If you’re a massive tea fan or trying to enhance your medicinal cabinet on a budget, consider establishing a tea garden.
The teas made from flowers and herbs market is vast, and there’s an innumerable selection available to enjoy the flavor you love – or for their many health advantages. They can be expensive, and sometimes there are harmful elements such as plastic and preservatives in the composition of the tea bags. Are you hoping to stay clear of all of this?
Making your herb and flower tea lets, you decide the tea you drink. You also get plenty of products without a huge expense. It’s just as simple as determining the kind of flowers and herbs you’d like to plant and what advantages you’re looking for, and what you enjoy the flavor of.
You can save lots of money by growing your teas and, at the same time, benefit from the health benefits. Drying the teas or having them freshly harvested and blended is possible. Whatever you choose, cultivating your tea is fun, easy, and healthy.
Herb Garden vs. Tea Garden
What is the difference between the herb garden and the herb tea plant? It all boils down to the plants that you’re making use of. There are a variety of herbs that you can use for cooking. However, you shouldn’t make tea with them.
One such example is rosemary. It’s delicious with your lamb’s leg. However, it’s not a good choice when you drink tea because it tastes solid and acidic. Naturally, some enjoy rosemary tea. However, there’s a reason that you won’t have it on your shelves at the grocery store.
Additionally, in your garden for tea, you could plant flowers that aren’t plants, but they make great alternatives to tea. They are also an excellent addition to tea gardens. And If you have bees, they’ll provide a wonderful taste to honey.
Starting Your Tea Garden
I prefer to keep my tea garden separate from my herb or vegetable garden, but that’s just my personal and individual choice. You can separate your existing garden if you want to dedicate a whole area to your tea garden. The majority of tea plants can be planted in pots, too, so you shouldn’t be concerned whether you’re a house dweller or have limited space.
Soil
It would be best if you had a few key factors to create a practical tea garden. The first one is good soil. You’ll need loamy, well-draining soil with a pH of between 5 to 7. Incorporate well-rotted organic matter and fertilizer of good quality a week before planting.
Placement
Then, it would be best to think about where you can put your plants. Most plants thrive in full sunlight; however, over and above that, there are some flexibilities. You can plant your tea garden indoors, on your patio with containers, or in your garden. Plant taller plants in the back and smaller plants in the front to make harvesting easier.
Container Growing
A tea garden with herbs can be a great container garden. I like using stone or terracotta pots since I’m not a plastic fan. If I’m going through the trouble of cultivating healthy herbal teas, I wouldn’t need any chemical residues near the plants.
You’ll require a top-quality pot mix, a fertilizer specifically for potted plants, and an organic or natural water-retaining material to keep your plants humid.
Essential Plants to Your Tea Garden
This is the part that’s fun choosing the type of plants you’d like to plant to plant in your tea garden. Of course, it’s an individual choice. There are many plants I believe are vital.
Lavender
Lavender blossoms create the most delicious herbal tea. The delicate floral scent and mint-like taste make it the perfect choice before bed.
Lavender helps:
- Reduce inflammation
- Help you rest
- Boost immunity
Sage
Sage is my absolute most-loved tea herb. I select up to six or five leaves, steep them in hot water, and then mix them in honey and lemon juice.
Sage is known as being antimicrobial and antifungal. It is also:
- helps maintain oral health
- reduces symptoms of menopausal
- aids in lowering blood sugar
- can have a positive impact on bad cholesterol.
Mint
Mint is a favorite around the world as herbal tea. The tea has a sweet menthol taste and can be consumed or blended with different teas.
Mint’s benefits include:
- Relieves indigestion
- Reduces the pain of breastfeeding
- Relieves nausea
- Reduces stress
- Promotes healthy hair and skin
Beware, Mint takes over after it is planted in the soil. It’ll grow everywhere. To prevent this from happening, I make the hole to accommodate a pot. I place the pool in the garden and then plant Mint. So the roots will be contained.
Chamomile
Chamomile appears like wild daisies, providing an elegant touch to your garden. It’s not just a pretty face. They are also perfect for drinking tea. The herb has a sweet grassy apple taste with a bit of honey. Chamomile grows large and tall and requires plenty of room. It prefers full sun but needs plenty of water in the summertime.
The benefits of Medicinally are:
- Easing stomach cramps
- Relief from migraine pain
- Pain relief from stomach ulcers
- Enhancing the immune system
- Helping to the restful night
Thyme
Thyme is a bold herb and can be a bit overpowering, so I usually use around half a teaspoon mixed with equal amounts of other spices instead of by itself. It’s a compact plant which makes it perfect for pots. It is possible to use both leaves and flowers to make tea.
It’s excellent for soothing sore throats and is antibacterial.
Borage
Borage is a favorite among my honeybees. It’s one of the herbs that doesn’t receive the recognition it merits; It’s got blue flowers and hairy leaves, which have some cucumber flavor. I like both flowers and leaves for my tea.
Borage is rich in omega-6 Vitamins A as well as C. In the middle age, it was handed to knights to boost their bravery. I’m not sure whether it aids in this, but there’s evidence to suggest that it is beneficial for:
- Relief from symptoms of cold
- Reduce anxiety
- Relief from stomach problems
Lemon Verbena
The lemon verbena is a tall perennial that can grow as tall as up to six feet. The lemony aroma is enhanced as you smash the leaves. It’s a great herbal tea flavoring if you prefer the lemony flavor but aren’t keen on adding lemon juice.
Lemon verbena is excellent for:
- Suppressing appetite when you’re watching the calories you consume
- Reducing inflammation
- Helping digestion
- Sore muscles
Other Plants to Tea Gardens
To create a diverse herbs-based tea collection, look at some of the plants listed below. Start with a few of your most loved plants and herbs and then grow according to which you make the most use of.
- Ginger
- Jasmine
- Stevia
- Lemon Grass
- Saint. John’s Wart
- Calendula
- Echinacea
- Rose
- Lemon balm
- Anise Hyssop
Tending Your Tea Garden
One of the most critical factors for success in a tea-growing garden is arranging plants with similar characteristics. If you plant a moist-loving plant alongside one that prefers moist, dry soil, you’re likely to get into problems.
Start seeds indoors if the weather is cold. Choose a high-quality seed-raising mix and make sure it’s kept damp. Move it outside to your garden when the nighttime temperatures reach 55 degrees, and the threat of frost has gone.
The process of growing seeds from plants can be a challenging procedure, so make sure you plant the seeds you require. If you get more than you can count, offer them to a charity or for sale.
To get faster and more reliable results, purchase seedlings at the local plant retailer.
Watering
Like all plants, herbaceous plants require a balance between not too much water and not too much. I ensure the soil is wet for plants of the mint family, like peppermint and lemon balm. For Meditteranean plants, I allow the earth’s surface layer to dry a bit between irrigations.
It depends on your region; therefore, if your area is hot and dry, keep your garden moist. If the soil becomes dry, the herbs turn wooden, and some bolts become sprout seeds.
Fertilizer
Suppose you have a tea garden with organically decayed material. In that case, the only thing you have for keeping your plants and flowers growing is to use a quality liquid fertilizer every summer. Potted plants require a little more nutrients.
Pests and Diseases
It’s a given that insects will infest your tea gardens. I make sure not to use any insecticides or pesticides since I aim to provide an alternative that is healthier than retail teas. I do not wish to spray anything on the plants I’m planning to use to make tea.
The best method of dealing with pests is eliminating any plant-affected areas. Also, ensure that there is enough space between plants to prevent downy mildew and other diseases. If stressed, tackle insects with regular applications of the neem oil.
Harvesting Your Tea
Whatever you choose, use the tea in fresh or dried form, and pick it up in the morning to keep it from wilting and bitterness.
Fresh
I like to select to make tea from scratch. I’ll gather some leaves from various plants and put them in an ice-filled cup filled with boiling water. I’ll add honey and lemon and let them sit for 5-10 minutes.
I enjoy experimenting with different strengths and mixtures and strengths or studying the recommended dosages of the plant you’re using.
Dry
You can also choose to dry your tea leaves so that they are ready and readily available at the time you require to use them. Drying enhances the taste and means you can enjoy home-grown tea even if your plants are hibernated during the winter.
Making It Work
Herbal teas are just one of the items you can purchase; however, they’re much more effective – and less expensive if you cultivate your own in your home. We’d love to hear about your herbal tea gardening adventures, so be sure to let us know about your experiences and any new combinations of teas you come across.