Terra's Garden
Monthly Column by Terra Hangen

The traditional black tea that so many of us love comes from the Camellia sinensis plant, which home gardeners rarely grow in order to harvest the leaves. Happily, you can easily grow herbs and make your own herb teas. 

“May you always have walls for the winds, a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire, laughter to cheer you, those you love near you, and all your heart might desire.”
- Irish Blessing

If you love mellowing out in your garden, sitting on a strategically placed bench or chair while sipping tea, you can increase your pleasure by drinking tea grown right there under your very nose, and plucked moments ago. Talk about fresh!

 

Plant any of these herbs in a sunny, well-drained garden corner, or in a container, and you will soon be harvesting leaves for making tea. The exception to needing well-drained soil is the mint family, which loves moist soil. Mint is an aggressive family of plants that will spread with runners, which you may or may not like. I don’t mind my mint wandering around my garden, and popping up in unexpected places, but some gardeners prefer to restrain mint’s wild tendencies by growing it in containers.

 

Mint

Mint makes a delightful tea; for a cup of this refreshing brew add 1 tablespoon of fresh leaves to 6 to 8 ounces of boiling water and steep the leaves for 5 to 10 minutes in a tea ball (or strain the leaves out when pouring). To branch out into adventuresome flavors, plant chocolate mint, orange mint and spearmint, and add one tablespoon of each to 4 cups of boiling water, for a unique brew that is excellent hot or iced.

 

Chamomile 

Like mint, chamomile is a tea that is relaxing, and thus can be enjoyed any time, including at bedtime. Two types of plants, Roman or English chamomile (Anthemis nobilis or Chamaemelum nobile) and German chamomile (Matricaria recutita) make fine apple-scented tea when you steep 1 tablespoon of fresh flowers in 6 to 8 ounces of boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes. Strain it before drinking or use a tea ball for the flowers.

 

Rose Hips  

Rose hips form on rose bushes after the flowers are done blooming, and when the hips turn red they are ripe and can be picked for making Rose Hip Tea. Rose hips are widely lauded for containing more vitamin C in 2 or 3 hips than an orange contains. Be sure you haven’t sprayed the rose bush or applied systemic food which contains insecticides! Rose hips from any roses can be used for tea, but Rosa rugosa hips are preferred, and those bushes are prolific rose hip factories. 

 

Steep 2 tablespoons of freshly harvested rose hips in a cup of boiling water for about 10 minutes. If you are using hips that you dried, they will need to steep for 10 to 15 minutes. For variety add 3 or 4 whole cloves while steeping, and be sure to strain out the hips and cloves before drinking.

 

Lemon Verbena  

Lemon Verbena (Aloysia triphylla, also called Lippia citriodora) has leaves with an unusually pure lemon scent. Also called Herb Louise or Lemon beebrush, this leggy herb can reach 6 feet tall if not pinched back, prefers full sun and light soil and needs plenty of water. Use the leaves and flower tips for lemony scented tea, 1 tablespoon per cup of water. The preferred fragrance of Laura Ingalls Wilder, and of Scarlett O’Hara’s mother was lemon verbena.

 

Lemon Balm 

Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis L.) is a lemon scented member of the mint family, and like other mints prefers moist soil and partial shade, but will grow in full sun, and appreciates plenty of water. A fresh sprig set at the top of a glass of ice tea is a thoughtful touch. Lemon balm makes excellent hot or ice tea.

 

Ice Tea 

Ice tea is welcome in my house on any hot day. Just make any of the above teas double strength, by doubling the amount of herb or rose hip per cup of water. Adding lemon verbena or lemon balm when brewing is always a tasty variation to mint or chamomile ice tea.

A gourmet touch is to brew some strong mint or other herb tea, pour it into ice cube trays ahead of time, and add the herb tea ice cubes to your ice tea. That way the tea doesn’t become too watered down, and holds its flavor to the last drop.

 

“Come along inside … We’ll see if tea and buns can make the world a better place.”
-Kenneth Grahame in “Wind in the Willows”
 

About the Author: For more of Terra Hangen's garden tidbits, fun garden photos of her black squirrel friend, tips for beginning writers, and a glimpse into her own journey as a writer visit her blog at http://terragarden.blogspot.com. She is celebrating the publication of her first book, Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts, written with 6 Christian writer friends, and scheduled for publication Oct. 2008 by Leafwood Publishers.