Image by Chiot's Run via Flickr

We’re excited to announce that we’ll be opening an online herb and seed store in the next couple of weeks. Things are in a testing phase right now, but when we have the ‘all clear’ signal from the developers we’ll let you know.

To start with a few dried herbs and heirloom seeds from the garden will be available.

Stay tuned!

Be forewarned that most states have specific regulations regarding shipment of living plants across their borders. These are rules that need to be followed for the safety of crops and ecosystems. California and Hawaii are the most restrictive on what plants can be shipped there.

Some states recognize berry plants and any vine as nursery stock which would require permits and inspections to certify that no pests are present before shipping. Not something to be taken lightly. Other states aren’t as restrictive, but in most cases it is ok to ship seeds and carefully packaged flower and vegetable plants, including herb plants.

Check the laws in your state before you ship. The National Plant Board has a convenient listing of all 50 States with links to their state regulations on plant protection.

Shipping plants successfully requires that the plant’s roots retain moisture in such a way as to not get the packaging or foliage wet. See the best way to ship live plants.

The best method for packing green plants for mailing is to use damp newspaper to cover the roots and plastic bags to retain humidity around the foliage. Check these links for great explanations:

• Shipping Live Plants
• Mailing Plants

The best tip is to make sure not to get the foliage wet. If the greenery does get wet, tamp it with paper towels and let dry before packing in plastic bags. Any herb leaves that are wet during transport will rot.

The packaging has been updated to emphasize that this herbal tea is 100% natural, an herbal tea, and caffeine free. All good selling points.

Celestial Seasonings Tension Tamer Herbal Tea

The old box design (© 1991) proudly displayed that two B vitamins were added, whereas the new box (© 2008) relegates that information to a side of the box in the Nutrition Facts panel. In one teabag there is enough vitamin B6 and B12 to supply 20% of the recommended daily amount. Be mindful that the amount present in one teabag might not equal the amount in a cup of tea. I wonder if the tea drinkers who like their tea on the weak side will be getting as much of the added B vitamins as the strong tea drinkers?

If the addition of B vitamins was a (weak?) selling point and if it doesn’t change the taste of the tea if not added, then why is it added? I also wonder if Celestial Seasonings studied how long you have to soak your one teabag to get all the vitamins they claim on the Nutrition Facts panel. By putting a value on this Food and Drug Administration required panel the intention is to show consumers what and how much of what they are consuming. We have no way of knowing how much vitamin B will be consumed by drinking of cup of tea. Don’t bank on this tea for providing your daily intake of B vitamins. Eat something multi-grain!

The ingredients appear to be about the same as before. A few ingredient names are slightly changed, like eleuthero ginseng root has become eleuthero, and peppermint leaves has become peppermint. The order of the contents is the same, which means that these ingredients are in the same relative quantities as before. Doesn’t seem like the tea blend has been changed, except to not specify whether it is the root or leaves used for most ingredients.

Ingredients of Tension Tamer Herbal Tea

• eleuthero
• peppermint
• cinnamon
• ginger
• chamomile
• West Indian lemongrass
• licorice
• catnip
• tilia flowers
• natural lemon flavor with other natural flavors (contains soy lecithin)
• hops
• Vitamins B6 and B12

I could smell the tea right after taking off the clear plastic wrap. Opening the cardboard box showed a heat-sealed inner liner made of waxed- or parchment-type paper to hold the teabags. The tea smelled like American pennyroyal, a menthol-smelling cousin of the mints. Opening the bag brought out an even stronger minty smell.

Tension Tamer’s taste is like before, only with a stronger flavor and more tones of mint. On steeping the tea you could smell mint at first and then pick up the citrus overtones. Tasting it after a 4-6 minute steep and removing the bag – as the directions suggest – gave a minty lemon taste, very pleasing to the tongue and not too bitter, balanced with sweetness and finished off with slight licorice tones. Feels clean in my mouth!

I’ve always liked lemon and citrus flavors and licorice, so I found Tension Tamers herbal tea a refreshing cup.

I didn’t really taste the ginger to say Hey, there’s ginger in there, but I’ll bet that your taste buds will come to attention with this tea. There is a little snap to it! No need for sugar or honey, in my opinion.

Might be nice to use a bag or two of Tension Tamers tea in a glass jug for sun tea. I’d mix a black or green tea with it to give that a sweet lemony touch.

I do love a company who takes on the view of a world in harmony. I get that feeling from Celestial Seasonings. The bottom of the tea box emphasizes that the company is environmentally aware by using recycled paperboard in their packaging and by supporting sustainable harvesting in many countries. Makes sense to do that last part – if your commodity is grown halfway around the world and you rely on long-distance transport to receive your product – you better help take care of the people harvesting your product in the first place, right? Ethical trade, Rock On!

Our local Giant Food Store sold the 20-bag box for $2.29, but you can buy Tension Tamer herbal tea directly from Celestial Seasonings for $2.99. Enjoy!

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• Expert Interview: Charlie Baden of Celestial Seasonings (thekitchn.com)

This week I received the 2010 catalog from Lilypons Water Gardens, a water gardening supplier in Adamstown, Maryland. The catalog is useful, informative and nice to look at. The company byline says it all —

The Source for Water Gardening Since 1917

These guys are into water gardening! I remember lots of ponds, water lilies and potted plants when visiting the their water garden center over 20 years ago. Nice day.

Photos of water lilies in the 2010 Lilypons catalog are enlarged to show just the blossom and large enough to really see the blossom. Photos include closeups of —

• hardy water lilies
• tropical water lilies
• lotus
• iris
• bog plants
• tropical bogs
• goldfish and koi

The rest of the catalog serves to dish out planting supplies, pond filters and pumps, tools, liners and cleaners.

Pay attention to the headers and footnotes on the water lily pages, where the hardiness and care requirements are listed for each page. This information could be better placed right in the Plant Guide that details the spread and lighting requirements for each plant. At any rate all the information is there if you’re not too sure about planting water lilies in your pond.

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• Watering garden can give you sunburn (telegraph.co.uk)

Look out for more Fall Sales. Stay tuned.

Shop Gurney's Sale plus Get $20 Off $40

The Gurney’s fabulous WEEKEND SALE is the perfect time to buy everything you need for fall gardening because these savings are HUGE.

Check out this Hummingbird Antique Bronze-Style Planter (16-inch) -

Or, this smaller Gothic Planter (9-inch) -

Don’t forget, Park Seed has more than just seeds! Shop Our Most Recent Catalogs Without Leaving your Seat!

If you don’t have any plants to bring in from the cold, there are lots of houseplants you can enjoy. See what Wayside Gardens has to offer in the way of houseplants, dwarf plants and Internet-Exclusive deals from their Container Plantings for Indoor, Patio Garden From Wayside Gardens.

If you like roses and you’re ready to shop for perennial plants to grace your garden, you’re gonna love this deal. A new promotion by Wayside Gardens offers you a free Don Juan Rose – check it out:

Offer: Receive FREE Don Juan Rose with $75 Purchase at WaysideGardens

Coupon Code: FREEROSE
Expires: 04/30/2008

During the checkout process look for “Enter Bonus Codes Here”
Coupon code is required to get discount.

Visit Wayside Gardens and look at their selection of perennials. You might find something you like!