A Tea Garden in Three Plants: Chamomile, Lemon Balm and Peppermint
Chamomile for the flowers, lemon balm and peppermint for the leaves: how to grow, pick, dry and brew each, and why morning is the time to pick.
A small bed or three large pots can keep a teapot going through the growing season, and with a little drying, well beyond it. Chamomile gives the flowers, lemon balm and peppermint give the leaves, and all three are forgiving plants for a first-time grower.
The part most people skip is timing. In a two-year field trial in Turkey, peppermint picked at 9 a.m. held 2.3% essential oil, against 2.1% at 1 p.m. and 2.2% at 5 p.m. It’s a modest edge, about a tenth, and it lines up with what extension gardeners have advised for years: pick in the morning.
Which chamomile should you grow for tea?
German chamomile, in most gardens. NC State Extension describes it as an annual in the daisy family that is “more often used for tea” than its cousin, Roman chamomile. It likes full sun and well-drained, even sandy soil, and NC State advises avoiding soil that is “rich, heavy, or wet”. The small, scented, daisy-like flowers are the part you brew.
Timing goes by your local frost date rather than the calendar. NC State suggests starting seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before the last spring frost, or sowing outdoors just before it. The plant has a long summer bloom season, so keep picking flowers as they open.
Roman chamomile is a low perennial that spreads along the ground, and NC State suggests it as a groundcover. Its dried flowers can be used for tea, but the same page advises no more than one cup a day and avoiding it in pregnancy. For a daily cup, German chamomile is the usual choice.
Lemon balm: easy, fragrant, and best in a pot
Lemon balm is a perennial whose leaves give off a lemon scent when crushed, and NC State notes they are “used to flavor tea”. It grows in full sun to partial shade and becomes drought-tolerant once established.
It also travels. NC State says it “self-seeds and spreads aggressively by rhizomes”, underground stems that send up new shoots, and recommends a container where it is unlikely to escape into the wider garden. A pot near the back door keeps it close to the kettle and out of the beds.
Peppermint: start from a plant, not a seed packet
Peppermint “rarely set seed”, according to NC State, so it’s grown from cuttings, divisions or a nursery plant. A rooted piece from the edge of a friend’s clump works just as well as a bought one.
It spreads by rhizomes into an aggressive groundcover, so NC State suggests a pot 30 to 40 cm wide (12 to 16 inches). It prefers rich, moist soil in partial shade, which means a hot, full-sun spot calls for afternoon shade and regular watering. Our windowsill herbs guide covers the same spreading habit indoors.
When is the best time to pick?
Early morning, once the dew has dried. Iowa State’s guidance is to harvest “after the dew has evaporated but before the sun becomes hot”, and the UConn home garden team gives the reason: the essential oils, which carry the flavour, are highest before the heat of the day.
The peppermint trial, published in the peer-reviewed journal Plant, Soil and Environment in 2021, puts numbers on that advice. Time of day made a statistically significant difference only to the share of essential oil in the leaves, and the 9 a.m. harvest came out on top. The authors attribute the morning peak to temperature rising and humidity falling later in the day. Weather from year to year mattered far more than the hour: the oil share was 2.6% in the first season and 1.8% in the second, which the authors link to heavy rain and high humidity that year. It’s one site on Turkey’s Black Sea coast, so treat the exact percentages as a guide rather than a rule.
Growth stage matters too, and the sources differ on the best moment. Iowa State’s general rule for leafy herbs is to harvest as flower buds are “just beginning to open”. In the peppermint trial, the oil share was highest at full flower (2.5%) and lowest at the start of flowering (2.0%). For peppermint, waiting until the plant is in full flower is worth a try.
How much to take: for perennials like lemon balm and peppermint, Iowa State suggests removing about a third of the current year’s growth, so the plant can keep growing.
How do you dry the harvest?
Air drying works well where the air is dry. UConn notes it “works best when we have periods of low humidity”, with leafy herbs spread out on drying screens. In humid weather, a dehydrator, or short bursts in a microwave with small batches between paper towels, are faster options.
Once crisp, crumble the leaves or flowers lightly and store them in sealed glass or plastic jars. UConn’s guide says dried herbs keep their flavour “for at least one year”.
How much do you use per cup?
Oregon State University Extension’s garden tea recipe is a good starting point: 1 to 2 tablespoons of dried herbs, or 2 to 4 tablespoons of fresh, per cup. Pour boiling water over them, let them steep for 10 minutes, then strain. (Those are US tablespoons of about 15 mL; an Australian tablespoon is 20 mL, so go to the lower end.) Fresh leaves need roughly double the amount of dried, and the recipe encourages adjusting the amount and steeping time to taste.
A note on chamomile and allergies
Chamomile is a daisy-family plant, and the US National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health says it is “likely safe when used orally in amounts commonly found in teas”. People allergic to related plants, such as ragweed, chrysanthemums, marigolds or daisies, are more likely to react to it. NCCIH also notes possible interactions with some medicines, including the blood thinner warfarin, and that little is known about its safety in pregnancy. If any of that applies to you, talk to your doctor or pharmacist before making it a daily habit.
What this means for you
- Start with three pots: German chamomile in full sun, lemon balm and peppermint each in their own container.
- Pick in the morning, after the dew dries and before the heat.
- Take about a third of the season’s growth from lemon balm and peppermint, and keep picking chamomile flowers as they open.
- Dry in thin layers, store in sealed jars, and brew 1 to 2 tablespoons dried (or 2 to 4 fresh) per cup.
Which tea would you grow first, and do you drink it fresh from the plant or dried? Hit reply and tell us.
How we made this: AI tools helped us research and draft this post. We checked every figure, quote and link against its original source before publishing. Figures are as of 8 November 2026.
Grown with intention by Dynamic Nexus Garden.