Creating a Tea Garden: Herbal Style

You may think of a Tea Garden as that area outside of a traditional Japanese Tea House, but we can call another type of garden a tea garden when its used for growing herbs that are suitable to be used in herbal teas.

These are not technically considered "tea" because authentic tea is made from one species, namely Camelia Sinensis. Teas that are made from herbs are called infusions according to herbal experts.

You can call it whatever you want, but most people don't order a 'hot camomile infusion' at the local health food cafe. Its refered to as herbal tea primarily as a distinction of its lack of caffeine, which natural Black and Green teas possess.

A collection of various herbs suitable to make tea is a great way to broaden the uses for your herbal medicine cabinet. Herbs are multi-taskers when it comes to benefits. Not only do manyherbs provide fragrance and contain aromatic oils, but these essential oils can provide aromatherapy benefits or drank as a tea to reap the benefits as a beverage.

Jasmine, Lavendar, Rose, and Rosemary are common herbs grown in many gardens and are suitable for teas.

As most herb gardens are grown in containers or raised beds for easy access and organization (as are many food crops) tea/herbs can be grown in the same fashion. Grouped together with other ornamental shrubs, they can provide a fun activity of browsing through the garden and picking some material to make a tea.

• Jasmine - A highly fragrant flower used in teas, incense and essential oils. Jasmine has a delicate and enticing flavor. It grows in full sun to semi-shade and if
  its a vining form, will need a trellis or some other type of support. The flowers are what is used to make the tea.
• Violets - A very popular annual source of color for beds and containers, Violet flowers make a great tea as well. Violets tolerate a variety of sun exposures depending on the cultivar but usually its shade. The dried leaves and flowers are used to make the infusion.
• Stevia -  Because of its natural sweetness, it is used in place of sugar and suitable for an herbal infusion. Stevia is not cold hardy and so should be grown in containers or pots that can be moved indoors. Dry the sweet leaves to bring out the sweetness.
• Lavender - a diverse herb used to reduce tension headaches, induce sleep and provide relaxation, it is softly fragrant. The many species of Lavender provide an adundanance of textures and looks great used with rock gardens and mixed with other yellow and gold flowering plants. Use the buds to make tea.
• Lemon Verbena - a tangy lemony taste is derived from the leaves. Most all Verbenas are easy to grow. check the cultural requirements of other species that may compliment the Lemon variety.
• Rose Hips - rose hips form after the bush goes to seed and are the seed cases. They will turn reddish orange right before you should pick them. A very expensive essential oil, Rose Hips used for tea will give you yet another reason to grow Roses.
• Marjoram - Not a very popular tea, the herb has a fruity, citrus flavor. Use the leaves and flowers for the infusion. 
• Mint - A very popular flavor since it provides a refreshing and uplifting taste and is considered a stimulant as an herb. Peppermint is usually easy to grow and enjoys sunny and partly sunny exposures. Once it takes hold, it can become invasive, so either keep it in containers, or provide a border so that you can contain its spreading. Use the leaves to make the tea.
• Chamomile - An apple scented herb, used traditionally to induce calm and sleep. It likes full sun to semi-shade. The flowers are the preferred part for infusing.
• Cilantro (aka Coriander) - used widely as a culinary herb, is also used to make tea having a flavor reminiscent of Lady Grey tea.  Spicy and acidic are its flavor qualities. Prefers full sun to semi-shade and is a good herb for containers. The leaves are used for tea.
• Thyme - A lesser known herb that can be used for tea, but is more suitable for medicinal purposes especially for stomach issues and throat soothing. It is tolerant of full sun and semi-shade and is an ideal container herb. Use the leaves for tea - if flowers are present, these can also be added. Thyme is a great ground cover, especially the varieteis that get no more than 6" high. used as a ground cover where you may step on it, provides a sweet fragrant experience.
• Bergamot - Bergamot carries an orange essence flavor. The plant produces bright red, purple, or pink flowers and likes full sun or semi-shade. The leaves and flowers are suitable for tea.
• Rosemary - Rosemary has long been used in infusions for easing emotional depression and blood circulation issues. This plant prefers strong full sun but will tolerate light shade, and requires well-drained soil. Very pungent fragrance contained in all parts of the plant as it contains aromatic oils.

Making An Herbal Tea Garden Seating Area

Pick a spot in your garden that is flat, about 10 x 10 should do fine.

Lay an assortment of bricks or other flat stones or flagstone in irregular pattern as your patio flooring. Create a circular shape best you can. the outer edges don't have to be perfect. Allow enough planting space between the stones 3" 6" to plant Thyme from seed.

Install (3) 4 x 6 trellises on three sides of the outer part of the circle with an arbor/trellis type structure as the entrance. So where ever the arbor is placed, the other trellises will be at 12:00, 3:00 and 9:00 o'clock positions. Iron or other metal trellises are preferred over wood. they do make plastic to look like wood, and would withstand the weather better as well.

Fasten the trellises to a couple of 2 x3 - posts embeded in a concrete footing.

Tip: Before planting anything check your Plant Hardiness Zone for your area and make plant selections that will tolerate the cold or just live with the fact that they will not survive.

Jasmine would be a great vine to plant on one of the trellises, but you must live in a high Plant Hardiness Zone such as 10 or 11. Use other vines for the other trellises like Clematis, Passion Flower or other flowering vines. Consider using Needle Point English Ivy to provide structure to the area and an evergreen look.

At the base of the trellises on opposite sides, use square raised containers and plant smaller varieties of herbs. At the base of the trellis opposite the entrance, cluster a group of containers, say about five, with different heights and sizes. Stay away from really small pots - anything with less than a 12" plantable area is considered more appropriate on a potting shelf or indoors.

Mix some perenial flowering shrubs with annuals for year round variety. Mix in the herbs either in the pots or in the ground near the trellises to fill in and create an enclosure. Use some of the larger growing herbs about 2-3 feet back to provide depth and to provide a backdrop for the lower foreground plantings.

To the left or the right of the entrance, place a bench that is positioned to give you an interesting view of some distance feature beyond your new herbal tea garden. It is not intended to be a totally enclosed area, but you could create one if desired.

Adjust the stones under the bench feet to create stability without rocking.

Since you just planted the tea garden, you will have to use a short cut and buy some ready made herbal tea at the health food store, then make some and enjoy your new tea garden as you contemplate its potential.

John Stuart Leslie is creator and founder of Virtual Garden Designer. Now you can work with an experienced landscape desiger online to have your garden or landscape designed professionally with ease and convenience. He holds a Master's degree in Landscape Architecture and has been a landscape designer and contractor for over 20 years.