Herb Gardens Tea Gardens. Herbs for tea are very easy to grow and very rewarding since you can use these herbs very easily without being a gourmet cook. First begin by thinking of what types of tea you like...look on the boxes of your favorite herbal blends for clues! And next you can think about magical purposes of the tea....ritual blends, preparatory blends and cleansing blends for pre-ritual, the magical powers of the herbs....and lastly, think about physical uses of the herbs...are they calming, energizing, etc? (If you take prescription medication , it is always a good idea to investigate the herbs for medical contradictions or interactions; and as always, consult with your physician.)
Easy to grow tea herbs include any of the mint family (including peppermint, spearmint and catnip) but these can be invasive in the garden so you may wish to plant these in a large container or grow them away in their own special bed. The mints can also revert/change each other if planted directly in the ground near each other, another reason for large pots rather than direct planting. Chamomile...the German Chamomile is what you want for teas and generally, just the dried flowers are used...it has a wonderful apple aroma! Lemon Balm is also a delicious tea herb, but is invasive like the mints...it can also be used fresh in lemonade and regular caffeinated teas for a fresh taste of lemon! Lavender blossoms add a sweetness to herbal teas. Rose petals and rose hips (the swollen head left after the rose petals fall) make good tea...the petals add a lovely sweet fragrance while the hips add a tartness, and are high in vitamin C.
Raspberry and strawberry leaves can also be used in teas, but they do not impart a fruity flavor...rather they can be useful for medicinal teas for women.
You may also wish to wild harvest herbs for teas, but take care not to harvest anything that may have been sprayed with pesticides! (like roadsides) Things like dandelion and mints often grow wild...dandelion is easy to identify :-) but if you are not sure about a plants identity, it is better to leave the plant alone.
Flea Repellant Herbs. These are nice to grow if you have dogs or cats and wish to have an herbal alternative to the chemicals used to prevent flea infestations. Once grown and dried they can be used in homemade flea collars, pet pillows and carpet/furniture potpourri (sprinkle under carpet edges and under cushions). Most of the time you should encase these herbs in cloth because they can be caustic to a pets skin or cause allergic reactions if handled directly. ***Special Caution: if you have young children, you may choose not to grow these or teach them to stay away from these herbs since they can be caustic to delicate skin and eyes. Rue can cause a nasty skin rash similar to poison ivy on some people, so please wear gloves when handling this herb.
Flea repellant herbs include pennyroyal, rue, flea bane and tansy. *These herbs will not kill the fleas, they simply discourage infestation.
A Smudging Garden can be grown using herbs that will be made into smudge sticks in the autumn. A good sage (traditionally white sage, but I use other sages because the white sage is a bit too acrid for my taste) is usually the base for smudges. I like to add other herbs like mugwort and lavender to my smudges. Other plant materials can also be added to smudges, like Juniper. You can also create smudges without sage...grow what you like to smell!
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