Spilling the Tea on Potpourri Boulangerie, The Flowers we Planted at our Favorite Tea House.

Nestled in Oak Cliff, you will find a lovely tea house dripping with casual elegance, Potpourri Boulangerie. This cozy home offers seasonal tasting menus, curated high tea, and diet-breaking pastries, all with an elevated presentation. They want their guests to feel “Like the Kennedys” while also enjoying the warm, inviting feeling of visiting your family. Potpourri’s chef, Andrés Barreiro, will come around and fill the air with a lovely discussion of the delicious ideas behind what he serves. Currently, he is intrigued by the complex yet exciting challenges vegetarian dishes bring. He is constantly looking for new ingredients and techniques to add to his tasting menu. And if you are wondering what tea he favors right now, it is the Japanese Sencha. 

When they offered us the chance to design and install a garden experience for their guests, we screamed louder than a hot, whistling kettle. Finding the right plants to match Potpourri Boulangerie’s inviting yet elevated space was fun. Here is how we transformed Potpourri’s space into an English garden tea destination.

Welcome, come on in:

As they say in business, it takes seven seconds to make a first impression, and your first impression of a company is the front door. Before, Potpourri’s entrance felt structured and rigid, covered in pavers, a couple of boxwoods, and a single fountain. We thought, how do we invite guests in? We hug them! Or rather, we create an entrance embraced by inviting blooms. We started by removing the pavers and redefining the walkway with plants like Mexican Mint Marigolds and Tutti Frutti Agastash who yearn to drape themselves over the curb like a southern bell folding over a fainting couch. Like the famous yellow bike or vintage tea cart, the jewels around the front needed to feel embedded, so we wrapped them in Cat Mint Walker and Brazos Penstemon to set them. And while we are inviting new guests, why not invite the neighbors! Lush, tall plants like Powis Castle Artemisia and Cherokee Sunset Rudbeckia now surround the bubbling fountain creating coverage to encourage our local bees and birds to visit Potpourri’s garden. Although, I do not believe the mocking birds are invited inside for afternoon snacks.

Get some fresh air:

Want some fresh air and a little sun? Take a seat on the front patio, now riddled with cottage ambiance. Planters upon planters now frame the corners of the deck, overflowing with greenery. We surrounded vital features of this space, like the classical statue fountain and bright windows, with ornate pots and pastel window boxes. We removed the previous boxwoods covering the windows and replaced them with sprawling Jetstream Oakleaf Hydrangeas. My personal favorite. These gorgeous plants change color throughout the seasons, with flowers shifting from white to pink and leaves changing from green to a deep burgundy—the perfect pairing with Potpourri’s seasonal menus.

Hidden garden:

If you are looking for a shady place to spill tea with your best friend, the back patio is your destination. Similar to the front deck, we wanted to extend the English cottage and develop the sense of a garden growing out of control. To accomplish this overgrown feeling, we filled hanging planters around the walls and ground with lush greenery like ferns and vines. A point of pride for the owners and ourselves is the birdcage nestled to the side. The owners wanted the birdcage to feel at home in the garden, so we painted it a pastel pink and filled it with seasonal annuals that spill out the open door and mingle into the other pots. The back patio is nothing like your usual restaurant patio. It feels like the peaceful vacation we always needed.

So next time you want to indulge your sense of smell, sniff around Potpourri Boulangerie. The tea house is overflowing with the scent of fragrant tea, pastries, and fresh flowers. I suggest pairing it with a relaxing afternoon amongst the English garden and native plants.