Think Seeds!

We have an amazing selection of Renee's Garden Seeds available to get your garden growing. We are happy to mail-order (shipping on Tuesdays) or schedule a pick-up time at the shop. Seed packets are  $3.25 each which includes shipping fees. 

Credit Card or Pay Pal invoicing available. 

Contact Susanna at 717 697 5111 or therosemaryhouse@aol.com 

BEAN BUSH CLASSIC SLENDERETTE
BEAN BUSH SOUP MIX BLEND
BEAN BUSH TRICOLOR
BEAN POLE RATTLESNAKE & PURPLE
BEET FIVE COLOR RAINBOW
BEET GOURMET GOLDEN
CARROT CIRCUS CIRCUS TRI-COLOR
CARROT PURPLE SUN
CARROT RAINBOW HARLEQUIN
CHARD RAINBOW BRIGHT LIGHTS
CUCUMBER BABY PERSIAN
CUCUMBER CONTAINER BUSH SLICER
GOURDS BATH LOOFAH Item Order Description UPC ETA Cost
KALE BABY LEAF TUSCAN
KALE LACINATO
LETTUCE CONTAINER RUBY & EMERALD DUET
LETTUCE CONTAINER SWEETIE BABY ROMAINE
LETTUCE CUT AGAIN BABY MESCLUN
LETTUCE HEIRLOOM CUTTING MIX
PEA SNAP CONTAINER LITTLE CRUNCH
RADISH EASTER EGG II MIX
RADISH FIVE COLOR GARDEN PARTY
SPINACH CATALINA BABY LEAF
SQUASH WINTER FESTIVAL ACORN
SQUASH ZUCCHINI CONTAINER ASTIA
TOMATO CHERRY SUNGOLD
ARUGULA ITALIAN
BORAGE BLUE
CAT TREATS GOURMET MIXED GREENS
CILANTRO SLOW-BOLT
DILL DUKAT LONG-STANDING
LAVENDER CONTAINER PERFUME*
LAVENDER MUNSTEAD ENGLISH
POPPY HUNGARIAN BREADSEED
AMARANTH LOVE LIES BLEEDING
BEEKEEPER FLOWER MIX EARLY BLOOMING
CALENDULA ORANGE & LEMON TWIST
FAIRY GARDEN MIX
HOLLYHOCK APRICOT-PEACH PARFAIT
LARKSPUR EARL GREY
LOBELIA WINDOWBOX BLUE HEAVEN*
NASTURTIUM ALOHA MIX
NASTURTIUM CLIMBING PHOENIX
NASTURTIUM CONTAINER LITTLE FIREBIRDS
NASTURTIUM CUP OF SUN
NIGELLA BRIDAL VEIL WHITE
NIGELLA PERSIAN VIOLET
POPPY LAUREN'S GRAPE
SALVIA BEE HEAVEN
SUNFLOWER BIRDS AND BEES
SUNFLOWER GARNET STAR
SWEET PEA APRIL IN PARIS SCENTED
ZINNIA GRANNY'S BOUQUET
ZINNIA HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIX

Tea Leaf Reading - Oxford Hall Cafe

 In addition to Afternoon Tea at Oxford Hall Cafe,  tea leaf reading is offered on Tuesdays with Roz Tearney. (currently on hold along with in-house dining). Tasseography, or the art of tea leaf reading is fascinating to us and we eagerly anticipated this event while enjoying our tea. Once you have finished your pot of tea, the guest is encouraged to concentrate on the leaves while gently swirling the remaining amount of tea along with some tea leaves in the cup. Roz then turns the cup upside down onto the saucer, swirls the cup, and taps the tea leaves onto the saucer. Tea leaves remain in the cup and on the saucer, offering the opportunity to discover various shapes on both pieces. The pristine white cups provide the perfect backdrop to discern the unique shapes that the leaves form.

Roz carefully studies the tea leaves, notes the shapes she sees, and proceeds to analyze what they mean. She saw a tulip in Susanna's cup, foreseeing a busy spring season. There was a mastodon in Nancy's cup (shown above). And Angelica's cup and saucer each had a griffin (below)! Can you spot them? They symbolize pride, strength, and vigilance.

Thank you, Roz! We enjoyed the tea leaf reading and the peek into the future!

Oxford Hall Celtic Shop & Cafe, New Cumberland, PA

Earlier this spring, before lockdown protocols were established, we ventured to New Cumberland, PA and enjoyed Afternoon Tea at the Oxford Hall Celtic Shop and Cafe. They have a fun gift shop laden with products and grocery items from Ireland and the British Isles. Tucked in the corner of their expansive gift shop is the Tea Corner Cafe where you can simply drop in for a casual lunch, order off their menu, or if you plan ahead, request the Afternoon Tea (24 hours in advance). On several occasions we have enjoyed a visit to the cafe (2016) to order off the menu (2012), but this was the first time we actually planned ahead and sampled the full Afternoon Tea.

Upon arrival, you select your tea from the shelf laden with a vast assortment of glass jars filled with loose leaf tea, from Assam to Darjeeling to Party of the Jungle, and beyond, the decision is difficult. The tea is brewed in individual pots, brought to the table to finish steeping. If requested, additional hot water is added to the pot.

After serving the tea, Cindy Washburn, the owner, brings bowls of Irish Farmhouse veggie bean soup to the table.

A fresh garden salad topped with the house dressing and Kerrygold cheese slices is the next course. Following the soup and salad, the tiered tray is served. That features an assortment of sandwiches (tomato pesto tart, egg salad, and cucumber sandwiches), scones with Devon cream and jelly, and a yummy selection of desserts on the top tier, including macarons, and a crispy decadent chocolate square.

It was a fun spring break celebration while Angelica was home from Penn State. Spring break has since transitioned into quarantine and online learning for our sophomore student. We all adapt. And Oxford Hall Cafe has also adapted. During this unique period where in-house dining has been put on hold, they offer take-out or curbside service of many of their traditional Irish foods, meat pies, scotch eggs, soups, and more, including their grocery items. Give them a call and enjoy something unique and homemade!

Iris Folding

These beautiful handcrafted cards were created by retired nurse and talented Mechanicsburg artist Gail True. She described the design technique as 'Iris Folding'. This specialty folding was new to me, and a Google search brought up some information regarding this style of folding.

This paper folding craft originated in Holland. It involves folding strips of light weight colored paper; scrapbook paper, wrapping paper, envelopes or magazine pages work. The paper is formed into a design where the center of the design is reminiscent of the iris of a camera lens.

In this design, you can see how Gail incorporated the business name, Sweet Remembrances, into the folds. This is such a pretty and creative way to craft. These beautiful cards will be available for purchase at the Pennsylvania Tea Festival in September. Gail is also the talent behind the book folding that we shared in this post. She boasts unique repurposed creations. Visit her website, gailtrue.com to see her wide selection of books that she has crafted.

Easter Greetings!

Well pleaseth me the sweet time of Easter

That maketh the leaf and the flower come out.

~Bertran de Born

Apprentice Scone Making

Over Christmas break, Angelica mentioned that she wanted to learn how to make scones with the underlying implication that Nancy wouldn't always be around to make them. Holiday break ends much too quickly, and the scone lesson never took place. Now that we are in lock down, with plenty of time on our hands, this seemed like an opportune time for cooking lessons. We devoted a late morning learning to make White Chocolate Apricot Scones. And then, an early afternoon to enjoying them fresh from the oven.

She set about gathering all the ingredients - mise en place, which is a culinary expression that refers to gathering all the ingredients in place, having them prepared and organized, ready to use in the recipe. Lining up flour and sugar, butter, baking powder, apricot pieces, white chocolate chips and heavy whipping cream. The oven was preheated, the scone tray was covered with parchment, and the instruction began.

Not a novice to cooking, Angelica jumped in and began following the recipe. Only on a few occasions did 'the instructor' take over and offer guidance on improving her technique. Cutting the butter into the flour and determining when the pieces were fine enough. Kneading the dough, using the right amount of strength, but not overworking the dough. The rolling pin, belonging to her great grandmother, still does the trick for rolling out the dough. It's using the proper method that requires a bit of demonstration.

Above, she is preparing an egg wash and sugar coating the tops of the scones before baking them. To the left, checking the baked scones, testing to see if they can be removed from the oven.

The family seemed to know exactly when to show up. We sat in the tea room, and enjoyed the labors of this new found skill. There was a tub of mascarpone cheese in the fridge so that worked as our cream. A friend had sent some pineapple sage jelly which we decided would be a lovely complement to the scones. In addition, apricot jam was another option. Pots of tea were brewed, and we gathered around the table,  savoring freshly baked scones and quality family time where we reminisced about vacations taken over the years, including many tea room visits.

The recipe we followed is from Pat Hartman. She served these in her Gettysburg tea parlor, Civil-La-Tea, many years ago. She graciously granted permission to share the recipe, which we posted in a previous blog post here: White Chocolate Apricot Scones.

In the Garden

Spring is starting to make an appearance in our little neck of the woods. Tender potted plants are being placed around the garden, happy to be taking in the fresh air and sunshine. Our gardens are open dawn to dusk, and we encourage people to stroll the gardens for a little peaceful solitude. We have a geocache hidden and frequently see families searching with the coordinates on their phones in an attempt to locate the hidden treasure. Lately we've had an influx of wild animals, but they mostly seem harmless.

Friskie enjoying a cat nap.

Okay.... so there aren't any wild animals in the garden. It's a fun thing to do (we're easily amused) and will help to pass a little time while in stay-at-home mode. Using your smartphone, go to Google. Type in any one of these animals: Tiger, Panda, Alligator, Deer, Eagle, Penguin, Hedgehog, Horse (or google more 3D choices). Once the animal comes up - scroll down to the part that says 'View in 3D'. Click on that. And up comes the animal! Crazy!