Planning your herbal tea garden is painless when you follow these steps. With a little bit of strategic planning, you can have healthy herbal tea for years to come. Herbal tea is rich in polyphenols and flavonoids, antioxidants that can help you stay healthy, boost your energy, and increase longevity. When you grow your tea close to home those plants have exactly the polyphenols, enzymes, and antioxidants that you need to stay healthy and thrive.
When was the last time you purchased prepackaged bags of your favorite herbal tea? We are so used to the convenience of grocery store purchases that we seldom take a look at the actual cost of this simple item. But herbal tea is one of the easiest things to grow at home. It doesn’t require special equipment or heroics even in a zone 3 garden. And once you get your herbal tea garden established it will give you a perpetual supply of potent and tasty herbal tea for years to come.
Based on a recent supermarket analysis, we are paying $35 a pound for our favorite teas that are made from nothing more than chamomile flowers, rose hips, citrus peel, and mint. When you purchase herbal tea classified as “medicinal” in the supermarket, you’ll pay even more. However, when you grow your own herbal tea you can have a perpetual supply of herbal tea ingredients year after year for just the investment of your time, a few seed packages or a few starter pots of perennials.
Plus, when you grow your own tea you have full control the ingredients and know how the herbs were grown. That gets you the very freshest tea possible without any additives. When herbs are grown close to home they contain exactly the enzymes, polyphenols, and antioxidants that you need to thrive. When you grow your own tea you get tea that is better for you for less money. Homegrown tea also contains less packaging and NO plastics. It’s a win-win for your budget and for the Earth.
While you save money with your herbal tea garden, you’ll also be growing medicinal herbs that have more than just great flavor in their list of benefits.
Six Tea Herb Garden design tips:
- You are most likely to use herbs when they are close to the kitchen and easy to get to, rather than tucked into a far corner of the yard. Place your tea garden near the kitchen door for ease of access.
- If space is tight, a collection of herbs can be grown in containers and window boxes. Just cut what you need during the growing season.
- Don’t be afraid to mix vegetables and herbs in the garden. The herbs provide beneficial pest protection, companion planting, and beauty.
- Consider making an herb wheel or herb spiral so that your herbs become a focal feature of the garden.
- Herb gardens are often informal. Separate this area from your more formal garden space so the spontaneous and abundant nature of herbs will not distract from the form of your garden.
- If space is tight, use unusual planting areas like the spaces between paver stones and old tree trunks to fit herbs into areas that might be overlooked.
Eight Questions to ask yourself when designing an herbal tea garden
Planning your herbal tea garden can be fun. Start with a piece of graph paper and draw a rough outline of the area you are considering, then ask yourself these questions to dial-in on the garden of your dreams:
- How much time do you have to maintain a tea garden? Do you have the time to take care of a formal garden, or is a more casual approach better for you?
- What plants will you ‘absolutely’ include in your garden and what is the area needed for those plants?
- What features are already in the area you want to plant? Do you need to work around other shrubbery, fences, trees, or a water feature?
- How will you border the garden area? Does it naturally come against a patio or fence line, or will you need to add pavers or a hedge to give it a defined boundary?
- What type of light does this area receive? Are there any plants that will need protection from full strength afternoon sun? How will you create a shady area for the late afternoon?
- Is the existing soil suitable for planting or will you need to amend it? Remember, most herbs prefer lean soil for the best growth.
- Is it important to you that the tea garden is visually appealing with color coordinated plantings? Is this garden for function or for beauty?
- What kind of access will you build into the garden? This could be as easy as specifically placed paver stones that make harvesting easier, or it could be a full-fledged path through the area. Consider logistics right from the beginning. Don’t be the gardener grumbling because the plants are too close together to get a wheelbarrow through and are hard to reach.
To answer these questions take some time to actually sit in the area that will be your herbal tea garden. Take detailed notes about the area and observe the path of sunlight and shade throughout the day.
Start Small
If you are new to gardening, consider starting your tea garden with five or six of your most favorite herbs. Grow them in a 4 x 8 raised bed and then begin expanding the area as you gain knowledge. Be sure to build in room for the additional plants that will follow in years to come.
This advance planning will give you a vision of what the garden will become when it is finished. Use a trusted herb book and make sure you understand the space requirements for all of the plants you intend to grow.
Don’t set your herbs plants too close together. The garden will look sparse when you make your first year planting, but come the second year and beyond everything will begin to fill out. Be sure to make room for plants as they grow and mature. If you have crowded them too close, harvesting will be hard in the future.
Consider focal points
Will your garden be a place to go and sit for a spell? The addition of a garden bench, homemade trellis, statue, or fountain can make this area visually appealing and a destination for your yard. You are more likely to visit – and keep up the harvest – if your tea garden is a relaxing place to be.
If you live in the North and experience winter weather, consider adding a focal point to add interest in the offseason too.
How many tea herbs will you need to grow to last a season?
While doing your planning, be sure that you grow enough herbs to use in fresh recipes and also for harvesting. Many herbs are herbaceous perennials, meaning that they will die down in the fall after harvest and return again with new foliage the following spring. Time your harvest accordingly.
As the plants mature, the yields for each plant will increase. Once you establish a tea garden the cost of harvesting plants will dramatically decline and you’ll get your tea for free. The rule of thumb is that dried plant materials are stronger than their fresh counterparts. That means that you’ll need far less of the plant material once it is dried. Since the growing season is shorter in zone 3 you’ll need a few more plants than you would need in areas with a longer growing season.
- One mature raspberry patch of 5 or more plants can provide all of the leaves you will need for a season of raspberry leaf tea.
- You’ll need up to 20 strawberry plants to keep the plants healthy and have enough to dry the leaves for tea.
- A 2 foot by 2-foot patch of German chamomile plants will provide enough blossoms for a season.
- Grow 10 calendula plants and pick the blossoms just as they are fully open. The more you pick, the more flowers you’ll get!
- One or two lemon balm plants will provide a harvest of leaves all season long.
- Because it is so versatile, we always plant several varieties of mint. Consider peppermint, spearmint, orange mint, and apple mint. Purchase plant starts at your local nursery or online at Richter’s Herbs.But make sure to plant them away from each other, so that the flavors remain distinct.
- One linden tree will provide enough flowers and leaves for heart-healthy linden tea.
Keep an eye on the plants over the course of the season and take several cuttings. This is often what the plant needs to continue growing to its full potential. Roots should be harvested in the fall after the plant has died back.
Print
2 Homemade Herbal Tea Blends
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Herbs
Description
Morning Tea – stimulating and digestive herbs to start the day
Relaxing Tea to calm the nerves and unwind
Ingredients
Morning Tea – stimulating and digestive herbs to start the day
- 25g dried peppermint leaves
- 50g dried hibiscus flowers
- 50g dried strawberry leaves
- 50g dried raspberry leaves
- 25g dried calendula petals
- 25g dried chamomile flowers
- 25g dried cornflower or bachelor button petals
Relaxing Tea – to calm the nerves and unwind
- 50g dried lemon balm leaves
- 50g dried chamomile flowers
- 50g dried linden leaves
Instructions
For both tea blends: Mix and store the herbs in a dark jar or dark cupboard away from heat.
To use: Place 1 to 2 teaspoons in a French press. Add one cup of boiling water and steep for 5 to 10 minutes.
2 Homemade Herbal Tea Blends
Morning Tea – stimulating and digestive herbs to start the day
- 25g dried peppermint leaves
- 50g dried hibiscus flowers
- 50g dried strawberry leaves
- 50g dried raspberry leaves
- 25g dried calendula petals
- 25g dried chamomile flowers
- 25g dried cornflower or bachelor button petals
Relaxing Tea to calm the nerves and unwind
- 50g dried lemon balm leaves
- 50g dried chamomile flowers
- 50g dried linden leaves
Mix and store the herbs in a dark jar or dark cupboard away from heat. Place 1 to 2 teaspoons in a French press. Add one cup of boiling water and steep for 5 to 10 minutes. 
We urge you to experiment with what grows best in your own climate and create your own herbal tea blends. The combinations are endless. The practice is satisfying and rewarding.
Herbs for a tea garden in zone 3
Check out Planting an herbal tea garden in zone 3 and 10 Herbs for a Tea Garden for more ideas. Here’s a list of possible candidates for your zone 3 herbal tea garden. But this list is just a start. The possibilities are actually endless. If you have reliable snow cover through the harshest winter temperatures of January and February you can easily include some low growing perennial herbs that usually wimp out in zone 5, as well.
Perennial plants
- Monarda didyma, Bee Balm, Bergamot
- Crimson clover
- Strawberry leaves
- Raspberry leaves
- Evening primrose
- Goldenrod
- Mint; peppermint, spearmint, orange mint, chocolate mint
- Rose (both hips and petals)
- Stinging nettle
- Anise Hyssop or Agastache
- Yarrow
- Linden
- Lemon balm
- Fireweed
- Elderberry
- Echinacea
- Catnip
- Lavender
- Hops (“Teamaker” is a good variety to grow for tea with less bitterness than beer hops)
- Goji (The berries add sweetness to tea)
Annual Plants
- Calendula
- Chamomile, German
- Tulsi or Holy Basil (needs summer heat)
- Hibiscus or Roselle (needs summer heat and a longer growing season)
Depending on the amount of summer heat that you get, you may be able to grow some perennial herbs that are frost tender, as annuals in your zone 3 garden. Likely candidates for this treatment include:
- Rosemary
- Lemon plants (the fragrant lemon leaves are used for tea and seasoning)
- Lemon Grass (grab this one as a nursery plant and treat it as an annual)
If you are ready to begin your tea garden this spring have a look at this easy to grow tea garden kit by Richter’s Herbs.
Hi Chris. Super informative and extensive article that I will bookmark for future reference. I do raspberry leaf tea and I use a lot of these herbs for tincturing and oil infusions, as well as teas. I am going to try some of your blend recipes. Thanks again!
Any tips for a zone 2 gardener? I didn’t have success getting any of my herbs to come back after my first year; waiting and hoping that at least my mints will come back this coming summer!
If you have reliable snow cover, the mint family plants should return because they die down in a cold winter and regrow from the root crown. Stinging nettle is zone 2. Many other tea herbs can be grown as annuals in zone 2, with the understanding that they may over winter in a mild winter or under snow cover and come back the following year, with no guarantees. I grow a few zone 5 herbs with this understanding, that I may need to replace them in a test winter. But you might want to avoid vining herbs because it takes some heroics to get vines through.
Thank you!
Loved this blog post. Thanks for all the information. I found the suggestion on number of plants to plant in the garden particularly helpful!
Early last summer, I harvested linden flowers and bracts for the first time, though we’ve lived here for 20 years. I use them to make a tea that helps me sleep better at night. Because I got started with linden, I was inspired to save other herbs for making my own tea. I use rose and apple leaves for their tannic acid, which helps herbal tea have the mouthfeel of China tea. It took some research to make sure that apple leaves are safe to consume, but a European company adds apple leaves to cider to replace some of the nutrients that are lost in the cider making process, so I figure that I am safe!
I grew lemongrass, lemon balm, anise hyssop, and red raspberry as my main herbs for tea making. I have a Meyer lemon that I sprouted about a year ago and hope one day to use the leaves, then the fruit in making tea.
I dehydrate citrus peel to use in tea, also. I have found that the flavor of lemongrass is easier to extract if the herb is ground in a mortar and pestle or a small coffee grinder kept for herb/spice grinding. I have started herb seeds this spring and can’t wait to harvest my own teas from the plants. Thank you for the added inspiration!