Barb & Wayne's Herbal Teas

Over the winter Barb and I have been experimenting with producing our own herbal teas. We have produced quite a few different blends. We blend our herbs with green tea and sometimes earl grey black tea.

Our friends Robert and Melisa at the Lavender Boutique gave us some lavender florets to try in our teas. I made a blend which I call Sweet Dreams. This tea has Lavender, Chamomile, Mullien and green tea in it. It is a nice late evening tea. I found it helps me sleep better.

I also made a tea with Lavender, St John's Wort and green tea. I find it helps me be awake aware and at ease. Perhaps I am just projecting my thoughts or beliefs on to the tea but I do find this combination to be quite potent for me.

I also made a blend with tarragon, peppermint and spearmint. This time I didn't add any tea leaves into the blend so this "tea" is not really a tea it is a tisane. A tisane is a herbal infusion that has no tea leaves in it. So This tisane also has no caffine in it. It does have a nice minty flavour to it. The tarragon enhances the flavour. I get the sensation of being Calm, Clear and Connected as I drink this blend.

Of course I may feel alot more connected to this tea and the others as well because I grew, harvested and  dried the herbs. I also  hand blended and bagged the herbal teas. So there is this whole zen thing going on when I sip a tea which I have created.


We have shared our teas with our family and friends and are now starting to sell them. I made my first sale to Peer Support Niagara yesterday. The center will be selling our teas for fifty cents a bag.

Mini greenhouse

Over the last couple of weekends I built a mini greenhouse. I dismantled a raised bed garden and replaced it with a new improved growing envoirment.The greenhouse is insulated and the soil inside acts as a thermal mass to even out the temperatue swings. I put a door on the north wall and two steps so you can step down into the greenhouse and tend to the plants. I can reach all the plants easily. Right now I have lemon verbena, oregano,and four types of basil in the green house. They seem to like it just fine.

I have had the idea for this greenhouse kicking around in my head for years. It is so nice to get it finally built..........so nice to create a warm moist growing space............not too big.........not too small........just perfect........perfect for the plants........perfect for the yard.......perfect for Barb and I. Barb's going to grow her veggies in there next spring........in where the bunny can't get them.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there. We hope you had a wonderful weekend.

I have been busy harvesting our herbs. I have spicy basil drying right now.

Earlier today I harvested our french tarragon. I put most of the tarragon in a glass jar with white vinegar and water which I put away in a dark cupboard. I put one strand of tarragon in a glass on the window sill. Maybe it will grow.....maybe it will end up in my coffee pot. I did put some loose leaves in with the ground coffee of the last pot I made. The coffee had a slight hint of licorice to it......mmm.....nice.

We had a slight frost on the car this morning so it's time to get the basils and other frost sensitive plants harvested. I may try putting some fibreglass insulation over the spicy basil .......stumps.....I guess you could call them that. I cut the basil off about one inch above the ground,the stems were woody and about a quarter inch in diameter. I am thinking if I cover them up with a batt of fibreglass insulation and cover that with abit of dirt maybe the plant will survive our winter.

Fresh herbs for sale Free Samples

Barb and I are getting a little overwhelmed by all our herbs. We have decided to sell some of our surplus herbs on Saturday July 18th from 9:30 am to Noon.

Come and explore our herb garden. We have an abundance of fresh herbs just for you.

We will be cutting Mint ,Tarragon, Sage, Lovage, Chives, Chervil, Basil, Lemon Verbena, Oregano and Thyme in the amounts you determine,this Saturday 9am till noon.

Enjoy free samples of herb teas, chocolate mint coffee, herb bicuits and herb jellies. Saturday July 18th 533 Bunting Rd. St Catharines Ontario.

Below is a picture of our yarrow plant. You can also see our juniper bush and part of our peppermint patch.

Here is a picture of one of our mints. We call it our peppermint patch. It's been growing in this spot for over five years.

I like to take a sprig or two and add them to my coffee or green tea. I find mint tea or coffee more flavourful and uplifting.

Barb makes a mint jelly. We use it when we have lamb mostly. I have heard that mint jelly makes a great ice cream topping as well.

You can add a few sprigs of mint to the pot when cooking potatoes or vegetables. Mint can also be added to lemonade or yogurt.

Mint is an easy herb to grow, plant it once and it will grow and spread and come back year after year. We have an abundance of peppermint. We also have chocolate mint, orange mint and water mint growing. They all like to spread so we have to cut them back often.

Do you have any experiences with mint that you would like to share........Leave us a comment, we would love to hear from you

The Disclaimer

In this blog Barb and I will be discussing the various herbs that we grow and use. We have a large selection of books on herbs. We research herbs on the internet fequently. While we are knowledgeable on herbs we don't claim to be experts or authorities, especially on the health benefits of herbs.

I suggest you read our blog with an open mind and a willingness to explore and enjoy herbs. We can inform you on how to grow and use herbs but we can't predict how a herb may affect you. You need to take responsibility for your own actions and consequences. We can't and won't take responsibility for how a herb affects you.

Personally I enjoying planting, growing , harvesting and consuming herbs. I enjoy having a relationship with that which nourishes and enhances my life. I am beginning to trust my intuition to know what I need, to know what is good for me and what is not.

We look forward to your comments

Welcome To Our Blog

Hello and Welcome to our Fresh Herbs Weekly blog. Barbara and I have been growing herbs a for couple of years now as a hobby. We grow a few vegetables and flowers also but we enjoy the herbs the most. I like to slip a few herbs into my coffee and tea. Barb likes trying out different herbs in her cooking. Our lastest herb bed is shown above. They are just starting to take root. We have lemon grass, lemon oregano, chervil, cilantro and Thai basil in the bed.