Winterizing your Camellia Sinensis

Often it's been said that the Three Sisters' "tea journey" all started with a tea plant... 

...and that would be true.  It arrived in the mail one day, a birthday gift from Barefoot Girl, it was small and needed special care.  Over time it grew and finally was planted  outside.

It does not seem to like the cold of TN winters and so a thick blanket of hay tucks it in cozily for the season.  Five years later our tea plant has grown, and even thrived, in its home here on the farm.

Three more tea plants found their way to us this summer.  They are too small to endure the weather outside this year so they'll pass the winter in front of a sunny window in the tearoom.  In about two years they will be hearty enough to join their tea friend outside in the ground.  A plantation just might be in our future, at least that's the vision.  Now that will be a tea journey, indeed!