Garden festival to end in style with tea

A formal tea in R. Daniel and Patty Blantons' Appling garden will mark the end of the Sacred Heart Cultural Center's 15th annual Garden Festival on Sunday afternoon.

The Blantons' garden tea is the country side of the theme of this year's festival, "Town and Country."

"We're trying to make it as much like a traditional English tea as possible," Mrs. Blanton said.

The menu includes English tea not sold in the United States and traditional tea finger foods including sandwiches, scones and desserts, she said.

Tea will be served in the dappled sunlight of the Blantons' garden, which contains annuals, perennials, shrubs and a fountain, Mr. Blanton said.

The event will resemble the way things were done in the Old South, he said.

"It used to be such a part of our lives, tea was," said Mr. Blanton, a member of the Sacred Heart board of directors.

Tea will be served at 3 and 5 p.m., and seating is limited. Tickets cost $30 each, and reservations are required.

"A lot of ladies are coming with their daughters and grandmothers," Mr. Blanton said, though men are welcome to join. "It is really going to be a very unique ladies event."

Sandra Fenstermacher, the executive director of Sacred Heart, suggests purchasing tickets as soon as possible because seats for the teas are filling up fast. All proceeds from the garden festival, including the teas, will benefit Sacred Heart renovation projects.

"This is the first year we're doing it (the tea)," Fenstermacher said. "We'd like to think it maybe would be a tradition. It appears to be very popular."

The Blantons' garden also will be open to the public from noon to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

For more information, to make reservations or to purchase tickets, call Sacred Heart at (706) 826-4700.