Growing your own tea garden in Houston is easier than you think!

Find a sunny windowsill or outside location with at least four hours of sunlight per day. Herbs are more forgiving than vegetables when it comes to sunlight needs. Next, determine how much space you have to work with. Some herbs are easily grown in pots while others like to sprawl and trail. 

Consider your own taste preferences. What flavor profiles do you enjoy? Aim to experiment with a new herb or edible flower and you may just find that perfect tea combo. Some of our favorite tea herbs are mint, lavender, chamomile, and lemon verbena, but lately I’ve been wondering how basil tea would taste. If you like a nice sour tang, hibiscus is going to be your go-to.

If space is an issue, select herbs like thyme, sage and rosemary. The rosemary and sage will grow upright while the thyme can spill over the edge of a container or pot placed in a sunny kitchen windowsill. These are beautiful companions plants and require little more than sunlight, sandy loam soil and an inch of water each week. 

Raised bed and kitchen gardens are perfect for larger herbs including lemon balm, bee balm, lemongrass, chamomile, lavender and fennel. Edible flowers like calendula, nasturtium, and hibiscus are also happiest with more breathing room. 

Our favorite tea herb, mint, prefers to grow alone as it does not play well with others. Given the chance, it will spread quickly and overtake an entire garden bed. However, mint is absolutely perfect when grown in containers ~ even in partial to nearly full shade. It survives hot humid summers and freezing cold temperatures. We love growing mint in large antique pots on the front porch. It looks great year round, smells glorious, and makes for a wonderful tea! 

One of the many benefits of growing herbs is that they are ready for harvest almost instantly. A snip or two each day will actually encourage your plant to continue growing and resist bolting. Just remember never to harvest more than 1/3 of the plant at one time, unless you’re absolutely done growing it. When you harvest too much at once, it sends the plant into stress mode (similar to when you trim your bangs too short!). Mint is the exception to this rule. It survives just about everything. 

Harvest in the morning to enjoy fresh and flavorful leaves and flowers. You can also dry and store herbs for future use. Make sure to dry them thoroughly or mold will set in.

When you grow your own, you’ll simply never look at grocery store herbs again.