Dear gardening friends in Georgia,
I am looking for somebody who is able to help me with fresh bay leaves. My use for them is not "food" so they needn't be certified as food. But they must be fresh leaves from a real tree. Dry leaves from a grocery store won't do. Fresh leaves seen sometimes at exorbitant prices at grocery stores could work except I need a lot of them which makes a purchase prohibitive. What I am trying to locate is somebody who has a tree and wouldn't mind cutting some branches for me and mailing them. I know that those trees grow very well in mild climates. Just to make sure, I am looking for leaves of bay tree - Laurus nobilis, not anything called laurel in this country. However, there is a native tree called wild bay which would also serve my purpose - this one http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbellularia . This tree grows wild on the West Coast and it is just possible somebody is growing it. I actually located somebody in Georgia who gives away bay leaves to walk-ins but absolutely won't ship them....I would greatly appreciate any information and I am willing to discuss the conditions. Thank you very much.