Spring has sprung at Wiseman Walhalla Wonderland! I have been waiting very patiently (well, as patient as I can be) for the chance of a late frost to pass, so I could go plant shopping. Let the fun begin! We started out at the FFA plant sale at Walhalla High School - gotta support my CTE peeps. Then it was on to some local nurseries. We are also having fun seeing what is growing and blooming in our yard. It's a little like Christmas, you never know what you're going to get. We moved into the house in November, so this is our first opporutnity to see everything in bloom.
The guest house had to get some flower love too! We had our first official guests in there last week. I has so much fun getting it ready and adding little touches that I have seen in Air BnB's that we have stayed in around the country. We are so blessed to have this space.
After getting the homestead in tip top shape it was time for a local adventure.
As you know, I am big hot tea drinker. Well, imagine my surprise to learn that just a little over half an hour from our house is the Table Rock Tea Company. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend going to take the free tour and buying some of their delicious brews.
I just love the logo and we got to meet the guy in the logo, however, he says it's his stunt double.
Yes, we bought a tea plant to grow in our yard. Learned that they don't grow very quickly and will take 5 - 7 years before we can harvest any tea. That's ok, we don't plan on moving again!!
Isabella was our outstanding tour guide. I learned so much about tea, from the seeding process, planting, harvesting, to processing and packaging.
Love that they also have a Quilt Trail quilt on the premises. This is such a great project and we have seen so many of them on our travels around the area.
This is what a tea seed looks like - who knew that they were that large?!? On my lovely, white freckly leg you can see an example of two leaves and a bud, this is what they pick at harvesting time.
Look at that view, still beautiful even after the fires they had recently. In addition to the tea plant, we bought three types of tea. I love their Cousin Earl tea, which is their spin on an Earl Grey. My true favorite is the Walhalla Masala Chai Tea. A perfect brew to start the day with. I had to try it for the cute name alone.
Seriously, if you are ever in the area between March - December, this is such a great place to visit. I've been to the Charleston Tea Plantation and the Celestial Seasoning Plant in Colorado and this was by far my favorite tea tour.
We wrapped up the day with a quick stop at the Hemlock Festival in Mountain Rest.
It was a lovely, homegrown event to focus on the importance of saving the Hemlock tree. Music, food and lots of great information.
The funniest thing was being spotted in the wild as "Mrs. Wiseman!" I think it made Tom have PTSD from all those years I was a teacher and we would run into current and former students in the area. This was two boys that I work with at the school where I volunteer who were at the event with the Boy Scout troop. Poor man, he really thought those days were over.
Well, stay tuned because according to the calendar there are a ton of festivals coming up in the area, including a couple of Jeep ones. Who knows where we're go next....
Toodles until next time....
