Creative Gardening

A Child's Garden Coleus Gallery Creating a Cook's Garden Herb Teas Herbs as Groundcover

Living Wreaths Making Herbal Vinegars and Oils Planting Herbs in Combinations Preserving Herbs

Herbal teas not only have delicious flavor but they can be therapeutic as well, by easing digestion, soothing the stomach, relaxing nerves, warming-up or cooling-down the body, and lifting the spirits.

The general rule of thumb for making herb tea:

* 1 tsp dried herbs or 1 Tbsp fresh herbs to 1 cup of boiling water.

* Let steep at least 5 minutes but no longer...steeping too long tends to bring out a bitter taste. For a stronger tea use more herbs instead of a longer steeping time.

* If you find that you miss the 'kick' of your regular black tea, try adding herbs to a weak black tea for flavor. Lemon Verbena, Mints, and Chamomile are excellent choices.

* Another option is to add dried raspberry or strawberry leaves to an herbal blend because they contain the natural chemical called 'tannin' which is also found in black tea and will make the taste more acidic.

Pantry Garden Herbs offers an assortment pack of flavorful and fragrant herbs for creating the best herbal teas. Use them fresh or dried in any combination. The Tea Herb Assortment Pack consists of six plants, one each of any of the following: Roman Chamomile, Apple Mint, Lemon Balm, Lemon Verbena, Mint Julep, Pinepple Sage, Catmint and Stevia.

Click here to purchase the Tea Herb Assortment Pack

Have you tried Stevia?

Stevia is an herb that is just now gaining in popularity. It's about time too, for this amazing herb is 20 times sweeter than sugar! Simply add Stevia - either fresh or dried to your herbal blend, one or two leaves per cup should be plenty.

Click here for more about Stevia

This is my favorite late night tea; calming, comforting and flavorful.
Make this with fresh or dried herbs in any proportion you like best.

Chamomile flowers
Pineapple Sage flowers
Pineapple Sage leaves
Lemon Verbena leaves
Mint Julep leaves
grated orange peel
Rose Hips

Combine all the above ingredients. To use, pour 1 cup boiling water over 1 tsp dried or 1 Tbs. fresh tea herb mix and let steep 5 minutes.

Serve hot.

1/4 cup dried raspberry leaves
1/2 cup dried chamomile flowers
1/4 cup dried lemon balm, lemon grass or lemon verbena
1/2 cup dried orange peel

Combine all the above ingredients and store in an air-tight bag, jar or tin. To use, pour 1 cup boiling water over 1 tsp tea mix and let steep 5 minutes.

Serve hot or iced.

1 cup dried lemon verbena
1/2 cup dried chamomile flowers
1/2 cup dried orange mint
1/2 cup dried orange zest
1 Tbsp whole cloves
1/2 cinnamon stick
2 Tbsp dried stevia

Mix all the above ingredients in an air-tight jar, bag or tin.
To use, pour 1 cup boiling water over 1 tsp tea mix and allow to steep about 5 minutes.

Delicious hot or iced.