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Glass of tasty grapefruit cocktail and flowers on marble background

Glass of tasty grapefruit cocktail and flowers on marble background

I read a lot of English mysteries. I don’t exactly know why that is, it seems my Kindle just comes up with them – and I bite. Usually they’re by authors I’m not familiar with initially, but in several cases I’ve become a fan and look forward to their next offering. I’ve often said that my knowledge of England is based almost solely on having read Agatha Christie’s (all 80 or so) books in high school. I became familiar with mah-jongg, the smell of bitter almonds (a sure sign of arsenic poisoning), the equally deadly foxglove (digitalis – another poison), and of course the “little grey cells” of famed detective Hercule Poirot. I also learned how very fond the English are of their gardens.

In England, a “garden” can be quite expansive or small – what we would call a yard. A hallmark of either is a certain randomness and seemingly unkempt appearance. I like to think of my back yard as an English garden as it certainly fits that criteria.

In fact, the English garden was developed in 18th century England as a sort of revolt against the architectural garden that stressed symmetry, rectilinear patterns, sculpture, and unnatural shaping of hedges and trees. Formal French gardens, like, say, Versailles, took loads of man-hours to shape bushes, eliminate natural form, and basically compete with – and overcome – nature. The English garden, in contrast, features a free-flowing natural look, sometimes even haphazard in appearance. Yes – my yard is definitely in the spirit of an English garden.

Prince, or rather King, Charles is the proprietor of Buckingham Palace Gardens, which recently offered for sale in the Commonwealth (not here I’m afraid) Buckingham Palace Small Batch Gin. This spirit is infused with herbs and plants purportedly taken from the royal garden – things like mulberry leaves, hawthorn berries, and lemon verbena – in addition to the requisite juniper. Wouldn’t that taste delicious after an afternoon of fighting dollar weed and dandelions?

No matter which type of garden you have, or if your yard is just lush grass and mulched flower beds, the work involved is usually hot and thirst-inducing. That’s why at this time of year especially it’s nice to have a cold, refreshing, and not-too-complicated beverage or two in mind for when the work is done. You might even want to invite a few folks over to admire your efforts before the summer sun forces everyone back inside.

1-½ oz. Tanqueray No. 10 Gin

Add gin and hibiscus syrup to a copa or large wine glass. Add ice. Top with club soda, and garnish with a grapefruit wheel.

Hibiscus Syrup: Steep 1-2 bags of hibiscus tea in a cup of hot water. Remove the tea bags after 5 minutes and add 1 cup sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved.

This is a beautiful crimson drink that looks especially appealing if you have those big balloon glasses called copas.

If gin isn’t your thing (and I know from personal experience that the spirit has its detractors (“Oh my gawd! How can you drink that stuff?”) you might like a bourbon-based quaff with the perfect name.

1-½ oz I.W. Harper Bourbon (or your fave)

½ oz. each peach liqueur, lemon juice, and thyme syrup

Peach slices and thyme sprigs for garnish

Make the thyme syrup: Boil 1 cup of water in a saucepan, adding 12 sprigs of thyme and 1 cup of sugar, stirring until dissolved. Take off heat and allow to cool for 30 minutes. Strain through a fine wire-mesh strainer into an air-tight container.

Combine the bourbon, peach liqueur, lemon juice, and 1/2 ounce thyme syrup in a shaker and shake.

Double-strain mixture in an ice-filled highball glass, topping with club soda and garnishing with peach slices and thyme sprigs.

This is an elegant and enormously refreshing drink, and as Georgia is the Peach State it would be perfect for entertaining any Yankee visitors that might visit as they try to escape temporarily the snowy Spring that afflicts many Northern climes.

Finally, don’t forget the garden setting. You need wicker furniture, preferably white, set out on your lawn. Cloth cocktail napkins lend a formal air to your informally casual garden party. Have a few nibbles set out – the English love what they call tea sandwiches. You will, too.

SALMON and CUCUMBER TEA SANDWICHES

Thin sliced white sandwich bread (like Pepperidge Farm), crusts trimmed off

Spread cream cheese on a slice of bread, cover with salmon slice(s), top with cucumber, place another bread slice on top. Cut each finished sandwiches into triangles. Place sandwiches on a bone china plate, preferably an old one with a chip or two to attest to its vintage.

Needless to say you’ll set the table with a linen tablecloth and vases of fresh flowers. Avoid foxglove of course. And if a mustachioed Belgian detective shows up and wants to play mah-jongg, by all means invite him to join you.