Gardening: Your cup of tea

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Relaxing with a mug of herbal tea is my nightly ritual. Because fresh herbs make the best infusions and are so easy to grow, I've turned an old horse water trough into a small tea garden that sits at the edge of my patio.

Red-flowered pineapple sage anchors the little garden. I'll use the leaves for flavoring black tea or ice water. I planted several types of mint: peppermint, spearmint, orange mint and chocolate mint. Finally, there are orange- and yellow-flowered calendulas. Use the flowers, not the leaves, for tea. You can use marigold flowers and rose petals the same way.

But don't stop at these. There are dozens of other plants you can use to make herbal tea blends, drink as standalone concoctions or use to flavor purchased black teas. Many make wonderful companions to perennials and shrubs in the ornamental garden, and even in the vegetable garden.

Try planting chamomile as a ground cover or among stepping-stones. It can thrive in the harshest of conditions and doesn't need a lot of water. Simply snip off the round flowers as you need them and harvest plenty to dry as well. There's nothing like a cup of chamomile tea on a cold winter's night.

If you love the flavor of lemon, put in at least one lemongrass and a plant or two of lemon verbena. The leaves can be used fresh or dried. Both die back in the winter (the lemongrass has to be cut to the ground and the lemon verbena just loses its leaves), so if you want to dry any leaves, harvest them through the summer.

Other good choices for a garden devoted to tea plants are lemon bergamot, lavender and borage. The leaves of lemon bergamot (also called lemon bee balm) are mostly used to flavor black tea. Lavender leaves can also be used as a flavoring. The tiny blue borage flowers give tea a cucumber taste and are best in ice water on a hot day.

Bulk teas or tea bags provide convenience, but teas from homegrown herbs can provide extra flavor and satisfaction. My favorite: a couple of just-picked sprigs of mint in hot water. Let the mint steep for five minutes, and enjoy both the aroma and the taste of the tea. There's nothing better.

It's easy to grow plants for herbal infusions, such as calendula, a variety of mints and pineapple sage in the container garden above, or rose hips and lavender in the photo at top. Photo: © 2019 Fred Greaves

Tea garden tips

Make sure your garden gets six to seven hours of sunlight each day. Morning and early afternoon sun is best, especially in California's valleys and lower foothills.
Use a watering system rather than hand watering.
Plant in good soil and add compost, but do not fertilize. Plants with scented leaves generally like to grow a little on the hard side. Don't pamper them.
You can dry leaves and flowers so you'll have them when plants are dormant. Hang sprigs of leaves to dry in a dark place, not in the sun. Once dry, strip leaves from stems, but keep them whole. They will hold their fragrance and flavor better than when crushed.
If you are drying leaves in small batches, go ahead and pick off the leaves and put them in a paper bag. Put the bag on the kitchen counter and shake it every time you walk by. This will keep the leaves from packing together or getting moldy before they dry. Once dry, store them in containers with tight lids in your kitchen cupboards.