Discovering your favorite tea ingredients opens a window of opportunity: you can create your own herbal tea garden! Try planting a few herbs near the lavender in your garden, or place medium to large containers of different herbs where you can harvest them easily when you want them.
You and the bees will appreciate the addition of colorful flowers that bloom at different times throughout the spring and summer months. Fragrant herb foliage and flowers will complement your lavender flowers, and can be dried and enjoyed in teas and other culinary creations, or add a twist to your favorite lavender crafts. They will provide you with a bountiful harvest of foliage and flowers to add to hot and cold beverages and meals, and will supply you with a variety of ingredients to make herbal gifts to share with your family and friends throughout the year.
COMPLEMENTARY HERBS
Lavender buds find cozy company with a wide variety of other herbs that are worth considering for your teas and other beverages. Yes, it’s easy to reach for some variety of mint, but here are a few partners that you may want to try:
- Bee Balm leaves
- Borage flowers
- Calendula flower petals
- Catnip leaves
- Feverfew leaves
- Hops flowers
- Linden flowers
- Lovage leaves
- Marjoram leaves
- Olive leaves
- Stevia leaves (for sweetness without calories!)
- Sweet Cicely leaves
- Sweet Woodruff leaves & flowers
- Wintergreen leaves
- Yerba Buena leaves
ADDED DIMENSIONS
Stretch the limits! Try adding a splash of various flavored simple syrups, a shot of fruit juice, or a little honey to sweeten your creations. Here are a few to think about:
- Fruit juices or syrups: apple, apricot, blackberry, blueberry, cherry, cranberry, grape, lemon, lime, orange, peach, pear, pomegranate, raspberry, strawberry, pineapple, plum, raspberry
- Fruit peels: lemon, lime, orange
- Honey – try different types
DON’T FORGET THE PANTRY
Once you’ve settled on a few herbs and flowers to combine with your lavender buds, take a moment to check your pantry and cupboards for that little extra something to make your blend extra-special.
- Seeds: anise, cardamom, coriander, fennel
- Spices: allspice, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, peppercorns
- Classical tea ingredients: black, chai, green, rooibos, white
Do you need help rounding up plants or ingredients to support your lavender creativity? Lavender Northwest has the benefit of several members with deep experience in the many ways of using culinary lavender, not only for teas, but for a surprisingly wide variety of other foods and beverages. Check out the Culinary Specialists section of our Marketplace pages.
AS ALWAYS: Be sure to research the effects and safety of each botanical you use.
Contributed by
Chris Mulder
Barn Owl Nursery
Edited & formatted by
Michael Lemmers
RavenCroft
