So I wonder which of my friends has one of those well, you know, Victorian tea gardens. I have to admit I thought the reason for the name was because it was a beautiful setting for a cup of tea.
I came upon an article by Sunset Magazine
that really got me excited to plant some herbs and flowers and create an actual tea garden on my patio.
Not everyone has a back yard, not everyone has a patio and some of us only have a small area out side out apartment.
I was excited to see the article and read through it from first word to last!
First you have to understand I get into things, and I want to d things in a BIG way yet, I don’t have a BIG yard and I am only ONE person, so why do I feel I need to buy 100 herb plants to make this huge garden so I can enjoy some fresh tea?
News Flash: I don’t and neither do you. There are many ways you can enjoy a fresh herbal tea without creating a victorian herbal garden, unless you want to.
This is how my garden is going to start:
While you can choose any plant I choose to use plants that are
1. Hearty
2. Easy to Grow
3. That I love
My number one plant of choice is peppermint, When I was younger I remember a lady who lived next door that had peppermint plants all around her garage, I used to love to go grab a leaf or two and rub them in my hands. I also remember they grew like weeds and she used to come out often to dig peppermint plants and transplant them further back into the yard. There was A LOT of mint.
I was out shopping at Whole Foods and thought I’d look at their plants and I noticed this sweet plant:
Chocolate Peppermint
WHAT? So excited to try this herb, what will it taste like? What will my tea taste like? Oh man, cannot wait!
My third plant is not here yet, but it’s an Anise Hyssop and the reason are a few.
1. It’s easy to grow
2. It’s sweet
3. It goes great with mint
4: I LOVE the flavor of anise
So there it is, this is my small herbal garden and I’ll update you regularly through the season on how my garden is growing, and how my tea will taste once I’m ready to brew.
Oh yes, how am I going to brew? I’m thinking sun tea to really bring out the flavors on the herbs.
Sunset Magazine gives us many herb choices and the list is not limited you can add and grow whatever herbs you like in your “garden”. Some of the choices can be:
Lemon Verbena
Chamomile
Lemongrass
Calamint
Lemon Bergamot
Lavender
Rose
Mint
and what about
Ginger
Rosemary
Steiva
Common Nettle
Fennel
Sage
Jasmine
Basl
Dandelion
Thyme
In all honesty the list is endless and all up to you and what you want to do. How much you want to grow and how much time you to devote to your tea “garden”
Happy Growing and Brewing
