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]
