Host an Organic Home and Garden Party
Gardening Parties with a Natural Theme, from Invitations to Food
Nov 2, 2009
Most people are familiar with the conventional garden party, in which one invites friends and family members to gather in an outdoor area on a balmy afternoon, sharing refreshments and conversation. An organic home and garden party can upend the notion of passive party guests admiring a pretty landscape.
The host of an organic garden party can infuse every element of the celebration with the organic lifestyle, from the invitations to party favors and demonstrations that double as entertainment. The party host can encourage guests to become active participants in their own organic gardening story, enabling and encouraging them to try at least one organic gardening method at home they didn’t consider before.
Unlike most garden parties, the host doesn’t need to possess a large garden, or even a yard. The party guests can admire and learn from the host’s windowsill garden, seed starting table, or indoor worm compost bin if no outdoor garden space exists or the weather is disagreeable.
Garden Party Invitations
The garden party invitation is the host’s first opportunity to generate excitement about the event. Using online party invitation services, like Evite, is inexpensive and a way to be green by saving paper, but quality paper invitations sent by snail mail garner notice and offer different opportunities to use organic products.
The host can shop for recycled organic paper products in a variety of textures and hues crafted from natural fibers like cotton, rice fiber, papyrus, or hemp. The intrepid party host might even make his own organic paper for party invitations from materials harvested from the garden.
Garden Party Decorations
If the host holds the garden party outdoors, the party decorations can be minimal, as the flowers and foliage need little embellishment. A source of light like paper lanterns or candles, and preexisting garden elements like gazing balls and garden statuary are all one needs to decorate.
An indoor garden party benefits from décor items that convey the garden theme to guests. It isn’t cheating to order an organic flower bouquet if the garden isn’t producing enough for a centerpiece. Some of the most attractive centerpieces don’t feature flowers at all, but use groups of fruit stacked on cake stands or floating in punch bowls. Attach organic seed packets to a string and hang as a banner; give the seed packets to guests as a party favor at the end of the event.
Garden Party Food
Naturally, fresh organic produce will be the star of the party menu, whether salads picked from the garden that morning, or muffins and scones that feature fresh organic berries. For hosts that prefer organic flower gardening to vegetable cultivation, the local farmer’s market can serve as a source of organic produce for the party.
Garden Party Favors
At the end of the party, invite guests to take home something they can try in their gardens. Hosts with a compost bin can send home quart-sized baggies filled with compost, tied with a ribbon and an instruction tag that explains how to begin a compost bin. The host can conduct a brief demonstration on seed starting, and each guest can leave with a seed potted up in organic soil. If the guest list includes experienced gardeners, the host can share cuttings of an unusual houseplant to be nurtured at home.
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