Price: $39 for the two-piece pitcher set and $24 for signature tea infusions (12), three each of the four flavors.

What it does: Makes three glasses of incredibly fresh-tasting tea using a flash-chill technique. The tea provided in the infuser is carefully measured to create the perfect flavor when poured over ice. The infuser set features an inventive white ginger pear, a refreshing raspberry nectar, a crisp pomegranate blackberry and a classic Ceylon gold tea.

How it makes your life easier: This pitcher quickly and easily brews an ice-tea blend. It's ready to drink in 3 to 5 minutes. This doesn't need to cool down like most teas, and the freshly brewed tea doesn't melt the ice and create lukewarm drink.

Who would use it: Tea lovers, singles, seniors, office workers and those who love to entertain. This is perfect for hostesses because you can brew up a fresh batch in minutes when unexpected guests or those invited stop by and you want to quench their thirst with the South's preferred drink.

Where to get it: NOFO at the Pig in Raleigh, Origins at Streets at Southpoint in Durham and A Southern Season in Chapel Hill.

Bridgette A. Lacy

bridgette.lacy@newsobserver.com or 919- 829-8925

Lovely lilies

If you saw our article last weekend about waterlilies and want to learn more, check out this class, The Fascination of Water Lilies, at Duke Gardens on Sunday. John Wyman, a volunteer at the gardens, will talk about the many types of lilies and how to grow them. You'll also get to see some of the new hybrids. The free class is from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Sunday at the Doris Duke Center. Call 668-1707 to register.

And if you haven't seen the new hybrids competing in the 2008 International Waterlily and Water Gardening Society competition, you have until Aug. 31 to go out and vote for your favorite. Or vote at the Duke Gardens Web site, sarahpdukegardens.org

Ailing compost

A compost pile that has stalled can be restarted by forking out all the old material and mixing it thoroughly with grass clippings, leafy yard waste and blood meal before returning it to the pile. This will add the nitrogen sources needed to spur microbial decay. The pile should be thoroughly watered and then kept moist in the hot weeks of summer, and turned occasionally.

The Washington Post

Nature tales

What's better than a quiet stroll through the garden? If you're a kid, maybe it's listening to a story in the garden. Preschoolers and their adults are invited to share stories about nature and explore the garden at N.C. Botanical Garden from 10 to 11 a.m. Thursday. The group will meet outdoors if it's nice out, or in the Paul Green Cabin or the Herb House if not. The cost is $5 per family (no more than three children per adult).

On the bookshelf

Tom Kraeutler and Leslie Segrete bring both know-how and humor to the topic of home improvement in "My Home, My Money Pit." Kraeutler and Segrete take a proactive approach, encouraging readers to think things through before they start a project by helping them consider such issues as how a room will be used and whether they have the skills to take the work on themselves. Then they offer information and tips to help readers reach their renovation goals.

"My Home, My Money Pit" is due out this month from the Lyons Press. It's priced at $19.95 in softcover.

Akron Beacon Journal

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