Teas & Tea Cultivation

The Tea Terrace - a Swedish imitation of traditional Asian tea cultivation The Tea Terrace – a southwest-facing slope on the farm in Marieholm – began to be established in March this year, but the actual tea cultivation has been ongoing since 2023 when we planted our first specimens in Kävlinge. We still maintain the cultivation there, and with the establishment in Marieholm, we are now taking the next step towards a classic tea terrace.  Here we grow genuine tea, Camellia sinensis, from several different varieties originating from colder climates. These are varieties that have been recognized and developed for their particularly good hardiness, originally from mountainous regions in, among others, China, Georgia, and Switzerland. We have selected the varieties that are most hardy against both cold and drought, and that at the same time produce flavorful tea of high quality. We sell plants to customers who want to grow at home – and more and more people are discovering the possibility of actually growing their own tea in Sweden. For us, tea cultivation is an important part of the business, and this year we are especially looking forward to making our first real harvest. Right now we are growing, among other things: 'Georgian Classic' – robust and easy to cultivate, with a flavor that suits black, green, and white tea 'Kolkhida' – low and hardy, with small aromatic leaves suitable for black, green, and white tea; small-leafed varieties are often more hardy 'Kymin' – a Georgian variety linked to the Keemun tradition: a well-known Chinese black tea 'Longjing 43' – classic green tea variety from Zhejiang 'Tieguanyin' – is excellent for oolong or black tea 'Tearoma' – a Swiss variety developed specifically to be grown in Europe's colder regions We have cultivated 'Tearoma' since last year and this variety has shown good signs of hardiness over the winter. We have also cultivated a Dutch variety, 'Tea By Me', since last year and they also survived the winter but showed greater sensitivity, especially to wind. When the supplier of the latter also told us that they would shift from selling plants to fully focusing on producing their own teas down in the Netherlands, it was easy for us to keep looking.  It was then that we found the top 5 above varieties that are grown in northwestern France. They are grown by an established tea plantation – more advanced than any of our Swedish tea cultivation projects. They have many different varieties that they cultivate and propagate at their plantation since 2006. During the month of July, we expanded the tea terrace with an additional four planting rows of these varieties. Left: Kolkhida, Kymin, and Tearoma in ascending order. Right: Longjing 43, Georgian Classic, and Tearoma in ascending order. We have chosen to let a couple of rows remain uncultivated for the moment. Reserved for new types of tea bushes that we plan to introduce in the future. There are many exciting varieties under evaluation for cultivation in Nordic conditions. The tea terrace is not just a cultivation site, but also a living part of our inspiration, our learning, and a place for our conversations with customers and other stakeholders. The shape of a tea terrace is chosen to imitate the way tea is traditionally grown in large parts of Asia. The vision is that the tea terrace can become somewhat of an icon for what is possible to do with tea cultivation even in Sweden. Here we follow the development of the tea bushes, test, observe – and eventually, we will also be able to offer our own harvests. You are warmly welcome to visit us in Marieholm if you want to see the tea terrace on site – or check out the webshop to see our current tea plants. Why grow in terraces? There are many reasons why people grow in terraces. Originally, the idea probably comes from the fact that in the regions where tea is grown, a large part of the arable land consists of slopes. To make use of the area, rows are therefore created on the mountain slope to create a growing area that both retains water better, protects against erosion, and becomes easier to manage. The tea bushes' roots then help to hold the soil in place and counteract erosion in the long term.    The images above show the rolling mountain climate where teas are often grown. Left: Cameron Highlands in Malaysia. Right: Tea-growing province Phongsali in northernmost Laos.  In addition to these basic reasons, there are also specific reasons why tea bushes thrive in terraces. Number one is that tea bushes like to have regular water but also that it drains quickly. By growing in terraces, you prevent the tea bush from "standing" in water as gravity carries the water away. Reason number two is wind protection. On a slope, the tea bushes are naturally protected from wind in more directions than they would be on flat ground. The biggest threat to tea bushes is intense winds, especially in winter.  The third reason is especially important for us who grow in colder climates and that is frost drought. If you manage to find a slope that protects from morning sun, that is, slopes west and protects from the east, your plants will largely be protected from frost drought. The risk of frost drought is greatest in the morning during late winter / early spring when the sun is strong enough to wake the leaves and let them evaporate moisture at the same time when the ground is frozen - which prevents the plant from absorbing moisture and leads to drying out. By preventing early morning sun from reaching the plant before the ground has warmed up, the risk of sudden drying out is reduced. Frost drought can, however, be prevented in other ways, for example by covering from above with e.g. jute fabric during early spring and covering the ground with wood chips, spruce twigs, straw, or similar. We perform both these steps already in November to protect against the worst wind and cold during winter. The covering then remains until spring to also protect against frost drought. The image above shows the covering of our first tea plantation next to the Kävlinge River. The ground is covered with spruce branches and straw, the plants are covered with jute sacks. How do you create a terrace plantation? Find a suitable slope. Anything from 1 meter and up - it doesn't have to be grand! If it is high enough to protect from the wind and also faces so that it protects from the sun in the east, that's great. Clear the area if needed. Keep a crowbar and axe close at hand if you encounter stubborn excess roots from unwanted plants. Start hoeing. Use a wide hoe to bring out the rows from the slope. If your soil is porous and erosion-prone - drive in sticks and create embankments that hold the soil in place. I did this easily with branches from nearby willow trees that had just been pruned. From the branches, I made sticks that I drove down along the edge of the row. Then I tried to find and pair branches that had a curve matching the row’s curve, and then laid them out horizontally against the driven-in sticks to form an embankment that holds the soil in place. This step is not necessary if you have soil with good stability. Dig out the rows. After the rows are established, you can then use either a pointed hoe or a spade to dig out the soil in the rows. This is done to be able to fill the rows with the right soil which for tea bushes is a soil with a lower pH - such as rhododendron and blueberry soil. Fill the rows with rhododendron/blueberry soil. This type of soil suits the tea bush’s requirement for acidic and loose soil. We have professional grower quality soil in the store if you drop by. Plant and fertilize your tea bushes. Plant the tea bushes with anywhere from 30 to 100 cm spacing depending on how dense you want your rows to be and how large you want to keep your tea bushes. The tea bushes (var. sinensis) can grow to around 2 meters tall, but they can also be kept shorter than that. If you want a tea terrace with 2-meter-high bushes, a planting distance of 100 cm is recommended as that is approximately the width a single tea bush reaches with age. We have planted our bushes very close, around 30 cm, partly out of pure impatience to create a dense and aesthetic terrace, but also with the thought that the tea bushes might grow somewhat slower in our climate and that there is a possibility they won't get quite as large. When planting, we mix in about half a deciliter of Rhodogödsel per plant to give the plants a really good start. A terrace cultivation can of course be established for other types of plants than tea bushes. Just replace the soil and fertilizer in steps 5 and 6 to suit your specific plant choice. :) Below are some pictures showing the process from start to the finished terrace:       Interested in making your own tea terrace? Get in touch if you have any questions about the process or choice of tea bushes. :) Thanks for reading so far! See you in the next post...

Name & taxonomy Common names: Tea, Tea bush, Tea treeScientific name: Camellia sinensisFamily: Theaceae Plant history & usage Tea is consumed worldwide and is the second most common beverage after water. The tea bush contains caffeine (also called theine) which stimulates energy levels as well as theanine (L-theanine) which provides a calming, slightly euphoric, focusing effect - unlike the coffee bush which is more focused solely on the stimulating properties of caffeine. A cup of tea can thus be both stimulating and calming at the same time - it is a kind of balance between them that can be described as giving a very clear focus. It is mainly leaf buds and leaves that are picked to brew tea, sometimes the flowers are also used. The tea bush originates from the region between China's southern province Yunnan and the northern parts of Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. More than 2000 years ago, tea culture and tea cultivation began to migrate to northern provinces in China, from which new varieties developed.  In its natural environment, the tea bush, or tea tree, grows at high altitudes where it can get very cold at night, and where it can also be cold during the day, with seasons and periods of snow just like we have here. Although on average it is colder here in the Nordic countries, the tea bush already has a natural hardiness against harsh environmental conditions and freezing temperatures for extended periods. Thanks to a couple of projects in Europe, varieties have also been developed with particularly good hardiness to suit cultivation in our climate. Comparison between tea and coffee - consumption Tea is a very suitable drink to consume while doing mentally demanding work thanks to its focus-inducing properties, unlike coffee which can give a somewhat more restless feeling. Tea provides a more long-lasting energy level without noticeable dips - coffee gives a strong energy boost followed by a dip. Tea is not as taxing on the nervous system as coffee, not only because of the lower caffeine content but also due to the interaction of other healthy substances such as theaflavins, catechins, and of course L-theanine among others. One could say that tea is well suited for sedentary tasks and coffee for more physical work, but the more tea you drink, the more you notice that the energy is more than sufficient and that the energy also lasts longer. However, one cannot deny that coffee is very tasty, and as an emergency solution when the body really needs a strong energy boost, coffee is very useful. Tea, however, is an incredibly delicious drink as well, and especially diverse when it comes to flavor: everything from umami-flavored Sencha teas, to aromatic and full-bodied Oolong teas, to intense and flavorful Pu'ehr teas.  The 6 different tea types All genuine tea varieties come from the species Camellia sinensis. From this bush (or tree) you can make: green, white, yellow, oolong, black, and "dark" (also called Pu'ehr) tea. The difference between them lies in their different degrees of fermentation and oxidation. Below is a brief description of the process for the different tea types: Green tea - the freshest & greenest variety: the leaves are heated at 220ºC immediately after harvest to stop the oxidation process and thereby "lock in" the flavor and color achieved during the cultivation process. After that, the leaves are rolled to break the leaf structure so that nutrients and flavor are more easily released during brewing. Brewing temp: 80-85ºC. White tea - the least processed variety: the leaves are allowed to wither in the sun for 2-3 days immediately after harvest. This triggers a series of different stress responses in the leaves that result in flavors like sweetness and fruitiness developing. After this, the leaves are dried at a low temperature. Since white tea is never heated to a high temperature, the enzymatic oxidation process does not completely stop (as it does for green tea), which is why white tea is one of the two tea types that develop in flavor and color the longer it is stored. A bit like wines. No breaking of the leaf structure occurs. Therefore, a higher brewing temperature of 95ºC is necessary to get a full extraction of the tea's flavor compounds. Yellow tea - fresh & green with a rounded flavor: the post-harvest process is similar to green tea. The leaves are heated immediately after harvest but at a slightly lower temperature of 200ºC to retain some enzymatic activity. The leaves are rolled to break the leaf structure so that nutrients and flavor are released more easily during brewing. After this, the leaves are gathered in a pile to "yellow," in this step the leaves oxidize partly without enzymatic activity through air exchange, partly with the small enzymatic activity that has been kept alive in the leaves, and partly with microbial activity. This increases the tea's full-bodied qualities and reduces bitterness. This step lasts 6-8 hours. After this, the leaves are dried to reduce the moisture level. Oolong tea - the most aromatic variety: the post-harvest process of oolong tea is probably the most complex and most varied depending on the character you want the oolong tea to have. First, the leaves are allowed to wither in the sun for 15-20 minutes, then they are moved indoors to continue withering on bamboo trays for 5-8 hours - every other hour the leaves are stirred for an even withering & oxidation level. In the next step, the leaves are shaken, for example in a bamboo basket or rotating bamboo cylinder - this breaks the cell structure which increases the oxidation level and extracts the flavor and aroma from the leaves. These two steps of breaking and withering the leaves are repeated until the desired oxidation level is reached. When reached, the leaves are heated to "lock in" the flavor and aroma achieved in the processing. The oxidation level of different oolong teas varies from 5 to 85%. After this, the tea leaves are kneaded and rolled to form small compact "pearls" with intensified flavor and aroma. This also causes the flavor to be released slowly during brewing. Finally, the leaves are dried at about 100ºC to reduce the moisture level. Black tea - mild and rounded with low bitterness: the leaves are allowed to wither for 6-8 hours, then the leaves are rolled more intensively and for longer periods compared to other types of tea - this is to really break the leaf structure and enable the highest degree of oxidation. During the oxidation process, among other things, the bitter catechins are converted into milder reddish-brown theaflavins and thearubigins. After rolling, the tea leaves are piled up in a humid environment, preferably over 90% humidity - you can use a humidifier or simply a spray bottle for smaller batches. Sometimes a wet towel is even placed on top of the leaves to really create a moist environment. The humid environment promotes the enzymatic activity that converts bitter substances into milder reddish-brown substances. However, it is important that the leaves maintain contact with oxygen; for this, the leaves can be aired regularly by turning them over in the pile. When the desired degree of oxidation is reached, the leaves are dried at about 100ºC. Dark tea, commonly called Pu'ehr tea – a traditional & flavorful post-fermented tea stored like wines: the leaves are allowed to wither for a couple of hours before being heated traditionally in a large wood-fired wok pan – the temperature must not be too high because in this tea variety one wants to retain some enzymatic activity, often around 130ºC, max 200ºC. In this step, the leaves are turned in the pan in an uninterrupted rhythm to achieve an even "kill-green" degree. In this step, one uses their senses to determine when the desired limit is reached, based on, among other things, the consistency, color, and aroma of the tea leaves. After this, the leaves are rolled to break the cell structure and release flavor and aroma. The next step is to let the leaves dry outside in the sun for about 1 day. Sun drying has two purposes: partly to ensure the temperature never gets so high that it stops enzymatic activity, but also that the moisture level in the leaves never becomes as low as it does when heated in an oven – which favors the further post-fermentation of the tea. The final step is to press the tea leaves into compact tea cakes – again to maintain an even but low moisture content in the leaves, which favors post-fermentation. These teas can be stored for over 50 years and they develop in flavor and increase in value the older they get. The process described above is the traditional method for producing dark teas; these teas are called Sheng Pu'ehr. There is also a more modern method where one accelerates the post-fermentation process by piling the tea leaves for up to 2 months in a warm and humid environment; these teas are then called Shou Pu'ehr. All types of tea have their health benefits, sometimes different. Research has shown that consuming several different types of tea provides greater health benefits than consuming only one type.  What we in Sweden call red tea (rooibos) comes from a different plant species, the Rooibos bush Aspalathus linearis. The tea leaves are also used in cooking in Asia – for example Tea Leaf Salad (fermented leaves) in Burma and (fresh leaves) in Thailand. You can also extract a useful oil from the tea seeds by pressing.  Tea cultivation in Sweden: our little tea plantation Growing tea in Sweden is still a new and relatively unestablished phenomenon. We have started establishing a tea plantation next to the Kävlinge River and also one in Marieholm. The plants have overwintered well outdoors, provided with straw and jute fabric. What has proven most important for us is to protect from direct strong wind during the winter months. This is done by either put a jute sack around the plant or set up some kind of wind-protective barrier. If you plant your tea plants in a very sheltered location, this is probably not necessary; then it may be enough to cover the ground with straw. Both of our tea plantations are located in windy parts of Skåne, zone 1. In spring, however, the plants should be protected from direct sun, like most other evergreen plants - this is because there is a risk that the plant dries out when the water in the soil is frozen and the strong spring sun evaporates the plant's moisture in the leaves. If the roots have reached a depth where the soil is not frozen, this is not necessary, but it can be good to keep in mind during the first years depending on where in the country you live. Due to the necessity of covering the plants for protection against early spring sun, I think it is just as well to cover the plants already in winter, thus providing double protection from one and the same action. You can either cover each plant with its own jute sack or stretch jute fabric on a couple of poles over several plants.  There is a tea cultivation in Gränna, see Gretas Te, which has started using our bushes to expand their tea cultivation. Gränna is in growing zone 2, with a stable and favorable climate thanks to the adjacent Vättern. There is also a tea cultivation on Gotland, but it is unclear if they still grow outdoors. Below you can see the beginning of our tea plantation next to the Kävlinge River - the pictures were taken after their first overwintering in March 2025. For the first winter, we covered them with straw, individual jute sacks, and a protective curtain of jute fabric to shield against the worst Scanian winds - which can be quite strong here in our open farmland. However, they were covered as late as mid-January, so they stood completely bare in rushes down to -10.ºC and periods of intense Scanian winter winds; for those who don't know, we don't have much to slow down the wind here, so the cold from the pressure becomes quite intense. Next winter I will experiment with removing one layer of protection with new plants, either the individual sacks or the outer windbreak. The point is to make the cultivation as simple as possible while still allowing them to thrive. This year I will establish yet another small tea plantation in Marieholm at our new Ågården. It will be a terrace cultivation on a small slope to mimic the way tea is often grown in Asia. In the picture below, you can see the beginning of the tea terrace in Marieholm. Conclusion The tea bush can thus be grown and overwintered outdoors in Sweden; depending on location and circumstances, the plants may need winter covering: e.g., with straw and jute fabric/sacks. It should also be noted that tea thrives best in acidic soil; use Rhododendron or Blueberry soil when planting in the ground or in a new pot. The tea bush's characteristics PerennialGrowing conditions: sun-partial shadeHeight: 1-2 meters - in its natural environment up to 20m.Plant zone: 1-4, hardy down to -15ºC

Just in time for Christmas, we have finally started offering our long-awaited ancient & unique teas! They were a hit when we launched them at the Christmas market here in the shop at Ågården, and now they are also available to order in the web shop. Just like with the plant range, it is mainly teas that have unique qualities in one way or another that will be brought into the shop: these teas may come from tea trees that are either several hundred years old, 20 meters tall, or have been cultivated by an ethnic people in the area. Or in other ways have an interesting history. Sometimes all of these. Background to the tea business As you may already know, Trädgårdsdags has a strong connection to tea cultivation in Sweden. Tea in general is an interest that has personally been with me for some time. Perhaps most deeply ingrained in my interests and as part of everyday life after a trip in 2019 to the northern Burmese mountain regions – where one was continuously served tea from a large pot while sitting and reading on a chair out in the fresh mountain air. I had planned a trip in early 2024 to some of the ancient ethnic peoples and archaeological remains in Laos. When I then found out that some of these peoples also produce unique teas from tea trees that are several hundred years old, it quickly became the highest priority of the trip. While there, I visited the Hmong people in Xieng Khouang who produce tea from wild tea trees on Mount Phou San, the Phu Noi people who have a 400-year-old tea plantation on the vast slopes of Phongsali, and the Yao people who cultivate tea from wild tea trees up to 20 meters tall near the border with China. At each visit, one learned about both their culture and the ancient tea culture. The visits usually consisted of first visiting their magnificent, sometimes deeply hidden in the jungle, tea plantations. Then one would return and sit down together to drink their various teas, harvested from different seasons and years – and of course talk about how we proceed to bring their teas to Sweden. Often there were overnight stays and excursions in their areas the following day. It is worth mentioning that these are not guided tours for the public, but research done independently and communication with the local people that made these experiences possible. The people are often friendly, and although some may be shy, there is always someone open and welcoming to ensure you have a good stay in their village. Hence, there were also some excursions and invitations beyond the teas. After this rewarding trip in Laos, I went over to northern Thailand to visit the tea plantations there, which consist of a special kind of tea bush with sought-after qualities before it was time for the next destination in another country. The well-known highland Cameron Highlands in Malaysia, known for its vast tea plantations which were started by the British and later expanded by other actors. This area has been on the map for a long time, so it was fun to finally get there. Once there, it was important to visit the most established actors, both with a long history in the mountain area, to decide which supplier produced the best teas. The answer was Cameron Valley Tea, which has a wide range of premium-class teas that both taste very good (& a lot) and have an interesting history. Now in December 2024, we received the first batch of their teas in Sweden and thus became their first distributor outside their own country – I believe their teas can be a hit on the European market! The tea varieties and their distinguishing qualities Pu'er teas from ancient tea trees in Laos The teas we have brought in from Laos are so-called Pu'er teas. These are teas produced in the classic Yunnan way where the teas begin a short fermentation before being heated in a large wood-fired pan to slow down the fermentation and then allowed to dry slowly before finally being pressed into compact classic tea cakes. These tea cakes then have the property of improving with time the longer they are stored, developing new, more complete and complex flavors, somewhat like wines. Like wines, aged Pu'er cakes also increase in value over time. Because the tea cakes are in a slowly ongoing fermentation process, which earlier in the process was strongly slowed down by heating in the pan, the teas slowly develop a rounder and more defined taste over time. Generally, the bitterness disappears, and notes such as sweetness and fruitiness become clearer the longer they are stored. Pu'er tea is often very potent due to its compact form – especially when it comes from ancient trees, which have a broader nutrient profile. This results in Pu'er teas being able to be brewed 10-15 times on the same leaves. The taste usually develops with each brewing, normally the bitterness disappears and other flavors such as sweetness and fruitiness come forward, somewhat like the aging process itself. The Pu'er teas sold in the shop come partly from a 400-year-old tea plantation managed by the Phu Noi people on the slopes of Phongsali's mountains, and partly from the Yao people's 20-meter-high wild tea trees growing near the border with China. All teas are harvested and produced in the traditional way. Exclusive oolong tea from northern Thailand's mountain regions The teas from northern Thailand are top-quality Oolong teas. Oolong is a tea that is partially oxidized, meaning it is allowed to dry slowly in contact with oxygen until it develops the desired taste, color, and aroma. Oolong teas can be oxidized to a degree ranging from 8-85%. Oolong teas are thus a kind of middle ground between green and black tea in terms of oxidation. Oolong teas are usually light and clear in color and have a fresh taste like green tea, but often have a more complex and deep flavor profile formed by the oxidation and heating process the tea has undergone. Oolong teas are often tightly pressed into small pearls, which intensifies the flavor and when brewed causes the taste to be released slowly. Oolong teas are usually brewed 4-5 times on the same leaves. With each brewing, the taste usually develops, where sweetness and for example floral notes can come forward after a few brews. The particular oolong tea we sell comes from the northernmost mountain regions of Thailand where a skilled producer with a long history grows a tea variety with unique qualities, which makes the finished teas have a roundness and floral sweetness that is hard to find elsewhere. The tea variety is called Ruan Zhi, also known as Oolong No. 17, and is a variety with extra soft stems developed at a trial station in Taiwan in a project started by the previous Thai king Rama IX. The variety is unique and can only be found growing in northern Thailand's mountain areas, which turned out to be the perfect climate for the variety. Today, five different mountain areas in the northern sphere are involved in tea cultivation thanks to King Rama IX's project. As a supplier for the teas in the shop, I have chosen the producer who shows the greatest skill in classic Taiwanese tea production, is the most established, and simply has the best tasting teas – that is Choui Fong who stands out especially. Black tea with British heritage from the mountains of Malaysia Most people know what black tea is. What one sometimes does not think about however, is how the black teas are produced, which gives the tea a special class. Classes matter because they consist of how the tea has been grown, harvested, and produced – which determines the tea's taste and quality. Tea grown up in the mountains in otherwise tropical-subtropical regions always tastes more than lowland tea because the cold at the higher altitude makes the bushes grow slower, which in turn causes the nutrients in the leaves to accumulate in more compact structures. This results in a more nutrient-dense and flavorful tea. It also matters how the tea is harvested – more specifically which leaves of the tea bush are used is of greatest importance for taste and quality. Depending on whether only the bud, the bud + the youngest leaf, or the bud + the two youngest leaves are harvested, the tea is divided into different classes. The youngest leaves give a fresher and more delicate tea that also has a richer nutrient content. Younger leaves also contain fewer tannins than older leaves, which is what gives the tea its bitterness. Tea made only from the buds is often called Silver needle tea because the fuzzy, unopened leaf bud resembles a silver needle. The bud + 1 leaf is called Flowery orange pekoe and the bud + 2 leaves is simply called Orange pekoe. One can also make tea from older leaves, but these are the three classes considered highest quality tea. Finally, the post-harvest process affects the taste, type, and quality of the tea. How and how long the tea has been allowed to oxidize and dry is of great importance. The black tea we have brought into the shop comes from the mountain area Cameron Highlands in Malaysia. It is an area discovered by the British during their time in the country. Soon, vast tea plantations began to be established in the suitable mountain climate. But not only by the British, a visionary named Shuparshad Bansal Agarwal was determined to build his own tea plantation alongside the British, and after the country's declaration of independence, the company flourished. Today, this company with its hundred-year-old history sells teas under the name Cameron Valley and stands for some of the country's most drunk teas. They are well established within their own country but have never worked with any export, so they were both somewhat inexperienced but positively inclined when I explained that I wanted to bring their teas to my shop in Sweden. They have teas of both Orange pekoe and Flowery orange pekoe class. Their black tea Premium Gold, with a high content of golden buds and nicely packaged in a black and golden tin, is of the Orange pekoe class and is now available to buy both in the web shop and in our physical shop here at Ågården. During 2025, their 100 g Flowery Orange Pekoe in equally fine packaging will also come into the shop. Their teas are slowly dried on wood, which gives a light nutty taste along with its already round and floral tones. All teas are now in the tea section! Go and check by clicking here. Read more: Trädgårdsdags: Background, choice of focus and purpose - ethnobotany, tea & hardy exotic plants The first snow has fallen: most of the range withstands winter outdoors What is it really that we consume?