Imagine stepping into your backyard, surrounded by vibrant greenery, where every plant has a purpose — from soothing chamomile to invigorating peppermint. Growing your own herbal tea garden offers not only a therapeutic gardening experience but also the rewarding joy of crafting your own custom blends. Cultivating the herbs that make your favorite teas can transform your outdoor space into a fragrant haven while providing fresh, organic ingredients for your perfect cup of tea. And, some of these plants will enhance the productivity of your garden as a whole. Read on and let me know if I missed out any of your favorite herbs.
Herbal Tea Garden
There are many benefits to drinking tea. Tea is both healthy and therapeutic. And it is good for your soul as much as for your body. Tea made from fresh herbs is even healthier, because the nutrients in the herbs are stronger when they are fresher.
And of course, teas made from fresh herbs taste better, too. The flavor will be more vibrant than dried and packaged tea leaves. And you can ensure your herbs are grown without pesticides or other chemicals, guaranteeing a pure and healthy tea.
Make sure to wash your herbs carefully prior to steeping. With most of these herbs, you will want to boil the water first and add the fresh herb in a steeper once you take the water off the heat source. However, for woody herbs, such as rosemary, you may need to either steep a bit longer, or you can add the rosemary directly to the boiling water to get more of the nutritional benefits.
Mint
I’ve been making mint tea since I was a little kid. My Dad and I used to pick it together and then put it in a large pot to simmer. Our family would use it all week long both as hot tea and as iced tea.
Mint can be steeped fresh or dried. Usually the best flavor is from fresh mint. Thankfully, mint grows most of the year except of course when frosty temperatures arrive, causing the leaves to drop. Here in California, fresh mint is available year round, as it never gets too cold for the underground roots. So it is relatively easy to always have some fresh mint on hand when making tea. You may wish to dry some leaves late in the year for the colder months.
Mint can be used alone or along with other herbs. As with other herbs, you can adjust the strength of mint tea by how long you steep it in boiling water. However there are times when you just want a hint of mint. Mint mixes well with chamomile, lavender or calendula.
Remember – mint spreads on underground lateral roots called rhizomes. These make mint a possibly invasive plant, with a tendency to take over a planting bed. Please plant mint cautiously – keep it in a self-contained area, such as a pot on a patio.
Rosemary
Rosemary is wonderful for any herb garden, but is especially good for a tea lover’s herbal tea garden. It is easy to grow for most US climate zones, and is much hardier than most herbs. It has been known to overwinter when protected in zones as low as 6. But even if you grow it as an annual, or bring a pot inside during the coldest months, it is a definitely one of the most beneficial herbs to include in your tea garden.
Rosemary can be used alone in tea or mixed with other ingredients, such as ginger or mint. And you can brew it to different strengths, because it can be quite strong for some people.
The benefits of rosemary are significant. It has been well documented that rosemary stimulates blood flow, is an anti-inflammatory, is a memory boost, and even stimulates hair growth! In addition to using it for tea, it is also great paired with chicken. This Chicken Fricassee dish is a good example. I also like using some in homemade crackers.
Lavender
Lavender is among the oldest known culinary teas, used medicinally going back to ancient civilizations, including the Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greek and Persian civilizations. Of course we know it from the luscious fields of lavender grown in the south of France, where it is used for soaps, perfumes and other cosmetics.
Lavender tea is made from the bud of the flower but many people steep the opened flower as well. As with any herb, you get the most benefit from fresh lavender, which is used for gastro-intestinal issues and as an inti-inflammatory. Lavender even promotes calm and better sleep and is often used along with mint. Clearly, thousands of years of use have reinforced its efficacy.
Lavender can be used when freshly dried as well, especially since we usually have an abundance in the summer. It is easy to dry the buds by bunching and hanging, thus preserving them for use for the remainder of the year.
And not to get too off track, but lavender is also great for adding to other culinary concoctions; such as shortbread or cookie dough, which, of course go perfectly with tea.
Rose
Both rose petals and rose hips can be used to create delicious and beneficial teas. Rose tea is known for its mild, pleasant flavor and calming effects. Rose teas are thought to reduce stress and anxiety, improve digestion, and reduce inflammation. And, rosehips are a good source of vitamin C.
While you can use rose petals and rosehips fresh or dried, the petals lose quite a bit of color and flavor the longer they are dried, so fresh is better if you can. Rose can be added to various herbal tea blends, adding a unique floral or fruity flavor to lavender or calendula.
Make sure when growing your roses that you do not use any pesticides or spray on the plants you intend to consume. Other culinary uses for rose include rose petal jam and lemon-rose shortbread.
Calendula
Calendula is one of the prettiest plants you can add to your herbal tea garden, and is just as easy to grow as mint. As an added benefit, calendula acts as a pollinator for your herbal tea garden. And while attracting the good bugs, it simultaneously repels pests.
Calendula is generally mild, and good for blending. It can be somewhat strong or even bitter when steeped for a long time. Many people use it to aid in digestion, so it works well in combination with lavender or mint. It also dries well and retains its color and some of its nutritional value when dry. As an added benefit, calendula petals can be fed to your hens to brighten the color of their yolks.
Calendula is grown as an annual in much of the United States and Canada, but here in Northern California it overwinters, surviving hot dry summers and the mild winter frosts we get. It also readily reseeds itself. These hardy little seedlings, if growing outside your garden bed, can be easily relocated to a more suitable location.
Ginger
Ginger is one of my favorite flavors for tea. It has long been known to aid in digestion and help with gastrointestinal issues. However it can be strong for some. As with most of these teas, you can adjust the strength with the amount of ginger root you use.
Many people like to drink fresh ginger tea in the morning because it is an invigorating way to start the day. You don’t even need to peel the ginger, because you are not actually consuming the ginger. Peeling in this instance is a matter of preference. However you do want to make sure that you scrub the root well, and dice or peel to provide as much surface area for steeping as you can.
If you live in zones colder than 7, you can grow ginger as an annual. In warmer growing climates, ginger root will lose its leaves in the winter, but will grow back in the summer.
Chamomile
Chamomile is a very popular addition to herbal tea gardens, and I could not leave it out! It is easy to grow, takes up very little space and is loved for its flavorful tea. It is often used by itself in teas, but also makes a nice blending tea. Many people like it at bedtime or whenever they want a relaxing warm cup.
Chamomile is best when you use it fresh, but you can also dry it. Pluck the flower heads and buds off the plant when they are young. Dried chamomile can last for a few months but you should generally try to use it quickly. If you do not use it all and it starts to lose its flavor, chamomile also makes a nice hair rinse.
Thyme
Thyme is a great plant you can grow and steep for tea which has documented benefits for treating a cold. It is soothing for sore throats and coughs, and you can use it straight or blended with other herbs and honey as a powerful elixir to help you through that video call when your throat is ready to give out.
Thyme is a versatile culinary herb, like rosemary, and has an earthy flavor. Like many of these herbs, it is great to have them for tea and so many other uses, too. All thyme is edible, but the most common thyme for tea is garden thyme or lemon thyme. I like growing thyme in my flower garden like a ground cover, and then I always have enough if I want to add it to tea. It is also a good herb to use in these wine crackers.
Lemon Balm
Lemon balm is an amazing plant to include for your herbal tea garden. It is easy to grow, because it is both frost and drought tolerant, making it excellent for almost any gardener. It is a perennial plant in the mint family, so even if you live in colder climates, your lemon balm will die back during the winter but spring back to life after the winter snows have melted. Here in California, we see lemon balm producing year-round.
Lemon balm thrives in sun but also does well in shade. They thrive on neglect and appreciate it if you cut them back again and again throughout the summer. In addition to tea, you can add the leaves to your salads, too. Or put the pretty blooms in a vase for an impromptu bouquet.
Best of all, lemon bees and other pollinators love lemon balm, but mosquitos and gnats are repelled by the lemony scent.
Catnip
Catnip is a wonderful herb that is a part of the mint family. Most of us know it because it it can be added to cat toys and it makes our cats go wild. But it is also a great additive to tea. And it is fairly easy to grow. You can use both the leaves and the flowers for teas either alone or along with other herbs.
Those who like catnip tea often drink it for its calming properties, in contrast to how it makes your feline friends act. And unlike many of the herbs on this list, its flavor lasts a long time even if you choose to dry it. Best of all, it helps to repel harmful insects such as aphids from your garden.
Nasturtium
I’ve included nasturtium on this list because so many of the plants already listed do best in full or most sun. Nasturtium is for those of you with more shade than sun. In fact, don’t even bother planting it unless you have either deep shade or abundant rain. It grows easily and quickly, but in most climates it acts like an annual. But it reseeds itself so easily.
In tea it has a peppery flavor. You can also put the nasturtium leaves into a salad, and you’ll notice the tangy flavor right away.
Before I wrap this post up, I just want to make a note that one other great addition to tea blends is a little bit of citrus rind. Orange or lemon rind can be added both fresh or dried, and add a stupendous aroma to a tea blend. Orange rind is one of the key ingredients in the famous “Constant Comment” tea. Whenever you have an orange, save the rind, even if you can’t use it immediately. Dry it and store it in an airtight container.
This is my list of must-have herbs for my herbal tea garden. Of course there are many herbs I’ve excluded such as borage, echinacea, lemongrass, and stevia for natural sweetening. Everyone has their own favorites. Please do let me know if you have any favorites that I’ve missed out! Happy planting!
