Lady Lisa & Her Traveling Museum

Our speaker Lady Lisa Lewis brought along her traveling museum of Victorian Clothing. She had a small sampling of many items including bloomers, drawers, corsets from child size to large size, many hats and more. It was a fun display of all true Victorian/Edwardian clothing. No reproductions here. Do you know the first clothing item a Victorian lady put on? Her stockings and shoes because once the corset was on you could no longer bend over to button the shoes. The hats used so many feathers especially ostrich feathers that the National Audubon Society was started in 1920 in part to protect the birds from the milliners.

It's all in the detail. Lady Lisa will be back again next spring with her collection of Victorian Bridal wear.

Syllabub

....a simply sweet sampling of an old English drink, considered a historical curiosity... Syllabub...

1/2 c. white wine

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

2 tsp. fresh lemon zest

4 Tbsp. sugar

1 c. heavy cream

Combine wine, juice, zest, and sugar in a bowl. Allow flavors to blend for 3 hours or more. Prior to serving, add heavy cream and whip vigorously until mixture thickens and begins to turn frothy. Serve and Enjoy.

Considered one of England's great sweets, there are as many different spellings (sillabub, sillebub, syllabube) as there are variations to this basic syllabub recipe. The original version contained raw egg to help stabilize the heavy cream; however, the egg has been removed in slightly more modern recipes for safety concerns. A syllabub can also be made with the wine on the bottom and the thick frothy cream served over top. Yet another version, when prepared as a dessert, is much thicker, and served with a spoon.

Syllabub is a perfect addition to your Afternoon Tea menu when it is a very special occasion. Do serve it forth in the most elegant glass available, lightly dusted with nutmeg if desired.

a visual taste...

from the Victorian Afternoon Tea

Celebrating the Victorian Era

The special event featured in the tea room today is The Victorian Ladies Tea and Program. We will be celebrating the Victorian Era with an elegant Afternoon Tea and a presentation by Lady Lisa Lewis, a living history actress of the Victorian and Edwardian Era.
(The Victoria Memorial, placed at the center of the Queen's Gardens in front of Buckingham Palace, London, England)

The Menu Today:

Baked Vegetable Terrine with Assorted Crackers

Royal Crown Savory Cheese Swirls

Prince Albert's Savory Roast Beef & Tomato Muffin

The Royal Ladies Dijon & Olive Egg Salad Triangles

Victorian Herbed Puff Pastry Pinwheels

The Duke of Windsor's Famous Sausage Rolls

Miss Fanny's Garden Vegetable Pastry Sandwich

Queen Victoria's English Cream Scones

Olde English Seed Cake

True Devon Cream & Strawberry Jelly

Fresh Orange Slices

Almond Cream Filled Strawberry

Mrs. Beeton's Raspberry Mousse in Meringue Shells

Princess Victoria's Lemon Tea Cake with Lemon Curd

The Royal Palace Sherry Fruit Topped Cake

A Simply Sweet Sampling of Syllabub

Then and Now - A Duo Design

One last peek at the Penn Cumberland Garden Club (PCGC) Flower show. This design class was entitled "Then and Now" as the floral arrangements depict the past of PCGC and also the future of the club. This duo design (unique front and back arrangements) was staged on a 36-inch pedestal with a 20-inch square top. One design is meant to be viewed upon entering the library and the show, and the second design is meant to be viewed upon leaving the library.
These side by side photos show the two unique floral arrangements that comprise the duo design. The 'now' designs were featured with gold flowers as the Garden Club is celebrating their 50th Anniversary.

Thank You Bernideen!

Bernideen has included Rosemary's Sampler among a list of blogs she enjoys reading and has presented us with this Friendship Award. Be sure to visit Bernideen's Tea Time Blog to discover an assortment of fun and clever bloggers, some you probably already know, others might be a new discovery. And be sure to poke around Bernideen's blog. She shares beautiful posts about tea, hospitality, food, and the gorgeous scenery of Colorado Springs, CO. It is my hope that a trip to CO is in my future as I would love to visit her shop!

Terrariums & Dish Gardens

The members of Penn-Cumberland Garden Club had a workshop late last year to create terrariums to exhibit in the recent flower show. There was also a class for Cactus and Succulent Dish Gardens. Here is a selection of entries from both classes.
These classes are featured in the horticulture section of the flower show. Additional entries in horticulture included many types of Daffodils, African Violets, Branches of Willow, Red bud, tulips and more.

First place dish garden above, and another dish garden shown here,

And the Blue Ribbon (First Place) terrarium.

While these are considered horticulture there are points given for overall effect, which includes design elements.

PCGC Golden Anniversary

We're sharing the final grouping of tables from the Penn-Cumberland Garden Club Flower Show. This is an "exhibition table" which is an artistic arrangement of table components within an allotted space to provide a creative effect without consideration for functional placement. First place above shimmered in spring and gardening!

Second place exhibited a great translation of the "Golden Anniversary" theme.
Lovely flow is demonstrated in this third place entry.
Penn-Cumberland is a very active federated garden club celebrating it's 50th Golden Anniversary year. The flower show followed the Handbook for Flower Shows produced by National Garden Club of which Penn-Cumberland Garden Club belongs.

"Gather the rose of love,

whilst yet is time" (Edmund Spenser). This collection of functional table tops was on display in the library during the Penn Cumberland Garden Club Flower Show this past weekend.This design class was a special tribute to Peggy Waters (1927 - 2008), an active club member, an award winning floral arranger, and winner of the Presidents' Perpetual Trophy Award 9 times.
And the blue ribbon winner,

PCGC Flower Show - Children's Party Tables

The Penn Cumberland Garden Club held a Spring Flower Show this past weekend at a local library. Located in the children's section were table designs that would be considered functional for a child's birthday party, set for four. This table, receiving an honorable mention, featured Alice in Wonderland as the theme.The third place winner set a very colorful table with Mrs. Potts as the centerpiece.
Colorful Mary Englebreit fabric was featured on the second place table and carried out throughout the design.
And bold primary colors graced the first place/blue ribbon winner.
Any one of these parties would be an event I would like to attend!

Grinds for the Garden

Easter Weekend provided us with some extra coffee grounds which we don't usually have. The weather was so beautiful that the coffee was enjoyed in the garden and the grounds will be enjoyed by the garden. Coffee (and tea too) act as a slow release fertilizer and are a fine amendment to the compost pile. We toss them in filter and all. We will mix coffee grinds in with the soil of our houseplants as coffee adds nitrogen. Plants that thrive in acidic soil such as azaleas, rhododendrons, hydrangeas, raspberries, and lily of the valley will benefit from the addition of coffee grounds to the soil. Many books indicate that coffee grounds help to repel slugs but we haven't found that to be true in our garden. Coffee grinds help feed the garden worms too...... but I haven't read any studies whether the caffeine helps them to aerate the soil faster.... perhaps!?

Also, a very special thank you to BIL Phil for replacing the wooden slats and stabilizing the almost but not quite fifteen year old compost bin. It was beginning to show its age, but with his skillful handiwork, it is once again fully functional.

Sharing the Garden

Sister Carrie was here over the weekend. An avid gardener, she is always looking to expand her home garden. Any of the plants you have that have spread into a large clump are especially easy to share with others by simply digging out a small clump and dividing the roots,
such as this clump of garlic chives. Chives, mint, lemon balm, monarda, echinacea, violets, hostas, thyme, catnip, comfrey, and many other plants lend themselves nicely to root division.
Carrie wrapped the plants in a tidy little newspaper package which will help to keep hubby Phil's car nice and clean. Finished with the garlic chives
and off to gather the horsetail.....