One of our favorite activities in our house is having a tea party. I can’t think of a better herb to have a tea party with than rose! This herb is so versatile, your entire tea party could be served up with roses, including the fresh flowers to decorate your table!

Start out by making a list of friends to invite. A party of 4-6 guests makes a nice sized party. Make some beautiful rose invitations and send them out to the friends you have chosen to invite. 

Rose Invitations

1/2 sheet of paper per invite (see below)
envelope for each invite
Celery heart (cut a celery bunch in half about 1/2″ – 1″ up from the base. save the stalks for snacking on)
Red, Pink and/or Yellow acrylic paint
Sponge for applying paint
Optional: green paint and paint brush to paint leaves
Red pen or marker for writing and addressing invites

Start by cutting 1 – 8 1/2″ x 11″ sheet of paper in half for every 2 invites you need. Fold each half sheet in half to make 1 invite.

Use the sponge to sponge your choice of paint color onto the celery heart. You can do one color or make a colorful bouquet. Before sponging on the paint, you may need to dry off the celery with a towel.

Press the celery heart onto the paper. Play around and decide if you want a single rose on the page or several. Paint leaves on the edges or stems if you prefer.

Somewhere on each front page write: “You’re invited to a Tea Party!”

Inside write: “Dress in fancy Tea Party attire and your favorite fancy hat and join me for tea.” Don’t forget to add details such as when, where and your number so they can respond.

Address each envelope and mail them out. Try to give your friends at least 1 week’s notice.

Now comes the fun part, planning your party! Plan some activities such as croquet, bocce ball or other outdoor “lawn” games.

Create a menu based on Rose. See below for a sample menu complete with recipes. Find a pretty table cloth or sheet that has roses all over it. Have your mom or dad help you select some coordinating plates, tea cups, silverware and napkins. If you don’t have tea cups, try some garage sales or a local thrift shop to pick up some for cheap.

If you have a tea pot, use that to serve the tea in.

Finish off your table decorations with a vase full of beautiful roses and/or clippings of branches with ripening rose hips.

Sample Menu

Rose Petal Drop Scones
Rose Petal Jam* Icing
Rose Mousse*
Rose Hip Tea

*These recipes can be found in the Rose ebook from Herbal Roots zine. See below for the rest of the recipes.

Rose Petal Drop Scones
2 1/4 cups unbleached flour
2 teaspoons raw sugar
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup unsalted pistachio nuts, coarsely ground
1 cup thickened cream
1 tablespoon rose water
2-4 tablespoons rose petals, finely shredded

Preheat oven to 425˚ F. Combine the flour, sugar, salt, cream of tartar, baking soda and cinnamon.

Cut in the butter and mix until crumbly using a pastry blender or two butter knives.

Stir in the pistachios.

In a separate bowl, combine the cream and rose water then stir in the rose petals.

Add the rose cream mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until a soft dough forms.

Drop teaspoon sized clumps onto an ungreased baking tray and bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Glaze with Rose petal jam icing (see recipe below).

Rose Petal Jam Icing
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon rose petal jam
2 teaspoons rosewater

Combine the powdered sugar, rosewater, and the jam. Whisk until smooth.

Adjust if necessary by adding another teaspoon of rose water if the icing is too thick.

Drizzle over warm scones. Arrange on a pretty plate and garnish with fresh roses.

Rose Hip Tea

4 tablespoons rose hips
1 quart water
optional: honey

Place the rose hips and water in the saucepan and boil covered for 10-15 minutes.

Strain off the rose hips and add honey to sweeten if desired. Rose elixir (see recipe in this month’s issue) makes a delightful sweetener for this tea!

A few days before the tea party, go over the ingredients and make sure you have everything you need. The day before make the scones, icing and mousse.

The morning of the party, find a suitable location outside to set up your tea party. A shady portion of your yard or garden makes a great location. If you don’t have space outdoors, set it up inside, adding as many outdoor elements as possible.

Ready to party!

Set up your table, dress in your finest tea party attire and wait for your friends to arrive. When they arrive, you can serve up the tea and scones. After tea, play a lawn game if you’re outdoors or a game such as wildcraft! or a card game. An alternative to indoor games could be showing your friends how make the celery heart stamps and create some lovely rose pictures to take home.

When it’s time to leave, give your friends a hug and thank them for coming to your party!