Tea Gardening

Will we ever see cool weather again?

As the heat of summer peaks, I dream of those crisp fall evenings, sitting on the back deck as the sun begins to tuck behind the western sky, and I look out over the garden beds all tucked in and ready for the coming winter.  In my hand is a steaming mug of home-grown tea, made from the dried leaves and buds of some of the season’s most beautiful floral displays.  With a little know-how and pre-planning, growing your own tea garden can enable you to mix up just the right balance of flavors to suit your taste and is something that can be harvested and enjoyed year-round.  Some of the tastiest, and easiest, herbs to grow for tea are:

Lavender

Lavender (Lavendula angustifolia): (Buds) Fairly simple to care for, lavender can provide a beautiful addition to your landscape and attract beneficial pollinators to your green spaces.  English lavender is cold hard to Zone 5, can bloom twice in a single season, and is considered drought tolerant.  Preferring full sun and alkaline soils, lavender needs to be pruned annually after the plant has established. The plants have very few pests or disease problems.  However, they can be susceptible to soil diseases such as Phytophthora, so it is important to water carefully and not standing water around the plant.  Harvest the flowers and buds for drying when they are one-third to fully open and hang them in a cool, airy, shaded room.  To make a relaxing lavender tea, combine hot water with fresh or dried buds steep until you reach your desired flavor.  For a bit of sweetness, add a few drops of honey. 

Mint (Mentha sp.) (Leaves) There are a number of mint varieties to choose from, each providing a unique flavor to brewed tea.  Spearmint makes a soothing tea, while peppermint makes a sweeter tea.  A visit to a local nursery will likely present you with choices like apple mint, chocolate mint, and orange mint.  A very hardy, prolific plant, mint can quickly take over surrounding garden and landscape areas.  To keep this eager spreader under control, try growing it in containers or confining it to a bed with metal or plastic edging. Cold mint tea can be oh so refreshing during these hot months, while now is the time to also harvest and dry the leaves to be brewed up for a simple, yet delicious, hot tea as cooler temperatures make their way to the valley.

Calendula: (petals) A member of the daisy family, these beautiful yellow and orange flowers add long-lasting color to any flower bed or container.  Their frost tolerance and somewhat cold hardy nature, as well as their propensity to draw aphids away from other garden plants make them great companion plants for many of those well-loved vegetables growing nearby.  Simply pour hot water over the dried flowers and let steep to your desired flavor intensity.

Lemon balm ((Melissa officinalis): (Leaves) Adding a lovely, gentle lemon flavor, lemon balm is an easy-to-grow perennial, that tolerates full sun to partial shade and produces delicate white, pale yellow, or pink flowers.  Though, if you are interested in controlling this prolific plant, pruning to ensure that it does not set and drop seed is key.  Combined with other dried ingredients, including oat straw, rose hip, orange peel, and lavender, a cup of lemon balm tea can lift the mood on a cloudy, rainy fall day.

Chamomile

Chamomile ((Chamaemelum nobile)): (Buds) From June to August, the tiny, delicate daisies of chamomile are a wonderful perennial addition to any tea gardener’s gardenscape.  Hardy to Zone 3, and loving light, dry soil, chamomile is fairly easy to grow. Two of the most common chamomiles used for tea are German chamomile (Matricaria recutita) and Roman chamomile Chamaemelum nobile.  Fresh chamomile buds can be combined with boiling water, apple slices, and a bit of honey for a calming, warm hug on those crisp fall evenings.

For educational purposes only.  This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.

Click on the following active links for more information and helpful resources about these and a multitude of other herbs excellent for cultivating a tasty tea garden, and cultivation, propagation, harvesting, and preservation.