Gardening for a Cup of Tea

Season 5, Episode 12, February 1, 2023

Good afternoon. It was cold in our neck of the woods when we recorded this week, so Carol and I decided everyone should grab a cuppa before you listen. We steeped this week’s episode with flowers and vegetables you can grow to make tea, along with our favorite teas and so much more.

Carol did some winter sowing, harvested microgreens, plus repotted some more houseplants for her sister. At the end of the podcast, she forgot to say that her sister wants more houseplants! She’s delighted.

I did not harvest microgreens because Masha dumped all of mine all over the windowsill. Luckily, I have this nifty little Shark sweeper for a quick cleanup. It basically goes with me from room to room. Between keeping all of my houseplants and seedlings watered and vacuuming, I’m keeping busy.

As always, we first discussed flowers and suggested several you can grow for tea. Roses anyone? If you’re not feeling that industrious, you can also buy a few teas with floral elements like Lover’s Leap from Smith Tea Makers, which has roses, or Repose by Steep Echo, which contains olive leaf, among other things.

Then, it was on to teas made with vegetables and herbs. Carol found a tea with ten different dried veggies. We decided we’d rather make soup. We also discovered I mispronounce anise hyssop, and Carol says it correctly. Here’s the British pronunciation, in case you’re wondering.

We also discussed some excellent older herbal books. The Pleasure of Herbs: A Month-by-Month Guide to Growing, Using, and Enjoying Herbs by Phyllis Shaudys (1986) (Amazon Link)  and Herbal Treasures: Inspiring Month-by-Month Projects for Gardening, Cooking, and Crafts by Phyllis V. Shaudys (1990) (Amazon Link), plus the newer A Taste for Herbs by Sue Goetz (Amazon Link)

Our dirt was the website Life is Better with Tea, with detailed information on how to brew the perfect tea. Do you go to that much trouble? I do not.

Then, we shared our favorite teas. Mine are Bettys Tea Room tea from Yorkshire and Tetley loose leaf. Carol’s current favorite tea is Earl Grey from Nuts.com, but she told me she ordered a couple of new teas after we recorded. Wonder how that happened!  

We also have our favorite electric tea kettles. Carol’s is a Kitchenaid kettle with an infuser; mine is Russell Hobbs. Both boil water very quickly!

Our rabbit holes had very little to do with gardening or tea—oops— but you might find them interesting. I’m still doing puzzles, and I bought a protector/case to keep Masha out of my puzzles. She is obsessed with puzzle pieces. Carol is back into cross-stitching. She also read The Mitford Affair by Marie Benedict (Amazon Link) and found one quote using weeds as an analogy.

Now, what’s your favorite tea? Leave a comment to let us know!

If you want to support the podcast, there are a variety of ways. We have an Affiliate link to Botanical Interest Seeds.  Our book links are also affiliate links. You can also support us—if you want—via a monthly subscription for as little as $3 or a one-time payment through Paypal. Thanks to everyone who did so last week!

Email us anytime at TheGardenangelists@gmail.com.  

For more info on Carol and her books, visit her website.  Visit her blog May Dreams Gardens.
For more info on me and my book, visit my website.  Visit my blog Red Dirt Ramblings.

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