Herb Tea Garden Designs

As any tea lover would tell you, making tea from fresh herbs can be so flavorful that it’s a wonder more people don’t try it. It doesn’t get any fresher than growing tea herbs and harvesting them for use in your own kitchen. Your tea herb garden design isn’t hard to start, it can be easily learned, and you can start in just a few easy steps. Throughout the ages people have cultivated herbs for their own private use, either for medicinal purposes or simply to enjoy a good cup of tea. Some herbs used for tea you’ve undoubtedly heard of and tried before, while others are more obscure and harder to come by. Here are some that others have grown in their private tea herb gardens that you might want to try for yourself.

Chamomile is probably one of the best known herbs used for centuries to aid in an assortment of ailments. There are a few varieties of chamomile, wild, German, English, Roman (Chamaemelum nobile, Matricaria recutita, Matricaria chamomille). Depending on whom you talk with, they will tell you which one they consider to be the true chamomile. This herb is known for being aromatic; some saying it smells a little bit like apples. It produces small featherlike leaves with white flowers and a yellow round center. Chamomile likes a lot of sun, and depending on which variety you choose, the soil may be somewhat dry, or moist. It is said that the best time to harvest chamomile is while the sun is shining, allowing the natural oils in the chamomile flowers to come out. The flowers may be used fresh or dried to prepare tea.

Spearmint (Mentha Spicata) is similar to peppermint. It is a variety of mint that grows well in most climates growing anywhere from 11 to 40 inches tall. Its beautiful dark green foliage makes this perennial a perfect herb to grow in a container or pot, thus having it handy if the mood for brewing a cup of tea should strike. Spearmint likes partial shade and can be harvested around the time its flowers start to open. This herb can be enjoyed fresh as well as dried. Many have touted it as having the ability to treat stomach aches while others simply savor the refreshing aroma as a nice after dinner tea.

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is a hairy perennial which needs a lot of sun, moist soil, and some shade to thrive. It can grow up to three feet tall with yellow-green leaves that smell like lemon. In late summer towards fall, it produces tiny flowers which serve as your signal that the leaves can be harvested around that time. While lemon balm can be used in many ways, from decorative to cosmetic and medicinal uses, many like to use the leaves to make tea. An English tea known as Melissa tea is made with lemon balm and mint. Take some lemon balm leaves, add a small amount of mint leaves, and steep in boiling water for five minutes then strain the tea. Melissa tea can be consumed either chilled with ice or hot and sweetened to taste.

With so many herbal plants to choose from, having your very own personal tea herb garden you’ll be able to come up with many flavor combinations. However, please note that while many herbs are considered safe, some do have drug interactions and precautions. Please take into account these concerns for safety.