How to Grow an Herbal Tea Garden: Plants, Layout, and First Harvest
Pick seven easy herbs for tea, group them by sun and water on a patio or bed, then harvest, dry, and brew your own blends.
How to grow an herbal tea garden
Boxed herbal tea adds up fast. If you already buy chamomile or peppermint by the box, you can grow the same herbs on a patio. Our advice: a few pots or one small bed is enough to start brewing your own.
Here’s the short version:
- Pick from seven herbs we have full growing guides for. The list is below.
- Plant herbs with similar water needs together. That’s Clemson Extension’s rule, and the layout section shows how.
- Harvest a little at a time, and dry what you won’t brew fresh.
- Blend for flavor. Mix and taste until you find the cup you like.
This page covers growing and flavor, not health effects. Each plant guide has its own safety notes, and you should read them before you drink that herb.
New to growing in pots? Our Start your first medicinal herb garden guide covers pots, drainage, and where to put them.
The best herbs for an herbal tea garden
These seven are a good start for a tea garden. Each herb’s name links to its full growing guide. The group letter tells you where it goes in the layout below.
| Herb | Part for tea | Flavor or scent | Life cycle | Group | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| German chamomile, Matricaria chamomilla | Flower heads | A “distinctive apple scent”; German flowers “taste sweeter in tea” (chamomile guide) | Annual | A | NC State; chamomile guide |
| Thyme, Thymus vulgaris | Leaves and flowering tops | Savory (our advice) | Perennial | A | NC State; thyme guide |
| Anise hyssop, Agastache foeniculum | Leaves and flowers | “An anise or licorice scent” (NC State) | Short-lived perennial | A | NC State; Wisconsin Extension |
| Holy basil, Ocimum tenuiflorum | Leaves | “A mix of clove, mint, and basil flavor” (NC State) | Frost-tender; grown as an annual in most of the US | B | NC State; holy basil guide |
| Bee balm, Monarda | Leaves and flowers | Scarlet bee balm (M. didyma): “a minty aroma when crushed” (NC State) | Perennial | B | NC State; bee balm guide |
| Peppermint, Mentha × piperita | Leaves, picked before the plant flowers (peppermint guide) | “That unmistakable minty aroma” (peppermint guide) | Perennial | C | NC State; peppermint guide |
| Lemon balm, Melissa officinalis | Leaves and flowers | “A fragrant lemony odor” (Wisconsin Extension) | Perennial | C | NC State; Wisconsin Extension |
Three of these names cause mix-ups at the garden center:
- Chamomile: Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) is a different plant. Our chamomile guide covers both, but German chamomile “is more often used for tea,” according to NC State.
- Holy basil: Thai basil isn’t holy basil. It’s a kind of sweet basil. See how to tell them apart.
- Anise hyssop: it isn’t anise, and it isn’t hyssop. See the comparison.
Clemson Extension’s tea-garden list also includes lemon verbena, lavender, spearmint, stevia, and calendula (Clemson HGIC). We also have guides to stinging nettle and mullein.
Herbal tea garden layout: group plants by sun and water
“Most herbal plants used for tea prefer full sun (6+ hrs.) and well-draining, organic, amended soil,” says Clemson Extension. Its rule for laying them out is just as plain: “Keep herbs with similar watering needs planted together.”
Note the “most,” though. Thyme and chamomile prefer leaner ground, as the table below shows.
Each group is our advice, based on each plant’s own extension source:
- Group A: full sun, tolerates dry spells. Thyme, German chamomile, and anise hyssop.
- Group B: full sun, even moisture. Holy basil and bee balm.
- Group C: takes part shade. Peppermint and lemon balm. Lemon balm is flexible about water. It’s here for the shade, since our lemon balm guide suggests morning sun with afternoon shade in hot climates.
| Group | Herb | Sun | Water and soil | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Thyme | Full sun | Dry, sandy, or rocky soil; needs good drainage; drought tolerant | NC State |
| A | Chamomile | Full sun. Our chamomile guide adds that some afternoon shade helps in very hot climates. | Moist to dry, well-drained soil; avoid rich, heavy, or wet soil | NC State |
| A | Anise hyssop | Full sun to partial shade | Tolerates drought once established; does well in moist soil if it drains; may get root rot in wet soil | Wisconsin Extension |
| B | Holy basil | Full sun | Moist, well-drained soil; does poorly in waterlogged soil | NC State |
| B | Bee balm | At least 6 hours of direct sun; in partial shade it flowers less and is more prone to powdery mildew | Moist, well-drained soil with an even supply of moisture; water every 7 to 10 days in dry spells | Iowa State Extension |
| C | Peppermint | Full sun or partial shade; needs at least 3 hours of sun | Tolerates various soils “except for dry ones”; prefers rich, moist soil | NC State |
| C | Lemon balm | Full sun to partial shade | Moist to dry, well-drained soil; drought tolerant once established | NC State |
A sample patio layout
Before you copy this, watch how the sun moves across your own space for a day. The sunlight section of our start-your-garden guide shows you how.
Our advice, with an example: say your patio gets sun from late morning on, with shade from the house in late afternoon. Here’s how to arrange it.
- Group A pots go one plant to a pot, clustered along the sunniest, best-drained edge. If your summers run very hot, put chamomile at the end that gets afternoon shade first.
- Group B pots go side by side in full sun, near the hose or watering can.
- Group C pots go where the afternoon shade falls.
In a bed, use the same order: Group A at the sunniest, best-drained end, Group B in the middle, and Group C at the shadier, moister end.
Start with three herbs, one from each group. That’s enough to learn what each one needs.
Pots for tea herbs
Clemson’s article also notes that “Some herbs can thrive in pots and raised beds, as well, making an herbal tea garden possible for any growing space.”
Pot sizes from our guides:
- Thyme: at least 6 inches wide. It “prefers being a bit root-bound,” so don’t go bigger than you need (thyme guide).
- Lemon balm: at least 8 to 10 inches wide, one plant per pot (lemon balm guide). It’s “best to grow in a container on a patio or deck,” and it self-seeds (NC State).
- Peppermint: NC State suggests a pot 12 to 16 inches wide “to help control its aggressive spread” (NC State), and our peppermint guide agrees.
- Anise hyssop: a big pot, 18 to 20 inches across and at least 12 inches deep (anise hyssop guide).
- Bee balm: 5 to 10 gallons. “A pot also keeps the spreading roots in” (bee balm guide).
- Holy basil: 6 to 8 inches across, for a plant you’ll keep indoors (holy basil guide).
For chamomile’s pot size, see the chamomile guide.
Potting mix for Group A. Each guide gives its own mix:
- Chamomile: “regular potting mix with extra perlite mixed in for drainage,” and German chamomile “can handle average soil and even prefers it lean” (chamomile guide).
- Thyme: “standard potting soil with about 25% perlite or coarse sand” (thyme guide).
- Anise hyssop: an all-purpose potting mix with no added fertilizer (our anise hyssop guide’s advice).
Drainage. Every pot needs drainage holes. Skip the gravel layer in the bottom; our start-your-garden guide explains why.
Seeds, plants, or a kit?
“Most herbs can be successfully started by seed (basil, lemon balm, chamomile, stevia),” notes Clemson Extension. Clemson means basil in general, not holy basil specifically. For holy basil, see growing holy basil from seed.
Seed isn’t the easiest route for every herb on this page:
- Peppermint won’t grow true from seed. It’s a sterile hybrid, so start it from a cutting or a division (peppermint guide).
- Thyme seed takes patience, and “most gardeners skip the seed drama.” Cuttings are easier (thyme guide).
- Bee balm grows from seed, but that’s “the slow route.” Most newer varieties are sold as plants (bee balm guide).
Want to start several from one box? The Herbal Tea Garden Seeds Kit ad from Survival Garden Seeds includes a chamomile and a lemon balm. It also has spearmint (not peppermint), lavender, and echinacea.
The listing calls this the “German Chamomile Version”, but its FAQ says the set includes Roman chamomile. If you want German chamomile, check the packet for Matricaria chamomilla.
From garden to cup: harvest, dry, and brew
When and how to harvest herbs for tea
Clemson Extension gives two simple rules for tea herbs: “never take more than 1/3 of the plant at one time,” and “Avoid harvesting when plants are overly wet from rain or dew.” It also suggests picking early in the day, once the dew has dried and before the heat builds (Clemson HGIC).
The best moment to pick is different for each herb, and each guide covers it:
- Chamomile: just the flower heads.
- Lemon balm: leaves and tender stems.
- Peppermint: young leaves and stem tips.
- Thyme: the top 4 to 6 inches of tender growth.
- Holy basil, anise hyssop, and bee balm: each has a “when to harvest for tea” section.
How to dry herbs for tea
Our guide to drying herbs covers air, oven, and dehydrator drying, how to tell when herbs are done, and how to store them. Leaves and flowers dry differently. Sturdy herbs like thyme hang in small bundles. Tender, juicy leaves like lemon balm, the mints and basil can mold if they dry slowly, so they go in a paper bag or flat on a tray (tender herbs). Flowers like chamomile spread in a single layer on a screen or rack.
Lemon balm is worth drinking fresh while it’s growing. Its “dried leaves lose much of their aroma,” notes Wisconsin Extension.
Label every jar with the herb and the date. Keep the jars in a cool, dark cupboard.
Making tea from fresh or dried herbs
Hot tea: our guide to hot infusions gives amounts for fresh and dried herbs, plus steeping times. If you lose track of the timer, Clemson notes, “Unlike tea leaves, most herbs do not become bitter when steeped longer than suggested” (Clemson HGIC).
Cold tea: our guide to cold infusions uses cool water and a slow steep.
Blending your own herbal tea
Clemson Extension’s advice is to blend “based on the flavor profiles that you like.” Its own pick: “Lavender and lemon balm make an excellent iced tea for the dog days of summer” (Clemson HGIC).
Pairings to try, all from guides on this site:
- Chamomile and lemon balm (start-your-garden guide)
- Peppermint and lemon balm, or chamomile and peppermint (hot infusions)
- Mint and lemon balm, steeped cold (cold infusions)
- Anise hyssop with lemon balm or peppermint (anise hyssop guide)
Our advice for your own blends: start with one base herb and one accent. Taste it, then decide whether it needs a third. Thyme and holy basil have strong flavors, so start with a small amount and add more next time.
Before you drink it
These notes are about drinking these herbs, not growing them.
Every plant guide has a safety notes section. Read the one for each herb before you drink it, or before you serve it to anyone else:
If you have questions about any of these herbs, or have plant allergies, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.
Match each herb to its sun and water, pick no more than a third at a time, and dry what you won’t brew fresh. Each plant guide has the details when you need them.
Planning the rest of your patio? Start your first medicinal herb garden.