Growing Your Own Tea Garden by Jodi Helmer

Growing Your Own Tea Garden by Jodi Helmer

This book came out in 2019 and the subtitle is The Guide to Growing and Harvesting Flavorful Teas in Your Backyard.

In this comprehensive guide, food and farming journalist Jodi Helmer invites us to reimagine our relationship with tea, taking it from a store-bought convenience to a homegrown pleasure.

As Jodi shares in her touching introduction:

Some of my earliest and fondest childhood memories involve tea.

My grandmother used to pour us each a cup of tea in her no-nonsense mugs, filling hers with steaming black liquid and a splash of milk, and preparing mine in reverse—a full cup of milk with just a splash of tea.

We'd dunk homemade peanut butter cookies in our mugs and declare it a tea party.

While my tea preferences have changed—now, I prefer a strong, bitter cup of black tea, no milk, first thing in the morning; mint tea in the evenings; and something sweet, floral, and iced when it's sweltering outside—my love affair with tea has endured.

The book features nine themed garden designs that connect wellness with gardening.

But perhaps most compelling is Jodi's explanation of how she discovered the idea for a tea garden:

The inspiration hit three years ago at a garden center where, standing in front of vast metal racks filled with peppermint, spearmint, chamomile, lavender, and lemon balm.

I thought, 'This looks a lot like the tea aisle at the supermarket.'

An image of a backyard tea garden flashed in my mind.

Cue a cart filled with herbs and some bags of soil, and a few hours later I had all the makings of a great cup of tea right outside my back door.

Every time I head outside to pick a fresh cup of tea, I remember my grandmother and feel a sense of gratitude for the continued comfort this ritual she taught me has brought me over the years.

From medicinal benefits to pure enjoyment, Jodi shows how to create specialized gardens that cater to your needs—whether you're looking for immune support, stress relief, or simply a perfect cup of afternoon tea.

This book is 144 pages of practical guidance for creating your own tea garden, complete with cultivation advice, harvesting tips, and delightful recipes.

You can get a copy of Growing Your Own Tea Garden by Jodi Helmer and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for around $19.