Walk and tea

 Wet walk on a rainy autumn day, followed by first cup of tea from OUR OWN TEA BUSH!

A branch partially snapped during transit so we thought we had better not waste it.

Give me a treat!

The holly has a lot of berries, it seems very early, will there be any left for Christmas??

I let them wilt a while, then steamed them for 1 minute, rolled and unrolled them a few times and finally dried them in the dehydrator for 1 hr at 70°C

Green tea!

Tea bush. Camillia sinesis

 I was SO excited when I read in the paper the other day that the bush tea is made from will grow fine in the UK, meaning that presumably it would here too. I had always assumed it was a hot climate plant, but apparently they are good down to -10°C

We are starting off with just one until we see how it goes, but would like to get a few more in the fulness of time if it pans out. Not all plants thrive under our care 😳

I’ve cleared a space for it, but the weeds are jostling to come rushing back in.

It arrived looking very healthy