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Cottage Gardens

For LL and the Tea Lovers ;-)

christinmk z5b eastern WA

13 years ago

Hey! I came acoss this lovely blog today while looking up info on a rose. Knowing how much my Cottage Garden peeps over here like tea I thought you may enjoy it. You guys may already know about it though! Not sure ;-)

Anyway, it has some great pictures of tea settings, parties, roses, gardens etc: Aiken House & Gardens Blog

CMK

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Comments (8)

lavender_lass
13 years ago
CMK- That's beautiful! Thank you for thinking of us...and you should join us for tea...or any beverage you choose, after that link :)

I love all the pinks, greens, yellows, lavender in the garden...it looks so much like spring! Another month and the daffodils should be poking up...they probably already are in your area.

Thanks again and stop by next Thursday...for Valentine's tea!
schoolhouse_gw
13 years ago
I spent a long time at the site last night. Thanks for sharing.
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teengardener1888, I just heard you could do it with kafir lime a while ago and so I tried out eating some of my persian lime leaves. I've also eaten the blooms. I haven't heard that you cannot eat these leaves so I imagine its okay. I don't see how it could hurt you and it actually seems to take my nausea away and allow me to drink black tea. The persian lime has a minty taste with a tiny bit of lime taste and is a little bit sour, but not 'bad' sour, or 'tastes like poison' sour, just sour like a grapefruit. The meyer lemon tastes the same but is not nearly as potent. I just described what the older foliage tastes like. The newer foliage growth has a tender nutty texture and tastes extra minty. Maybe about 5x more minty. It's cool because you can eat the stem and even the thorns as they are still soft. They too are very minty and nutty tasting. They really are quite delicious. My lime trees worst enemy is my tummy! o.o ... I hear kafir lime leaves taste like lime but are much much more stronger and also have a great aroma. I like to nibble on the leaves like one might chew on gum. A few days ago it was sunny out so I had the citruses on the balcony. It was nice to sit in the sun and reach over and grab a leaf from the tree and eat it. It's what makes this all worth it. They can also be added to soups. Today I added 3 lemon leaves to my vegetable soup today. It's more of a 'just because I can' thing but its nice to be able to do. When you grow your own stuff you tend to enjoy it more. This post was edited by bedtime on Mon, Apr 29, 13 at 17:12
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Had some Labrador Tea tea at bedtime last night. And it was a good thing that I had all night to "think" about it, as any definition initially failed me. The best one word description is smooth. I wouldn't call it sweet, yet adding sugar is not necessary. There is a light taste of a tannin, reminiscent of the earthy bog where it grows, but not strongly astringent or biting. Quick brewing, the color is golden. Unlike pekoe teas, brewing more than a minute doesn't seem to enhance or strengthen the flavor. I include Basswood tea here because Labrador Tea tea is similar. Both seem to have the same base tanin flavor: Labrador Tea with the earthy bog twist, and Basswood with the added flavor of its flower's aroma. Not surprising as the tea is made with the dried flowers themselves. If you have ever had Basswood honey, the same flavor is there too. Basswood tea is even more smooth than Labrador Tea tea, but there is a quality about it that, for me at least, was not offensive yet it needed a bit of getting use to. In North America, Basswood (Linden) is Tilia americana. In Europe, it is Littleleaf Linden (Tilia cordata). When we visit our relatives in Slovenia, this is the tea they had and used almost daily, gathered from the nearby woods. And since I don't like coffee, this is why I got used to it. Littleleaf Basswood is also the national tree of Slovenia. Unlike our state tree (any guesses?), they take it very seriously. The two species of Basswood teas taste the same to me, although I have never tried them side by side. Rick P.S. The Minniesota state tree is the Norway pine or Red pine (Pinus resinosa).
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christinmk z5b eastern WA
Original Author
13 years ago
Glad you guys enjoyed it ;-)

Actually, there ARE some bulbs showing out in the front (a little warmer there than backyard)! And I think one of the peonies has a few eyes poking up too. What time do you think your bulbs will start to come up in your zone? I sure hope we don't have anymore snow...I am getting used to all this nice sunshine!
CMK
lavender_lass
13 years ago
CMK- I doubt we'll see anything popping up for at least another three or four weeks. It's just too cold, in fact, it's snowing right now and has been all afternoon. I'm kind of glad, since we're supposed to get more cold weather (and we're about 10-15 degrees colder out here) so I've been a little worried about my lavender.

So...you said you were looking up info on a rose. Are you thinking of getting another rose for your garden? I think that's a wonderful idea, of course :)
christinmk z5b eastern WA
Original Author
13 years ago
It was snowing here yesterday too, but looks like it all melted this morning!

Hope your lavenders pull through. Are they all Hidcotes? If you do a scratch test (scratch the older wood with your fingernail) and see green you will know they are still living. Last year, when I moved my big lavender plant, I took a couple of cuttings just in case. I was surprised how well they did, considering these were my first attempts at propagation from cuttings and working with rooting hormone. Maybe you could try some too? In case one of your plants ever ends up dying out you would have a nice replacement. ;-)

Lol! Not sure there is any more room for roses! In fact, I was looking up how big 'The Dark Lady' rose I have is going to get. Poor thing, I may have to move it again if it outgrows its space (should have thought of this before, I know!). Crossing my fingers that it will stay the 3-4ft around and not get too much bigger!
CMK
girlgroupgirl
13 years ago
Those photos are so beautiful. I have always wondered how anyone (especially someone who gardens) can have a white interior. It amazes me how beautiful and clean everything looks.
Seems like I just look sideways and there is 2" of cat hair and a sprinkling of red clay dust over everything....
aftermidnight Zone7b B.C. Canada
13 years ago
GGG, you and I seem to be on the same wave length, those photos are really lovely. I can visualize an elegant lady in a flowing organza dress, donned in white gloves and wearing a wide brimmed hat, carrying a basket of long stem roses she's just cut from the garden.
Haven't got red clay here but the color of our dirt was given serious consideration when choosing the color of our floor tiles a couple of years ago and, talk about cat hair... we were expecting company yesterday, all I can say is the birds looking for nesting material are going to think they found a glory hole :)

Annette
schoolhouse_gw
13 years ago
Whew, glad I'm in good gardener company on this one. Sometimes I think people in the magazines must have hired help following them around with a mop and broom.

But I still like to look.

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