Tulsi with bee friend. Photo by Sophie Cassel
Happy Solstice! We are finally beginning to see the fruits of our early season labor, as the chamomile and calendula come into full flower, the mints begin to really take off, and the perennial valerian and angelica stand tall. I have been absolutely flabbergasted by the way my second-year lemon balm and catnip plants have bushed out, and have begun cutting them back to dry for winter teas. Any time I harvest plants for drying, I also make a batch of fresh herbal tea. This weekend I gathered
a handful of chamomile
a few sprigs of bronze fennel
a big bundle of lemon balm
I chopped them all into a half-gallon mason jar and let it steep in the sunshine for a few hours before straining over ice for a perfect “sun tea”. A tea like this only exists at a unique moment, and in a unique garden. This snapshot of the season is a great way to get to know your individual herbs.
This week, in our retail greenhouse, we are offering a trio of herbs as our “Plant(s) of the Week”
Anise Hyssop
Tulsi (which we have a blog post about)
Chamomile.
These are a perfect sun tea trio. All three are plants that you’ll definitely want more than one of in your garden, and when you buy these three staple medicinal herbs, you get three free!
You can find me in the garden drinking sun tea, reading, and hanging out with the plants,
Sophie Cassel