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Grow Your Own Herbal Tea Garden: 6 Easy Herbs and 5 Simple Tea Recipes

A cup of herbal tea beside fresh herbs
Herbs · Tea Garden

Grow Your Own Herbal Tea Garden

A few easy herbs on a sunny windowsill or balcony give you fresh teas all year.

There is something special about making a cup of tea from leaves and flowers you picked yourself a few minutes earlier. Many of the herbs people have used for tea for centuries are also some of the easiest plants to grow: they need little care, little space and very little money.

The best part: you probably already know these plants. Mint, chamomile, ginger, lemon balm, lavender and thyme are not exotic. Here is how to grow them, harvest and dry them, and turn them into simple, comforting herbal teas.

Why Grow Your Own Tea Herbs?

Cost: A packet of seeds costs €2 to €4, and a single chamomile plant produces enough flowers for months of tea. Store-bought herbal teas run €5 to €10 per box.
Freshness: Dried herbs sitting on a shop shelf can be months old. Herbs from your own garden are harvested at peak potency.
Control: You know exactly what you are consuming, with no additives and no mystery blends.
Reliability: Fresh herbs are there whenever you want a cup, with no trip to the shop.
Space: Most tea herbs thrive in small pots. Even with just a balcony or a windowsill you can keep a productive little tea garden.

6 Easy Herbs for Your Tea Garden

1. Chamomile

Traditionally used: as a mild, calming evening tea and after meals.
Growing: Plant from seed in spring. It loves full sun and tolerates poor soil. Water moderately; it is drought-tolerant once established. Harvest the flowers when fully open, from June to August. It self-seeds generously.
How to dry: Pick the flowers in the morning once the dew has dried. Spread them on paper in a warm, dark place for one to two weeks, until papery.

2. Peppermint

Traditionally used: as a refreshing tea after meals.
Growing: A perennial that survives winter in most of Europe, happy in sun or partial shade. Grow it in a pot or a contained bed, because mint spreads aggressively. Water regularly and cut it back hard in late autumn.
How to dry: Harvest leaf sprigs mid-morning. Hang them in bundles or spread them on screens. Ready in about two weeks.

3. Lemon Balm

Traditionally used: as a gentle, lemony relaxing tea.
Growing: A hardy perennial in most European climates. It prefers partial shade and is drought-tolerant once established. Pinch it back regularly; it self-seeds lightly.
How to dry: Harvest fresh leaves in summer, just before flowering, then dry as you would mint.

4. Ginger

Traditionally used: as a warming tea, especially on cold days and when travelling.
Growing: Trickier than the leafy herbs. Start with a ginger root from the grocery store and plant it in spring in a large pot at least 30 cm deep. Warm soil is essential. Keep the soil consistently moist and harvest after eight to ten months, when the leaves yellow.
How to use: Harvest, wash, and use fresh or dried. Fresh is stronger; dried stores longer.

5. Lavender

Traditionally used: as a fragrant, relaxing bedtime tea, often mixed with chamomile.
Growing: An extremely hardy perennial. It loves full sun and well-drained soil and is drought-tolerant once established. Prune after flowering and harvest in July and August, when the flowers are fully purple.
How to dry: Cut the flower stems when the blooms are fully open and hang them in bundles in a dark, airy place for one to two weeks. Strip the flowers from the stems once dry.

6. Thyme

Traditionally used: as a warming winter tea, usually with honey.
Growing: A cold-hardy perennial that loves sun and well-drained soil and actually thrives in poor ground. Very drought-tolerant. Pinch it back regularly and harvest fresh leaves year-round.
How to dry: Hang-dry or screen-dry for one to two weeks.
Start with three: peppermint, chamomile, and lemon balm are the most forgiving herbs for beginners. Grow mint in its own pot, because it spreads fast.

5 Simple Herbal Tea Recipes

Calming Chamomile Evening Tea

Ingredients: 1 tablespoon fresh chamomile flowers (or 1 teaspoon dried), 1 cup hot water, optional honey and lemon.
Method: Steep the flowers in hot water for 5 to 10 minutes, then strain. Add honey or lemon and drink warm, two to three times a day as needed.
Why people love it: a mild, apple-like flavour that makes a classic evening drink.

Fresh Peppermint After-Dinner Tea

Ingredients: 1 tablespoon fresh peppermint leaves (or half a teaspoon dried and crushed), 1 cup hot water, optional ginger and honey.
Method: Crush the fresh leaves slightly, steep in hot water for 5 to 7 minutes, then strain. Drink warm after meals or as needed.
Why people love it: fresh mint leaves give a much brighter flavour than tea bags.

Warming Ginger and Lemon Balm Tea

Ingredients: 1 tablespoon fresh lemon balm leaves (or half a teaspoon dried), 1 thin slice of fresh peeled ginger about 1 cm thick, 1 cup hot water, optional honey and lemon juice.
Method: Slice the ginger thinly, steep it with the lemon balm for 8 to 10 minutes, then strain. Add lemon juice and honey and drink warm or cold.
Why people love it: spicy ginger and lemony lemon balm make a warming, aromatic mix.

Lavender and Chamomile Bedtime Tea

Ingredients: 1 tablespoon chamomile flowers (fresh or dried), half a tablespoon dried lavender flowers, 1 cup hot water, optional honey.
Method: Mix the dried flowers, steep in hot water for 7 to 10 minutes, then strain carefully. Drink 30 to 60 minutes before bed.
Why people love it: a soft floral tea that is a popular part of an evening routine.

Thyme and Honey Winter Tea

Ingredients: 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves (or 1 tablespoon dried), 1 cup hot water, 1 tablespoon honey, optional fresh lemon juice.
Method: Steep the thyme for 10 minutes, strain, stir in the honey, and add lemon juice. Drink two to three times a day while unwell.
Why people love it: a traditional winter tea in many European households.

Harvesting and Storage Tips

Best time to harvest: Early morning, after the dew dries but before the midday heat, when essential oil content is highest.
How to dry efficiently: Hang bundles upside down in a warm, dark, airy room, or spread them on screens. Depending on humidity this takes one to three weeks. The herbs are ready when completely dry and crumbly.
Storage: Keep dried herbs in airtight glass jars, labelled with the name and date, in a dark, cool place and never above the stove. Most stay potent for six to twelve months.
Fresh versus dried: Fresh is stronger, so use two to three times the quantity of dried. Fresh tastes better to most people, while dried stores longer and works year-round.
Harvest in the morning: pick herbs after the dew dries but before the midday sun, when their aromatic oils are strongest.

A Word of Caution

Herbal teas are enjoyed by many people, but they are not a substitute for medical care. If you are unwell, pregnant or breastfeeding, take any medication, or have allergies to plants in the daisy or mint family, talk to a doctor or pharmacist before drinking herbal teas regularly. Some herbs also interact with prescription medication, so check before using them if you take anything regularly.
These teas are for enjoyment and general wellbeing only. They are not a treatment for any illness and are not a replacement for professional medical advice.

Getting Started This Week

  1. Visit a garden centre or order seeds online, and start with chamomile and peppermint, the easiest and most useful of the six.
  2. Pot them up in your garden or on a sunny windowsill.
  3. Wait six to eight weeks, by which point you will have enough leaves for your first cup of tea.
  4. Expand gradually. Add lemon balm and thyme next, then ginger and lavender once you are comfortable.

You do not need a big garden. A few pots on a balcony or windowsill are enough to keep yourself supplied with fresh herbal tea all year.

Continue Reading

Healthy herbs start with healthy ground, so pair this with How to Improve Garden Soil Naturally and A Simple Guide to Watering Your Garden the Right Way. If you are growing indoors, The Best Plants and Flowers to Grow Inside Your Home covers what else thrives on a windowsill.

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