Right now I am obsessed with an herbal tea blend that comes straight from my garden. After tasting lemongrass tea with a friend, I decided I needed to plant my own lemongrass plant so that I could make the tea whenever I wanted.
I also decided to plant lemon verbena, chamomile, and stevia among the collection of herbs that I plant every year.
The lemongrass has been thriving, outgrowing the pot quickly. The lemon verbena had a more rocky start- I learned that they do not like their roots to get too wet. The pot had poor drainage and standing water collected after each watering time. I transplanted the lemon verbena to my vegetable bed and it has perked right up.
The chamomile and stevia are both easy to grow- no troubles there.
Every couple of days I make a delicious iced herbal tea from these plants. Lemongrass makes up the base of the tea. Here’s the basic recipe:
2 quarts of water
2-4 stalks of lemongrass (depending on size)
a handful of lemon verbena (my plant is still coming back from the brink, so I harvest it sparingly)
4-8 stevia leaves (depending on size)
6 chamomile flowers
Put herbs in a saucepan and cover with the 2 quarts of water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Let cool completely. Strain into jars and refrigerate. Add extra stevia if more sweetness is desired.
So delicious and refreshing on a hot summer day!
