Growing and Caring For Your Tea Garden

Welcome to your tea garden!

You’re officially growing your own tea.
This little bundle was designed to be simple, beautiful, and useful, whether it’s your first plant or your fiftieth.

What you're growing 

Cozy Tea Garden
Chamomile • Yarrow • Spearmint • Lemon Balm

A soft, comforting mix of herbs known for their calming qualities. Chamomile and lemon balm bring a light floral sweetness, spearmint adds a refreshing lift, and yarrow rounds it out with an earthy depth. This is your wind-down garden tea that's perfect for quiet evenings and slow cups of tea.

Soothing Tea Garden
Tulsi (Holy Basil) • Anise Hyssop • Calendula • Yarrow

An aromatic, slightly more complex blend with layers of flavor. Tulsi offers a warm, grounding base, anise hyssop brings a subtle root beer note, calendula adds a soft floral brightness, and yarrow ties it all together. A thoughtful, slow-sipping garden tea for moments when you want something a little deeper.

Bright Tea Garden
Peppermint • Chamomile • Lemon Balm • Calendula

Fresh, cheerful, and easy to enjoy. Pepper mint and lemon balm create a clean, uplifting flavor, while chamomile and calendula add a gentle floral note. This is your everyday garden tea that's light, refreshing, and just as good iced as it is hot.

How to Grow

These herbs are easygoing and beginner-friendly. You don’t need a perfect setup to grow a beautiful tea garden.

• Sun: Plant in full sun to partial shade (about 4–8 hours of sunlight each day)
• Water: Keep soil lightly moist, but not soggy. Let the top inch dry out between waterings
• Spacing: If planting in the ground, space plants about 8–12 inches apart so they have room to grow
• Containers: These do great in pots or raised beds. Just make sure there’s good drainage

Most of these herbs will grow quickly once established and will keep producing all season with regular harvesting.

Perennial Note:
Many of these herbs are perennials, meaning they can come back year after year when planted in the ground. You may see them die back in the winter, but don’t pull them out. They’ll return in the spring, often bigger and stronger.

How to Harvest

Harvesting is what keeps your tea garden thriving—the more you snip, the more it grows.

• Start harvesting once your plants are established and putting on new growth
• Use scissors or your fingers to gently snip leaves and flowers
• Never take more than ⅓ of the plant at one time
• Focus on tender new growth for the best flavor
• Harvest in the morning after the dew has dried for the freshest taste

Regular harvesting encourages your plants to branch out and become fuller, giving you even more to work with.

How to Brew

Brewing your own tea is simple and a little bit magical when it comes from your own garden.

Fresh Tea:

• Harvest a small handful of herbs (leaves and/or flowers)
• Place in a mug or teapot
• Pour hot water over top
• Let steep for 5–10 minutes
• Strain (or just sip around the leaves) and enjoy

Dried Tea (Optional):

• Bundle stems and hang upside down in a dry, airy space
• Once fully dry, store in a sealed jar
• Use 1–2 teaspoons per cup of hot water

You can use a single herb or mix them together to create your own blends.

There’s no wrong way to do this. Taste, adjust, and make it your own.

What Parts to Use

• Chamomile: Flowers
• Yarrow: Leaves and flowers
• Spearmint/Peppermint: Leaves
• Lemon Balm: Leaves
• Tulsi (Holy Basil): Leaves
• Anise Hyssop: Leaves and flowers
• alendula: Petals (you can use whole flowers, but petals are most common)

A little farm note

We designed these tea gardens so you could experience a small piece of what we do here at Highland Oak Farm. Growing something simple, useful, and a little bit special. There’s something different about tea when you grew it yourself.

Keep Growing With Us!
This is just the beginning. Follow along for more growing tips, seasonal guides, and simple ways to turn what you grow into something useful by subscribing to our newsletter and following us on Facebook or Instagram!