FinnMcOwl
Full Member
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed Sep 13, 2017 7:01 pm

Growing edible plants for making tea?

Hi there :)!

I'm new to gardening and thought a fun place to start would be with some plants that I can use for making tea. From what I've researched, I can't really grow tea (camellia sinensis) where I live in the South of Canada, but figured I could start with some herbs, etc. I saw another thread about growing echinacea so I'm keeping an eye on that. Making tea from flowers like this https://teaperspective.com/flower-tea-you-can-grow/ seems interesting, but there are a lot of choose from and I'm limited in space and time, so I want to start with maybe 3, especially ones that would blend together nicely.

Chamomile seems popular, echinacea, and I'm trying to think of one more option if anyone has any suggestions!

I want to get an early start on it this year so I'm in research mode now. I also came across this https://www.chatelaine.com/home-decor/10 ... ul-garden/ and was wondering if anyone knows off hand which ones might be tasty/okay for blending with other plants to make herbal teas, and if anyone knows any better resources.

Thanks so much!

PS - I saw this thread viewtopic.php?f=29&t=34271 which I'm going to read through, but not sure if that's the right place for this question since I'm also looking for flowers and not just herbs, I want a pretty garden that I can also... well... drink :)

User avatar
rainbowgardener
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 25279
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

All the things I posted in tea herbs ARE flowers. Bee balm is beautiful and very attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds. Anise hyssop is my favorite for flavor for tea blends, makes yummy ones. Mint of course is classic for teas and other beverages (mint julep, mojitos, mint lemonade, etc) . And I love lavender in tea blends and it is also beautiful and attractive to pollinators.

Personally in a tea garden, I would want all of those.

bee balm comes in lots of shades of pink and red and also white:
Image
Image

anise hyssop flowers are less showy, but also attractive to honeybees and butterflies. It comes in various shades of lavender/ purple and pink. They are very pretty as shown here, mixed with yellow flowers:
Image

lavender flowers are a beautiful deep purple and the foliage is attractive silvery green:
Image

I've never had echinacea tea, but I think it may be more medicinal than flavorful. Chamomile is a very delicate flavor, you might even say a bit insipid unless mixed with other things. And it is a royal pain, since all the thousands of tiny flowers have to be individually pulled/clipped off.
Image



Return to “What Doesn't Fit Elsewhere”