Of Cocktails and Garden Parties
“The time has come
The walrus said
To talk of many things:
Of shoes- and ships-
And sealing wax-
Of cabbages and kings-
And why the sea is boiling hot-
And whether pigs have wings.”
Image courtesy of Ari Nordhagen.
I'm trying to figure out why I love garden parties so much. When I really crack it open and assess, I truly believe it to be the result of a residual childhood obsession with Alice in Wonderland. There's just something about a hobnob cast of characters drinking tea and celebrating unbirthdays around a perfectly imperfect garden table. But, my version of a Mad Tea Party also involves craft cocktails and mouthy chickens. Just FYI.
“Take some more tea,” the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.
”I’ve had nothing yet,” Alice replied in an offended tone, “so I can’t take more.”
”You mean you can’t take less,” said the Hatter: “it’s very easy to take more than nothing.”
”Nobody asked your opinion,” said Alice.”
Image courtesy of Ari Nordhagen.
Image courtesy of Ari Nordhagen.
Hanging out under the party lights with some of your favorite people is Just. The. Best. Cheersing homegrown cocktails with them? Even better.
“Have I gone mad?
I’m afraid so, but let me tell you something, the best people usually are.”
Image courtesy of Ari Nordhagen.
Candlelight and fresh flowers. Always a good combo.
I think that maybe the same Alice in Wonderland phenomenon is at play with my love of garden-fresh cocktails, too. What exactly was in that 'Drink Me' bottle, after all? Plus: talking flowers. I don't even need that many cocktails for my flowers to start talking to me.
Image courtesy of Ari Nordhagen.
There is just something about a garden that makes you slow down. And when that garden encourages you to stop and have a drink...even better.
“My dear, here we must run as fast as we can, just to stay in place. And if you wish to go anywhere you must run twice as fast as that.”
And so it has become very important to us to have a garden where not only are we cultivating as many cocktail ingredients as we can (year-round, because: Southern California), it's also a place that we can actually sit and enjoy those cocktails in. With the poultry running amok. So very much amok.
Image courtesy of Ari Nordhagen.
A place where all the creatures can run amok.
Image courtesy of Ari Nordhagen.
Image courtesy of Ari Nordhagen.
Image courtesy of Ari Nordhagen.
Image courtesy of Ari Nordhagen.
The cocktail garden is magic. But I'm completely biased.
“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn’t. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn’t be. And what it wouldn’t be, it would. You see?”