Homegrown Herbal Tea

[digitS']

Oh, @Shades-of-Oregon , you are coming very close to my licorice root, lemon verbena and anise hyssop tea.

Monarda and anise hyssop are both of the Lamiaceae family.

And, you remind me that I need to get out today and harvest the anise hyssop. It seems absolutely determined to bloom and I am trying to make use of those stems. If I wait too long, the small flowers fall apart. Harvesting has become a weekly mission.

Steve

 

[Shades-of-Oregon]

Lamb's ear tea, made from the leaves of the Stachys Byzantine plant which has in my garden for years . The fuzzy leaves dry the same size and don’t shrink up like other herbal tea preps. Health benefits like sore throats and colds .

 

[digitS']

I am having catnip tea after my first breakfast of cold cereal, a microwaved Gala apple and oolong. Could have had just a second cup of oolong, gonna have somewhat of a busy morning and being caffeinated might help.

As it is, DW will wonder why the kitchen smells of catnip when she shows up outta the bedroom. Not a first choice but, this afternoon, I will need to process some of my store-bought ingredients for the licorice/citrus flavors that I prefer.

Report on the Homegrown: The Anise Hyssop is again in its blooming stage and, again, absolutely determined to bloom. I tried cutting one plant to the ground. Instead of tall regrowth, that I could have hoped for, it is sending out shoots not as long as my little finger with a couple of tiny leaves and fingernail size blossoms. After years of growing Anise Hyssop, it doesn't surprise me. I harvested what I think is a good supply for the Winter early in the season.

The 2 Lemon Verbena plants are doing okay and I should be able to gain 2 more good harvests. One immediately and the other, final one after they have gone into the greenhouse but before severe cold. They will go under wraps then until things begin to warm in 2026.

Stevia is not the total failure with losing the 2024 seedlings to mildew and ineptitude. The one plant in the open garden is nearly dead. I harvested a few sprigs earlier but it looks like full sun is definitely not its preference. The 2 plants in the greenhouse look nearly as bad. Scrawny things.

As best as I can guess, Stevias are tropical understory bushes. They may prefer almost total shade and nearly a 12 month season to make much growth. Perhaps, the plants will enjoy being indoors in front of a window this Winter .

Stevie