I love a good cup of herbal tea. It helps me to settle in at the end of the day or get moving as the day starts. Herbal teas make a great way to make use of herbs for their medicinal value. Tea is just a simple herbal infusion that anyone can make and use. I like to grow my own herbs for teas so I can give my family the best quality tea possible.
Why grow your own tea herbs
Growing your own herbal teas is a great way to save money and make the most of your budget. It also allows you to control the quality of herbs you are using for your teas. Because herbal teas are a form of herbal medicine you want to ensure that you are not using chemicals in your herbal teas.
The best tea herbs to grow in your garden
While you will find that there are many more amazing herbs that you can use for tea these are some of the best and most useful herbs to grow in your garden for teas.
Mint
It’s easy to grow mint, which makes a soothing tea. Additionally, you can add mint to any of your favorite teas to enhance the flavor. It can be used to settle an upset stomach and to help you cool off in the heat of summer.
Growing mint is easy and this plant tends to be a prolific grower that spreads like wildfire. Mint is perfect for growing in your tea garden when you want to make large amounts of herbal tea.
Lavender
There are so many uses for lavender. The flower makes a wonderful calming tea perfect for helping you relax before bed. There are so many ways to use lavender in your home that you’ll never run out of ideas.
Lavender is easy to grow and can make a great addition to large decorative pots at the entrance of your home where they can help to repel insects.
Chamomile
Growing chamomile is a wonderful way to relax at the end of a long and hard day. You can enjoy this tea all year round as it is calming and soothing. This flowering herb is a bit interesting in the garden. It tends to germinate quickly which is good because the seeds can not be buried. Starting chamomile in pots is the best idea before adding it to your herb garden.
Lemon Balm
A beautiful and delicate herb in the mint family, lemon balm is a beautiful herb with a light lemon taste to it. You can also grow it in your garden to attract butterflies and bees. Lemon balm is one of my favorite flowers to grow for attracting bees and its qualities in tea are an added bonus. Growing lemon balm is easy and can be done by even beginners.
Rosemary
You may not think of rosemary when you consider tea, but it is a wonderful tea with a distinct herbal flavor. Combine rosemary with other teas for the best flavor. Growing rosemary is something I love to do because rosemary offers so many great qualities including helping with focus and memory. Something vital for our family.
Passionflower
If you live in an area where passionflower thrives, you won’t want to miss this opportunity to plant your tea garden. A beautiful aromatic tea made of passionflower can help calm the nerves, combat insomnia, and even help people who are depressed. Growing passionflower is easy. In fact, our first passionflower plant was a volunteer behind the house after a bird dropped a seed from one of my neighbor’s plants.
Lemongrass
Lemongrass has a light, airy flavor. It makes an excellent addition to your herbal tea garden. Its delicate taste and uplifting aroma make for a wonderful tea, while the plant itself is a beautiful ornamental grass with a scent that will keep insects away from your garden. You can grow lemongrass as a decorative herb and then enjoy it for a light refreshing tea.
Tips from growing your own tea herbs
Growing tea herbs is a bit different than growing herbs for culinary uses and for their beauty. Teas are a form of herbal medicine and as such you want to use the best quality herbs possible. You should grow your tea herbs organically with the best soil available to you and avoid all use of chemical pest treatments so you can provide your family with the best medicinal teas.
Do not over-fertilize or over-water your tea herbs. the larger they grow from the use of fertilizers or overwatering can reduce the flavor and beneficial compounds in your herbs by essentially watering them down.
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