Growing herbs for herbal tea is a simple process and a rewarding experience. Herbs are so easy to grow and don’t need a lot of attention and care.
They can be grown in pots, raised beds, or in the ground.
If you already have a garden space, why not tuck a few of these herbs in and use them to make herbal tea?
Benefits of Having an Herbal Tea Garden
An herbal tea garden is easy to start and offers so many benefits.
- save money by growing and drying your own herbs
- use herbs to brew tea and to cook with
- use herbs for DIYs like this kitchen herb wreath I made
- support your physical and mental health with herbal tea
- relax and enjoy being outside when herb gardening
- attract and support pollinators of all kinds with an herb garden
Herbs are a great way to try out gardening if you’ve never done it before!
5 Herbs I’ll Always Grow in My Tea Garden
I think there’s something really special about growing your own herbs and flowers for herbal tea.
Being fully involved in the process of growing plants from seed, caring for them, harvesting and drying them, and then brewing a hot cup of tea that was grown right in your own yard is a really gratifying and soul-nurturing experience.
And anyone can do this.
I grow these five herbs and flowers to dry for herbal tea in my veggie garden each year. They are my favorite because they are easy to grow, easy to find, prolific, taste good, and smell wonderful.
If you’re new to gardening or just looking to try something new, start with these five herbs for herbal tea. They’re flavorful, low-maintenance, and will provide you with a year-round supply of delicious, healthy teas.
If you want to start growing your own tea, you should definitely give these a try!
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1. Mint
If I could only grow one herb out of this list, mint would be it. There’s a lot to love about mint.
It’s a familiar kitchen herb that smells amazing and is delicious both hot or cold.
You can also infuse water with mint in the summertime while you are out working in the garden. It is so refreshing.
Mint is great for digestion and it makes your breath smell good. There’s nothing better than ending a meal with a cup of mint tea.
I also use it as a foliage for flower bouquets. See other herbs I use for making flower arrangements in this post.
Find mint starts in nurseries, or ask a gardening friend for a cutting.
Mint is so easy propagate. It will take over your yard if you plant it in the landscape!
I would recommend planting mint in a container or small raised bed to keep it from taking over your whole garden.
And there are so many different kinds of mint to grow: peppermint, chocolate mint, spearmint, apple mint, strawberry mint, mojito mint, pineapple mint… The list goes on!
My favorites are peppermint and apple mint.
Harvest this herb in the spring before it flowers. You can use it right away or dehydrate for later.
2. Holy Basil, or Tulsi
Holy Basil or Tulsi is another great herb to grow for beginners.
This one is harder to find as starts but does grow very readily from seed. I have purchased my holy basil seeds online from both Southern Seeds andBotanical Interests.
Tulsi smells a bit like bubblegum and it’s strong scent may take some getting used to at first, but it has great health benefits.
Popular in Ayurvedic medicine, tulsi is considered to be a strong adaptogen. This means that this herb helps your body respond effectively to stress.
Holy basil also can help with anxiety, improving blood pressure, and lowering blood glucose levels. I’m not a doctor, so do your own research when it comes to using tulsi medicinally. Here is one article that talks about the benefits of holy basil, or tulsi.
Honestly, I just like the smell and the taste of holy basil. I do think I feel more relaxed when I drink it, and that’s a good enough reason for me to grow as much of it as I can!
Both leaves and flowers can be brewed into to tea. So unlike Italian basil, you can let your holy basil flower without worrying about the flavor changing.
Dry this herb all summer long and enjoy in teas for the rest of the year.
3. Lavender
My favorite scent in the garden is lavender. I have a whole hedge of English lavender (Munstead, I think) growing along one side of my house, and when it is in bloom, it is just amazing to walk through.
Bees and butterflies love lavender, so it is great to grow to attract pollinators. This year I also noticed yellow finches browsing the spent flowers. I think they may have been going after the seeds. I’m not really sure, but I enjoy watching birds in my backyard, so seeing them in the lavender made me happy.
Lavender is a great herb to use for tea and baking. Lavender scones, lavender and lemon bars, honey lavender muffins…
Lavender syrup is easy to make from fresh or dried lavender. I share my recipe for lavender syrup in this post.
Use it to flavor lattes, desserts, baked goods, or make a pitcher of fresh lavender lemonade like I do here.
Just like holy basil, lavender is great for relieving anxiety and can help with insomnia.
Supposedly just smelling lavender can help you get a better night’s rest!
Lavender can be grown from seed and is also easy to find as plant starts at nurseries. Make sure to get one that is hardy for your zone.
Plant this herb in well-draining soil in full sun. Lavender is a Mediterranean herb, so it likes hot and dry conditions and poor soil.
If it is happy, it will grow well with hardly any care. In fact, I ignore my lavender and it grows likes weeds on the side of my house.
To harvest lavender for tea, pick before the buds open and use immediately or hang to dry.
4. Chamomile
When I think of herbal tea, chamomile is the first herb that comes to mind. I especially love chamomile combined with lavender and honey in an herbal tea.
Chamomile can be a little more tricky to grow, as it likes cool spring temps.
However, if you can get your chamomile to flower and go to seed, it may self-seed and plant itself around your garden.
I love plants that can replant themselves. Less work for me!
Chamomile is known to help ease anxiety, help you sleep better, and also aids digestion.
It smells a bit like apples and the flowers look like happy little daisies.
Once chamomile blooms, harvest the flowers when they are fully open and the center is bright yellow. Pick flowers in the morning after the dew has dried for the strongest concentration of essential oils.
Dry the flowers immediately or brew for tea that same day.
5. Lemon Thyme
I bought lemon thyme from a nursery my first year of gardening and it has since then taken over a good portion of one of my raised beds.
Not that I mind. Lemon thyme is kind of a pet plant in our garden. What do I mean by that?
Well, the kids and I love to (literally) pet this plant and smell its wonderful lemony scent.
Lemon thyme is a short plant with tiny leaves and tiny flowers. Like mint and lavender, you can use it in cooking. It’s very good on potatoes, chicken, and fish.
It also makes a delicious lemony tea.
Like the other herbs on this list, lemon thyme has medicinal properties as well. It aids digestion, soothes bloating and indigestion, and may support respiratory health.
You can use regular thyme just like you would lemon thyme, but for tea, I prefer the lemony flavor that lemon thyme has.
Harvest lemon thyme when it is growing fresh in the spring for the strongest flavor, or anytime after that, even if it has flowered. Clip new growth and leave the woody stems.
Air dry or dehydrate lemon thyme to preserve it for winter.
Other Herbs to Add to Your Tea Garden
These five herbs are my favorite to grow for herbal teas, but I know there are plenty more out there. Other herbs you may want to try for yourself include:
- lemon balm
- anise hyssop
- stevia
- echinacea
- lemon verbena
- sage
- basil
How to Brew Herbal Tea
Herbs for tea can be brewed fresh or dried.
Fresh herbs will taste best when harvested in the morning after the dew has dried, but before the plants are in full sun.
I use a French press to brew multiple cups of tea, and I have a smaller tea strainer that I use for single cups.
But you can also boil water in a pot, put your leaves in the pot, and then use the lid to strain the herbs as you pour the liquid into your cup. No need for fancy equipment.
I share my full herbal-tea making process this post if you want to see it step-by-step.
Try blending different types of herbs together. I will often combine all five of my favorites, but I also really enjoy lavender with chamomile, mint with lemon thyme, and of course any of the herbs on its own.
Recently, I tried brewing my tea with a slice of dried apple and it was delicious.
Enjoying Herbal Tea Year Round
All of these herbs are easy to dry and enjoy year round.
If you don’t have a dehydrator like this one, hang small bundles of herbs upside down in a warm, dry location with plenty of air flow until all moisture is gone. Or you can strip the leaves and flowers or buds and lay flat on a clean window screen to air dry.
Do not put your tea in an air-tight jar until the leaves are completely dry and crunchy. Excess moisture will cause mold.
For more on properly drying herbs, read my guide to drying herbs for storage.
Herbs are so easy to grow, and growing your own herbal tea is a very rewarding hobby.
I know I’m grateful to have jars of dried flowers and herbs in the winter to remind me of the spring and summer herb garden.
Start with these five herbs and grow your own tea this year!
Ready to plant your own garden? Get growing with one of these posts on beginner gardening.