Here’s a selection of herbs to try growing if you enjoy drinking herbal tea. All you need to do is pick a few leaves and brew them in hot water… You can plant most of these in flower beds and borders and they will look lovely. Some are better grown in pots though!
Chamomile
Harvest the pretty, daisy-like flowers regularly through the summer. You can use the flowers fresh in tea or you can dry them. To dry them, spread them out on a tray and leave them in a warm and dry place inside for a week or so. Don’t leave them on the windowsill as they need to dry out of direct sunlight. Once they are totally dry, you can pop them in a jar to store (airtight!)
Ginger Mint
This is a wonderful variety of mint, with a faint spicy ginger flavour that gives the tea a little twist. Very easy to grow, this mint (like all mints) is best grown in pots/containers to stop it spreading via the roots. It won’t need much care other than watering during dry spells and cutting back after it has flowers.
Lemon Verbena
Lemon Verbena has deliciously lemony leaves that you can steep in hot water for a very soothing brew. It’ll grow well in pots of compost – be careful not to let it get waterlogged as the roots can rot easily. In the winter, you can bring it undercover and hopefully it will return the following spring.
Wild Bergamot
Add a tablespoon of wild bergamot petals to a cup of hot water, and in about fifteen minutes you’ll have a wonderfully pink tea. You can use the leaves too, but they’re not as colourful! Wild bergamot is said to be good for digestion and cramps.
Lemon Balm
Grow lemon balm in the same way as you’d grow mint – in pots, and watering regularly. Then cut back after flowering. The leaves are delicious for teas, and we find the plants can be a better choice than Lemon Verbena if you live in a wetter part of the country.
Hyssop
Hyssop is said to ease respiratory problems and many people swear by it for helping with a cold. It is quite minty in flavour, but can leave a bitter aftertaste so you may wish to add some honey. The bees will love it, with the beautiful purple flowers. Well worth growing, just for the bees!
Feverfew
We’re including this one as the flowers are so sweet, and it looks lovely at the front of a flower bed. You can make a tea from it, and it is said to help prevent migraines, but to be honest, it’s very bitter and there are mixed messages out there about how best to use it. Our preference is to grow it for the flowers, but don’t tell medicinal gardeners that we said that.