Grow Your Own Herbal Tea Garden – It’s Easier Than You Think!
Are you adventurous enough to drink more than just one type of tea? If so, why haven’t you started growing your own herbal teas yet? It’s healthy, delicious, and it grows right at your fingertips!
The collection in this photo is only a small sample of the wide range you can grow in our beautiful Australia.
Growing herbs and plants for tea is a permanent component of our food forest. It’s not only part of our sustainable living choices but also great fun to have such diversity in the cupboard. And look at the colours nature offers us!
All of the plants shown are either perennials or self-seeding, and they’re grown naturally without any chemicals. You only need to plant them once, and from then on, the only work is the harvest. They’re all happy in their own place in the food forest, just waiting to be picked any time of the year. I take my basket, cut what I like, and let it dry in a safe place—like a netting bag on the patio, in our pantry, or in a dehydrator, depending on the weather.
Every plant I grow for tea has multiple uses in the kitchen, and we also use them fresh in our everyday cooking. It’s definitely worth growing them for the little care they require.
The plants used for tea that you see in the photo are:
- Lemon Grass (Cymbopogon citratus)
- Cranberry Hibiscus (Hibiscus acetosella)
- Butterfly Pea (Clitoria ternatea) – the purple and the blue one, with and without lemon juice
- Rosella (Hibiscus sabdariffa)
- Lemon Verbena (Aloysia citrodora)
- Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis)
- Elderberry flower (Sambucus)
- Mulberry Leaf (Morus nigra)
But don’t stop at herbs! Many fruit trees also offer leaves or flowers that make delicious, healthy teas. Here are some wonderful additions for your tea garden, all suitable for growing across Australia:
- Citrus leaves (lemon, orange, lime, or kaffir lime) – they add a bright, refreshing citrus note
- Guava leaves – rich in antioxidants with a mild, earthy flavour
- Fig leaves (Ficus carica) – surprisingly, they lend a subtle coconut-almond aroma to tea
- Loquat leaves – gently fruity and soothing
- Feijoa (pineapple guava) – both the flowers and leaves make a fragrant, tropical-tasting brew
- Apple or pear leaves – use sparingly for a gentle, fruity infusion (apple leaves also add a hint of marzipan)
- Starfruit (Averrhoa carambola) – the young leaves make a mild, slightly sour tea that is traditionally used for cooling and digestion
- Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) – the leaves can be dried for a subtle, earthy tea; they are also rich in antioxidants
- Moringa (Moringa oleifera) – often called the “miracle tree”; its leaves make a nutrient-dense, slightly peppery tea that is packed with vitamins and minerals
All of these are so pretty you could grow them in your front yard! Homegrown herbal tea makes a beautiful gift for family and friends. It’s also a great opportunity to involve kids in the “tea garden” and show them how easy and rewarding it is. If you’d like to see how I grow and harvest my tea, check out the video on my YouTube channel, and also visit my online store at www.foodforestseeds.au for young plants and seeds.
A few tips:
- The best harvesting time is the morning after the dew has evaporated
- Collect only healthy-looking leaves or flowers
- You can make tea from fresh herbs, but dried leaves and flowers give more flavour
- The perfect temperature for drying herbs is 40-50 °C
- The tea is ready for storage when the leaves are dry and crackly
Gardening tip for beginners:
The better the soil, the better the plant. There are many ways to enrich the soil naturally without using chemical fertilisers.
Yours,
Ewa
Disclaimer: Do your own research before trying any new foods. Please also note our disclaimer in the footer of this page.