Why You Will Love This

The best herbs to grow for your own tea blends are peppermint, spearmint, lemon balm, chamomile, holy basil, lavender, rose and lemon verbena. Mint and lemon balm are the easiest starts, and together they make a fresh garden tea in ten minutes. Fall is a good time to cut the last leaves, dry them for winter, and brew a warm mug.

March is when you plant the herbs that will fill your mug all year. Mint spreads like it owns the place. Chamomile self-seeds if you let it. Lemon balm grows so fast you’ll harvest every two weeks from May through September. These eight herbs give you everything you need to make fresh herbal tea without buying another box of teabags.

The Story Behind It

I started my tea garden in a 4x8 raised bed five springs ago. The first year, I planted too much mint and it choked out the chamomile . Now I keep mint in its own pot and let lemon balm take over the back corner. By June, I’m harvesting handfuls of fresh leaves every morning for cold-brew tea. The plants come back stronger each year, and I spend maybe $40 on seeds and starts that give me 6-8 months of fresh tea material.

spring herb garden with young peppermint spearmint lemon balm and chamomile plants in raised bed with morning sunlight and watering can
Plant these eight herbs in late March through early April for fresh tea harvests starting in May.

What You Will Need

The Essential Eight Tea Herbs:

  • Peppermint (Mentha × piperita): 1-2 plants, full sun to part shade, USDA zones 3-9
  • Spearmint (Mentha spicata): 1-2 plants, full sun to part shade, zones 4-9
  • Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis): 2-3 plants, full sun to part shade, zones 4-9
  • Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla): German variety, seeds or starts, full sun, zones 2-8
  • Holy basil/Tulsi (Ocimum tenuiflorum): 2-3 plants, full sun, zones 10-11 (annual elsewhere)
  • Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia): 1-2 plants, full sun, zones 5-9
  • Rose (Rosa rugosa or Rosa damascena): 1 plant for petals, full sun, zones 2-9
  • Lemon verbena (Aloysia citrodora): 1-2 plants, full sun, zones 8-10 (container elsewhere)

Growing Supplies:

  • Potting soil or garden bed with good drainage
  • Containers (12-16 inches deep for mint, 18-24 inches for lemon verbena)
  • Organic fertilizer (fish emulsion or compost tea, diluted to half strength)
  • Mulch (2-3 inches of straw or wood chips)
  • Pruning shears
  • Drying racks or dehydrator (optional, for preserving excess harvest)

How to Grow Them

  1. Site Selection (Late March): Choose a spot with 6-8 hours of direct sunlight. Most tea herbs tolerate part shade but produce more essential oils in full sun. Chamomile and lemon balm handle afternoon shade well. Mint thrives anywhere but will take over a garden bed, so plant it in a pot sunk into the ground or keep it fully containerized.

  2. Soil Preparation: Mix native soil with 2-3 inches of compost. Tea herbs prefer well-draining soil with a pH of 6.0-7.0. Lavender needs especially good drainage and will rot in heavy clay. Add perlite or sand if your soil holds water.

  3. Planting (Early April): Space perennials 12-18 inches apart. Chamomile can be direct-seeded once soil temps hit 55°F (13°C), or started indoors 4 weeks before last frost. Holy basil and lemon verbena are frost-sensitive, so wait until nighttime temps stay above 50°F (10°C). Water deeply after planting, then let the top inch of soil dry between waterings.

  4. First Harvest (4-8 Weeks): Mint, lemon balm, and holy basil can be harvested when plants reach 6-8 inches tall. Cut stems 2-3 inches above the soil line, leaving at least 4-6 leaves for regrowth. Chamomile flowers are ready when the petals are fully open but before they start to droop. Lavender blooms in late May to June, so cut when buds show color but before they’re fully open. Pick rose petals in the morning after the dew dries.

  5. Maintenance: Pinch growing tips every 2 weeks to encourage bushiness. Fertilize monthly with diluted fish emulsion (1 tablespoon per gallon). Mint and lemon balm will try to flower by July, so cut them back by one-third to keep leaf production high. Deadhead chamomile to extend the bloom period, or let it self-seed for next year’s crop.

  6. Overwintering: Perennials (mint, lemon balm, lavender, rose) die back in fall and return in spring. Mulch roots with 3-4 inches of straw after the first hard frost. Lemon verbena is tender, so bring containers indoors before frost or take cuttings to overwinter on a sunny windowsill. Holy basil is an annual. It dies with frost but self-seeds readily in zones 7+.

hands harvesting fresh peppermint and lemon balm leaves into wicker basket in morning light with dew on leaves
Harvest in the morning after dew dries but before the heat of the day, when essential oil content is highest.

Herbalist Notes

On Mint Varieties: Peppermint is the menthol one, and you can tell the instant you crush a leaf, because it goes cold at the back of your nose. Spearmint carries almost none of it, which is why spearmint reads as sweet and grassy where peppermint reads as sharp. If menthol is too much for you, or you’re making tea for someone who finds peppermint overwhelming, plant spearmint and stop worrying about it. Both are carminatives in Western herbalism, the after-dinner category, and both have been used that way since at least the 1st century CE in Dioscorides’ writings.

On Lemon Balm’s Calm: Melissa officinalis is the classic Western nervine, the plant that turns up in every European herbal under headings about frayed nerves and troubled thoughts. Its genus name comes from the Greek word for honeybee, which tells you what has always been growing near it. It contains rosmarinic acid, and it smells like clean lemon with a herbal edge before you’ve even poured water on it. Traditionally it’s combined with chamomile for restlessness, and the two taste good together, which matters in a bedtime blend.

On Chamomile: German chamomile is the bedtime flower of the entire European tradition, and it contains apigenin, the compound you’ll see named on every box of it. It tastes like apples and hay, faintly bitter at the end if you steep it too long. Fresh flowers make a milder tea than dried, and a shorter steep keeps the bitterness out.

Fresh Peppermint and Lemon Balm Tea

Makes about 3 cups. Prep 10 minutes, steep 10 minutes.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup fresh peppermint leaves
  • 1/2 cup fresh lemon balm leaves
  • 3 cups filtered water
  • Honey or sugar, to taste (optional)

Instructions

  1. Pick the mint and lemon balm, ideally in the morning. Strip the leaves from the stems and rinse them.
  2. Tear the leaves by hand and put them in a jar, pitcher or French press.
  3. Bring the water to a boil, take it off the heat and pour it over the leaves.
  4. Steep about 10 minutes, or longer for a stronger tea.
  5. Strain, sweeten if you like, and serve hot or chilled.

Make It Your Own

The mint to lemon balm ratio is flexible, so lean toward whichever your garden is producing. Try spearmint instead of peppermint for a sweeter, gentler cup, or add a few chamomile flowers once your plants bloom. Lemon verbena is potent, so use it sparingly (1-2 leaves per cup), and go lighter still with lavender . 3-4 buds per pot is enough. For a bedtime-style mug, see the lavender chamomile bedtime mocktail .

Dry excess harvest on screens in a dark, well-ventilated room. Leaves are ready when they crumble easily, usually 5-7 days. Store in airtight jars away from light. Dried herbs keep 6-12 months but lose potency after that. Label jars with the harvest date.

glass pitcher of iced herbal tea with fresh mint lemon balm and chamomile flowers floating in water with condensation on glass and garden in background
Chill the finished tea and serve it over ice with a few fresh leaves in the glass.

Common Questions

How much space do I need to grow enough herbs for regular tea drinking?

A 4x4 foot raised bed or 4-5 large containers (14-18 inches diameter) will grow enough for 2-3 cups of fresh tea daily from May through September. Mint and lemon balm are the workhorses, and each plant yields 1-2 cups of fresh leaves per week once established. Chamomile needs more space for flowers, so plan on 6-8 plants for consistent blooms. If you drink tea daily, double these numbers or plan to dry your harvest for winter use.

Can I grow these herbs indoors during winter?

Mint, lemon balm, and holy basil grow reasonably well on a south-facing windowsill or under grow lights (14-16 hours daily). They won’t produce as vigorously as outdoor plants, but you’ll have enough for occasional fresh tea. Chamomile struggles indoors because it needs cool nights to set buds. Lavender and rose are impractical indoors due to light and space requirements. Lemon verbena goes dormant in winter even indoors and needs a rest period of 8-10 weeks with minimal water and no fertilizer.

Which herbs should I start with if I have never grown anything before?

Mint and lemon balm. Both are nearly indestructible and tolerate neglect, irregular watering, and poor soil. Buy plants instead of seeds for faster results, and put them in separate pots to control spread. You’ll harvest your first tea leaves within 3 weeks of planting. Once you see how easy these are, add chamomile (from seed, it germinates in 7-10 days) and holy basil (buy a start, since it’s sensitive to cold). These four herbs cover 80% of your tea-making needs and require almost no gardening experience.