Hi tosser, I sent an email. let me know if you get it. Is this the type of chamomile used to make tea?

Laura, Your chamomile is really pretty. I always thought it grew closer to the ground. I don't want to walk on any ground cover, because it will be in between rocks. But I don't want it to get too tall or it would just look like an over grown rock bed with weeds. Or why go to all the trouble of buying rocks only to have them covered up. Karen, About 3 years ago I put in a six pack of Mother of Thyme. It really took off in that spot. It smells great if you do have to walk on it. And it is a bug/ bee magnat. Then last year, it looked all woody and half killed off. This could have been due to our ice storm, or maybe thyme needs cleaned up and trimmed up to look its best. If you don't want alot of bugs & bees, I would keep it trimmed down. The flowers last forever! It does reseed happily and I moved some around to other parts of my garden. Mo Girl, I don't think you will have a problem transplanting your thyme. I takes some pretty good abuse. While looking for a white ground cover I came across this. Looks like quite the little gem! Check it out. I also checked to see if I could find seeds over plants. And was able to find seeds too. It may to late to WS these, I don't know. Mary Here is a link that might be useful: Greek Yarrow - Achillea ageratifolia

My daughter (6) had a tea party last year for her friends. It was "formal" so they all dressed up like princesses with their dress-up clothes and jewelry. After having "tea" (fruit juice in a tea pot) and cookies, I gave them each a vase and a scissors and we cut flowers to make a bouquet to take home to their moms. It was a LOT of fun. We decorated the kids playhouse and had the tea party there, which is in the garden. From Garden Girls Tea Party Would you like to come in for some tea? From Garden Girls Tea Party From Garden Girls Tea Party Picking flowers for Mom.

Most of the herbs I grow, I use in tea! Firstly, herbs don't really thrive indoors. I've tried this too, no luck. I got a grow light this winter and have been using it to overwinter some plants indoors. Spearmint has done really well, but that's about it. Lemon balm and lemon verbena are both excellent plants, for growing in general and for tea! But they're easier to start from cutting. I took several cuttings last season and had great results. They grew outdoors in pots, and in the ground. I still have one of each alive in small pots in my house right now. But they're sad, so I don't harvest from them. I was also able to keep 2 peppermints alive indoors. These will do great in pots. Actually, never plant a mint in the ground- it takes over. Mints add a nice flavor to teas, they also aid in digestion. Another calming herb which is a member of the mint family- catnip. Chamomile is an annual that will definitely take over a yard if you let it. It drops seeds everywhere and they come back the next spring. They grow happily in a container though, but they need to be outdoors. Only pick the *flowers* for tea. Lavender is hard to grow. Most seeds aren't viable. You'll get a low germination rate. Try to get an already established plant from a garden supply store, or order one. They also don't tend to bloom until they are 2 years old. And they NEED sun. There are a zillion different varieties out there of lavender, I've heard hidcote recommended most for eating. But any variety you pick will do. The blooms grow on spikes, and there's not many of them for each plant. They'll grow in containers, but you might need several of them. You'll quickly lose interest in trying to make lavender happy, but worth a try. I have two english lavenders, and rubbing my fingers over the leaves releases the oils. Smells amazing. I also had a goodwin creek grey one year, and the blooms were fragrant + a nice dark purple. St. John's Wort is a weed, so it grows really well! It also tastes mildly of honey. I've never grown it, but you should try it! Speaking of weeds- try self heal. I had some in my yard but I stupidly killed it. It doesn't have much flavor, but I hear it lives up to its name. And if you can get your hands on a hops vine, adding the buds to tea acts as a sedative. But watch out, the vines are sharp, they'll cut you. And I don't think they can be planted in containers. You have to have space for the vines to branch out + be a vine lover, as hops will quickly consume an entire wall or fence. You can also add sage or rosemary to tea to enhance brain functioning. These will easily double as culinary herbs. I hear rosemary does okay indoors, but both of mine died when I brought them in. I had them in pots all season long, they did well. Another nice tea herb is actually basil! If you're adventurous, try growing passionflower. You can also get it dried. It's calming, but more mild than lavender or chamomile in its effects. For now, you might want to just stick to dried herbs. Order them in bulk from Mountain Rose, this is what I do. Valerian is predominantly used for sleep and anxiety conditions, St. John's Wort for depression. Use lavender essential oil in a diffuser. Two other brain boosting herbs: gotu kola, gingko biloba (gotu is hard to get, but once it does it will live happily in a pot, however it spreads so beware, gingko is a tree and I don't think you want an entire tree so just get it dried) I hope that helped!