A garden designed for herb teas

Photograph by Amanda Leigh. Check her web site for more.

Plant plenty of lemon balm, lemon verbena and lemon grass on hand. Also, plenty of different species of mint, especially spearmint, peppermint, apple mint and orange mint.

Chamomile, too, would be needed en masse. Others to include are bergamot (which has a flowery essence not dissimilar to Earl Grey tea), anise-hyssop (with its licorice-mint flavour), briar roses, sage, sweet cicely and rue.

Medicinal teas are prepared in much the same way as ordinary teas, but are allowed to steep for much longer.

Tougher bits of herbs such as roots and bark are boiled for five minutes and then steeped and strained. Always use a lid to keep the volatile essential oils from escaping.

Often the brew is sipped at throughout the day to achieve the desired effect. Be aware, however,that not all herbs are suitable for making teas — culinary or medicinal.

Experiment first with the more traditional teas, and especially with the herbs used for medicinal reasons, and only use recipes in modern books.

Many of the older herbals — such as those by Gerard and Culpeper — are not reliable sources as new research has found problems with some of their concoctions, while also finding that many do work.

Enjoy and experiment with the well-known herbs first.