Essential Herb Varieties For the Beginner Tea Growers

Deb recommends beginning your herb gardening experience by cultivating several essential herbs. She suggests starting with chamomile and lemon balm – two easy-to-grow mint relatives that provide relaxing effects for the nervous system.

She recommends milk thistle seeds (a perennial) as immune system boosters and prefers echinacea as it’s both easy to grow and an effective antiviral remedy.

Mint

Mint is a well-known herb, making it easy and versatile enough for any tea garden. Peppermint and spearmint are particularly helpful at soothing digestive discomfort and freshening breath, but you could also experiment with pineapple mint, chocolate mint, lemon verbena, anise hyssop or corsican mint to vary flavors in your garden. Although mint plants require full sun conditions for optimal growth, these hardy perennials don’t mind partial shade either!

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) is another common herb with numerous health advantages. It can ease breathing for patients suffering from respiratory conditions, acting as a natural decongestant when combined with other herbs in tea form. Rosemary is also an anti-inflammatory and antibacterial herb which has been shown to help improve memory in older adults, making it perfect for senior care settings. Rosemary typically grows as an annual in the Northern climates but may overwinter if yours does – just place in a pot if necessary!

Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) is an indispensable addition to any herbal tea garden. Its sweet fragrance helps ease anxiety and relaxes tension, making it perfect for making soothing tea. Furthermore, this perennial boasts anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties to treat skin ailments like acne and eczema; plus it thrives under full sunlight with a long harvest season!

Horehound, commonly found in old-timey cough syrups and making an enjoyable beverage when brewed. As part of the mint family, horehound grows easily in sunny gardens or containers – although additional care must be given as it needs rich soil with plenty of moisture and protection from afternoon sunlight to avoid scorching.

Simple herbal tea preparation requires adding leaves to boiling water and letting them steep for 3-4 minutes, adding honey or another sweetener if desired for additional flavor enhancement. Fresh herbs offer the most intense flavors due to keeping essential oils intact and providing more of their essential oils with every sip!

Chamomile

Chamomile is a daisy-like flower with many different varieties and colors that has long been used as an herbal medicine remedy. While its flowers can be used to make tea, its leaves can also be harvested and dried for herbal uses. Both the flowers and leaves of chamomile contain medicinal properties which may help with insomnia and digestive issues as well as offering anti-inflammatory benefits, making chamomile an excellent addition to tea when experiencing stress or tension.

German (Matricaria recutita) and Roman, or English chamomiles (Chamaemelum nobile) chamomile are two popular choices for tea, belonging to the Asteraceae family as perennial herbs and producing essential oils with high concentrations of chamazulene that provide relaxing properties – with German having more concentration than Roman in this regard making it the better option.

Both types of chamomile are easy to cultivate. Plant it either through seeding or transplanting in early spring for best results in sunny borders or herb gardens. Although frost-tolerant, it’s essential that chamomile plants be protected during their growth season to extend their growing period and protect it from cold weather in order to extend it as much as possible.

Once a plant has become established, it becomes very resistant to disease and insect pests; its roots however are more vulnerable due to being susceptible to fungal diseases like downy mildew and fusarium. Flowers however are susceptible to both fungi and insects but these can easily be pulled away from the plant for drying later.

German Chamomile flowers are among the most frequently utilized annuals that produce fragrant blue oil, known for its anti-inflammatory and antispasmodic effects as well as having antimicrobial and antifungal properties, according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Additionally, its essential oil has proven anxiolytic effects in clinically anxious patients while simultaneously improving mood in women suffering menstrual pain.

Lemon Balm

Lemon Balm, Melissa officinalis, is an evergreen perennial that thrives in moist but well-draining soil conditions. Ideal for cottage gardens or edible landscapes to add fragrance and texture to herb beds and containers as well as low border plantings along pathways or flower beds, lemon Balm is also great choice for naturalized areas as its dense clumps provide shelter and food sources for pollinators and small insects alike.

Lemon balm requires regular watering during active growth to keep its soil lightly moist; however, it’s relatively drought-tolerant and can survive dry conditions without overwatering. Overwatering will increase chances of rot and mildew growth; during its growth season use a watering can or spray bottle to apply diluted organic liquid fertilizer or compost tea at regular intervals in order to supplement its outdoor lemon balm plants with frequent applications; any excessive use may reduce or degrade aroma in its leaves.

Indoors, misting systems or pebble trays are both useful ways of controlling moisture levels and mitigating fungal diseases that plague this species in hot, dry climates. A humidifier may also help reduce fungal diseases that threaten lemon balm plants in such climates. Lemon balm tends to be pest resistant but beware of aphids and spider mites which often flourish under hot, dry conditions with overgrown or overcrowded plants – in these instances you should spray leaves and soil with Neem oil or insecticidal soap or use strong water hose to knock them off as necessary.

Harvest regularly to maintain freshness and increase yields, or dry the leaves for long-term storage. Drying enhances lemon balm’s delicate flavor and makes it the perfect ingredient for herbal teas, sachets and homemade seasoning blends. You can dry lemon balm outdoors in direct sunlight; indoors on a baking sheet/screen in cool temperatures; or by hanging sprigs from ceiling in dark and humid places. Alternatively, leave can also be dried using food processor or blender, providing added protein punch to smoothies/soups/baking goods!

For maximum flavor and potency, it is best to grow lemon balm from tip or root cuttings rather than seeds. This method is simpler, more reliable, and produces identical plants to their parent plant. Alternatively, mature clumps may be divided in spring or fall for propagation purposes.

Oswego Tea

Oswego Tea (Monarda didyma) is an attractive wildflower known to attract bees and butterflies, growing rapidly in full sunlight with well-draining soil conditions. The leaves of this perennial herb have dark green, oval shaped leaves with minty fragrance while its vibrant red flowers grow up to 1.5 meters tall in dense clusters surrounded by round stalks of individual tubular flowers forming dense clusters reminiscent of citrus bergamia (Citrus bergamia). Native Americans and early settlers referred to Oswego Tea as Wild Bergamot or Bergamot Bee Balm; thus it was given its name from Oswego River in New York where its tribe resided.

Oswego Tea flower petals have long been used both medicinally and as culinary garnish. Their fragrant blooms add vibrant color and sweet taste to summer iced teas and lemonades; mixed drinks; cocktails; bee balm leaves make a delicious alternative to mint in salads; they add sweet yet savory notes to herbal greens; they even make for lovely arrangements when fresh or dried flowers are included!

Oswego tribe historically relied on bee balm for coughs and colds, fevers, stomach aches and perspiration in cases of upper respiratory ailments. Tea made from this herb was consumed to ease indigestion and relieve gas. Native Americans took leaves and flowers boiled with Oswego Tea to ease rheumatism and arthritis pain relief while Lakota tribe members used boiled Oswego Tea boiled with leaves to relieve eyes swelling problems while Menominee used Oswego Tea for reduced catarrh reduction whereas Kiowa used it to ease abdominal pain relief.

Oswego Tea has long been considered an effective treatment for menstrual discomfort in women and can assist with fluid retention. Being a diuretic, this herbal product promotes urine production while decreasing blood pressure; however, evidence supporting its use for other conditions remains scarce.

Oswego Tea should not be taken during pregnancy or breastfeeding because it could cause contraction of the uterus and result in miscarriage. Furthermore, taking excess medical dosages of Oswego Tea could prove unsafe for health reasons.