Most herbs are easy to manage.
So grow your own and create
your favorite teas at home.

Getting Started

Whether home is an apartment with room for a few pots, a townhouse with a deck or small flower bed, or a suburban house with a yard, you can enjoy an herbal tea garden. Most herbal perennials thrive in full sun, but some like partial sun or even shade. Generally, herbs tolerate not-too-rich soil, little or no fertilizer, and only moderate amounts of water.

No room for an herb garden?
Consider an herb pot on a deck,
balcony, or porch.

All you need to get started are herb plants of your choice, some easily worked soil with a fairly neutral pH, and -- if you are gardening in containers -- pots that have holes in the bottoms for good drainage. For pot planting, buy a quality sterile planting mix. If your garden soil isn't crumbly, mix in peat moss, compost, or leaf mold equal to approximately one-third the volume of your garden soil. Make sure your planting area drains well.

Herbs suggested for containers also will do well in the garden. When temperatures begin to dip, however, potted tender perennials such as scented geraniums can be whisked indoors without the shock of being transplanted, and they'll continue to thrive on sunny indoor windowsills.