So I was beyond thrilled when she asked me.

Oh my, this was just precious, she will always remember it. The table was so beautifully set and the favors were adorable. I loved the pot hangers you put on each one. Your gardens are gorgeous; I love the stream and the pond. You’re a wonderful aunt and I ‘m sure she is a very special little lady.

Christina - what a lovely idea! Your gardens are absolutely beautiful. You must be so proud of your neice and she has a wonderful aunt! Here are some lilies for the beautiful birthday girl! Eleanor

Songs I hope you don't mind if I use your idea for one of my girls one day!!! I know they would love it!!! I never even thought of doing something like that...although my girls are still a bit young - 5 and 3. But I can see my eldest wanting to do some dress up garden tea party in a few years - she is such a girlie girl.....

I also want to say I just adore your gardens....literally ADORE them......soooooo beautiful!

Wonderful idea, Christina! You gave her a memory she'll keep with her forever. Just a perfect setting. Your garden looks so natural. It's fantastic.

what a great idea.... makes me wish I was 10 again.... table looked great as well as your garden

I love that your nephew was willing to make the girls feel special by humbling himself as the butler. How sweet is that!!

Truly a once in a lifetime experience for all. Thanks for letting us feel that special day.

Yes - the nephew is a real good kid!

oh I love it.... love your garden... looks absolutelly amazing... really gorgeous....

Thanks everyone for the comments and birthday flowers (beautiful lilies!) Dawn, of course I wouldn't mind. My niece is a girlie girl too and she would have loved something like this even at 5, I'm sure!

My nephew IS a GREAT kid. He has pretty much lived in his sister's shadow since she was born. She has many remarkable talents - very artistic, musically inclined and a social butterfly and excels in school. He's quieter and his strengths are more hidden. But he's a true gem.

When he wasn't playing butler he was on camera duty...

Songs: he's one handsome little guy! I reckon he'll break some hearts some day, but I'm sure he'll let them down easy! It must be so special to have family! you are very lucky.

What a terrific couple of kids with a wonderful aunt! Love the party favors and elegant young ladies! Just beautiful!

We had great fun with birthday parties when my kids were smaller ... my DD #2 has her birthday on Valentines Day. One year she decided (really early, like September) that she wanted a Halloween costume party - in February! Brilliant, if only she could stick to the idea for six months. . . . So on Nov. 1, I went out and bought for 50% off Halloween decorations, plates, cups, party favors, etc. and stashed them away somewhere until February. Luckily, for once, she didn't change her mind, and the party was a success.

Congratulations, Christina!

Morrigan - yes I am blessed to have such wonderful family. I didn't have close family growing up so I have always been determined to be very involved in my niece's and nephew's lives.

Carrie, that's too funny!

I just had to post one more picture. Notice the pink astilbe in the background? Well, the blooms faded a few weeks ago but, thanks to a suggestion I read in another post on DG, I got myself some floral spray and voila! You couldn't even tell. I only gave the plumes a quick dusting - just enough to add some color without looking sprayed on.

This message was edited Aug 3, 2008 1:04 PM

That's cheating! I'd be a bit concerned about chemical absorption but if others have done with no ill effects, then it's probably okay. How old is your nephew? He can't be much behind his sister - he looks 8 or 9.

Yes, it is kind of cheating, isn't it? But it was for a good cause. I'm not likely to ever do it again; I just wanted the garden to be as pretty as possible for my niece's special day. I sprayed 3 plants - I'll let you know if they suffer any ill effects.

My nephew is older. He's 11. He's shorter and lighter than his sister so he is often mistaken for the younger of the too. But with a father who is 6'6" and a mother who is 6', he's likely to wake up one morning and find he's grown 6 inches overnight!

Oh, I thought I read he was younger. That explains the personality difference. That is typical - older is quieter and more reserved and the younger much more outgoing.

I agree that is often true about oldest/youngest personalities, but it wasn't so in my case. I'm the youngest and I was always the quiet, shy and reserved one. My sister was a wild one and I was always bailing her out of trouble, LOL. Having kids of her own literally changed her life though. She pours 100% of herself into their lives and it really shows with how they're turning out.

Well the pattern seems to hold mostly with the first two, though, of course, there are always exceptions, and things change as the kids age. I'm the middle and was always the most outgoing. Both my older brother and younger sister were always quiet in school - would not raise their hands, etc.

You're right about changing as we age though. I did eventually come out of my shell but it wasn't until I was in my early 20's.

This message was edited Aug 3, 2008 6:37 PM

Songs, I saw the other thread about the floral spray on astilbe, and I have to admit I was skeptical- but that looks great! I'm unhappy with the shade of pink my "Key West' astilbe turned out to have- maybe I should mist it with that stuff! I really wish astilbe blooms hung around longer.