In my quest to decrease the amount of caffeine I consume I've been drinking Celestial Seasoning's herbal teas. The teas are good but the cost does add up. I added Lemon balm and Monarda citriodora ( sometimes called Lemon mint) to the new front garden. This weekend I will harvest some of the Lemon balm and dry it in my new dehydrator (a Wal-Mart clearance purchase this summer). The LB has done very well considering I planted it in July and we had a miserably hot, and dry, summer. LB can be used to make a hot or cold tea and may also be added to black tea.
It will be probably late Spring of next year before I will have enough of the Monarda to harvest.
Peppermint, Spearmint, and Anise hyssop are favorites of mine so I want to add a few plants of each herb to the garden next year. The mints will either go into large pots to keep them under control or I will buy more landscape fabric which has worked well with some of the other invasive plants.
The dried tea herbs may be another item I can sell at market next year ... I'll have to add them to my list of possibilities. [smile]
4 comments:
You are right, Penny, the mints ARE invasive. So is the lemon balm. I started with a small plant and now it covers about 6' x 6' area! My whols herb bed needs redone in the spring as I wasn't able to do anythiong this summer with these knees of mine. We just mowed it off late summer and will see what comes up in the spring and what needs replaced. Another beautiful herb is bronze fennel (several uses, too) but it too in very invasive, but worth the beauty. Have fun with your herbs!
Gotta have our lists don't we!
Do you have a Big Lots close by? They have great teas and far less than grocery store prices. My favorite tea is Lady Gray...with cream and sugar it's my ultimate liquid comfort food.
Sounds like a great idea. I love herbal tea! I just started a small garden this past spring, and haven't tried many herbs yet.
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