Dear gardening friends and I specifically mean those in California and Oregon,
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 Californian tree called wild bay which would also serve my purpose - this one https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbellularia . This tree grows wild on the West Coast and it is possible somebody has it growing on the premises. I would greatly appreciate any information and I am willing to discuss the conditions. Thank you very much.