What can be more refreshing than a nice cup of tea? A herbal tea, says Emily Cupit

Herbal tea is a popular beverage around the world – it’s been used for hundreds of years, claiming health benefits along with a great taste. This warming drink can easily be grown yourself; all you need are a few different herb plants and a reusable tea bag. Making your own is better for the environment as not all tea bags decompose, it’s cheaper and you can get creative with mixing herbs to suit your taste!

Drinking any herbal tea gives you time to sit down, relax and inhale the soothing fragrance. It’s even more rewarding if you’ve grown it yourself. I’ll be using lemon verbena, rosemary, fennel, mint and lavender that I’ve grown in my garden.

GROWING HERBS

Herbs can be grown from seed, bought as small plants from the garden centre or grown from cuttings. Each has their benefits.

Growing from seed gives you more freedom to grow herbs you can’t buy, but germination can be tricky.

Buying as small plants means you can start using the herbs straight away and you don’t need to wait for germination, although there might be limited choice.