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Fall 2023
News from the
Tea Gardens
At Camellia Forest

Greetings,
On this beautiful October afternoon, I feel so Workshops and Events
lucky to be sitting in the sun and sharing tea
PLANTING WORKWHOP
with visitors to the nursery. Life is good. Saturday, October 14
Tea is delicious! 9:30 am til noon
Events
We love having visitors to the gardens and are
excited about our Fall Tea For All Open House SUNDAY SIP & CHAT
(and Garden) on Sunday, October 29th. There October 8, 15, 22
will be no tricks - only treats here at the garden - 2 - 3 pm
come join us for tours and sips of our summer
FALL TEA FOR ALL
harvest and blends.
Sunday, October 29
10 am -4 pm
We’ll also offer these teas for sale, at the Open
House, the Nursery checkout, and our annual MEET THE MAKERS
collaborative Meet the Makers (also known as Saturday, November 4
“Tea and Pottery in the Greenhouse” - except 11 am-4pm
this time it will be held in the nearly-complete
upstairs space of our Tea Studio building.)
Camellia Forest
Hope you see you sometime soon. Nursery & Tea Gardens
620 NC Highway 54 West
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
Best, Contact us: teaflowergardens@gmail.com
Christine Instagram: @camelliaforesttea
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What's been happening in the gardens (with a few tips and reminders)
Weeding and mulching: The end of summer is always time to hand weed around the base of the
tea plants and pile on the mulch if it has slipped off or add new mulch if it’s decomposed. Weed
seeds need light to germinate, so if your mulch disappears due to wind or heavy rain, having an
ample supply of pine needles can save many minutes/hours of weeding!
Thichk mulch also provides protection to the roots from deep freezing.

Flower harvesting: Rather than picking tea leaves, we’re harvesting

some of our tea flowers during their peak bloom as a future tea and
ingredient for blends. Other flowers in bloom we’re harvesting this
time include roses and osmanthus, both fragrant and delicious in the
tea blends to be sold at the Fall Tea for All.

Extreme weather: September’s Tropical Depression

Ophelia had us hunkering down as the wind
whipped and spells of heavy rain passed through
Camellia Forest Nursery and Tea Gardens. No trees
fell or major problems arose (this time around - hope
all was well with you all). These events are a great
time to observe your property’s water flow and clean
up your mulch if the water carried it away like ours!

Seed picking: Last year’s flowers

are this year’s fruit! We harvest the
locules (seed pods) while still on
the plant, picture on right, let them
split and quickly into bags with a
little moisture to keep them from
drying out. Our gardens are home
to so many varieties that we offer
for sale as plants or seeds. Check
out our Seed Sale on page 4.
Osmanthus fragrans, left, in bloom in the
Tea Gardens.
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Speaking of Tea

“You’ve got to prune the plant to form branches...”

I was honored speak at the Northwest Tea
Festival in Seattle last month. This was the first time
it was held since the pandemic, and there was so
much positive energy from all participants, vendors,
speakers, tea teachers. More than 3000 tea lovers
registered for this two day event! I was lucky to
speak on one of the big stages, and had a full audience
both days. It was fun to find out how many people
were already starting to grow their own tea. We had
lots of great questions from the audience. Stars show tea farms

Preparing for the talk, I also learned a little more

about some new research efforts at Washington State
University and just north of Seattle and a couple of My dear, if you could give me a cup of tea
to clear my muddle of a head I should
new tea farms just starting up. It ill be fun to find out
better understand your affairs.
how all these endeavours evolve - maybe someday
maybe we’ll see a west-coast tea tour from California Charles Dickens
to Oregon, Washington and British Columbia
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Events and Sales

2022 Tea Seed Sales

20 seeds for $10

Fairhope Select
Black Sea
Tetraploid
Small Leaf
Sochi

Select varieties; while supplies last; available at

https://camforest.com/collections/camellia-seeds

To learn more about seeds and seedlings check out our YouTube channel or
Patreon account for more in depth tea material. @camelliaforestteagardens
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Collaborative Events
Adult Ceramic Tea Bowl Workshop with Julie Berkowitz &
Laurie Fais & Camellia Forest Tea Gardens
Over the course of 4 classes, you will be introduced to tea bowl aesthetics, make your very own tea
bowls, and end with a tea ceremony at the gardens.

Class dates and times:

Thursday, October 26th 6:30-9:30pm
Sunday, October 29th 9:30-11:30am
Sunday, November 5th 9:30-11:30am
Sunday, November 19th 1:00-3:30pm

The pottery clasess are held at Julie’s studio, and the

ceremony will be held at Camellia Forest Tea Gardens.

Find more information on https://julieberkowitzceramics.com/collections/adult-pottery-classes/products/tea-

bowl-workshop-ceremony

Maker’s Market @ Camellia Forest Nursery

Saturday, November 4, 2023
11 am - 4 pm
All local makers -
ceramics, tea, honey,
other art, music!

Join us for this fun and

family friendly event.

Thinking ahead to the

holidays - this is a great
place to find a unique,
one-of-a-kind gift.