Teensy Tea Garden

Intro: Teensy Tea Garden

I made this "Teensy Tea Garden" kit as a gift to a friend using leftover seeds from my garden. The box contains five varieties of seeds, each enclosed in a small sewn envelope. A teensy hand-bound book details how to care for each plant with sowing, care, and harvesting instructions, as well as directions on how to dry the leaves and steep the teas.

I found an adorable tiny teapot at a local vintage shop, so I made a simple gift box to package everything together. I also tied a ribbon around a stack of five medium terra-cotta parts and stuck the box in the top (these plants do wonderfully in containers).

This makes a unique and fun gift for kid who enjoy tea parties, adults who love gardening, and anyone who likes drinking tea!

Comments

[ellie starr]

love it!!! thank you for sharing! create & shine on! *

[rastallama]

WOW... i wish you were my friend... that is such wonderful work... i think i will be someones amazing friend by trying to do some similar stuff!!! Thanx!!!

[emilygraceking]

Let's be friends, then we can basically just go back and forth making each other creative little presents!

[rastallama]

what a lovely idea!!! Friends it is!!! how do you sew the paper, needle and thread? I assume a sewing machine would be a bit to industrial for this application!!! Rather thick paper stock, too imagine...

[emilygraceking]

I sewed the envelopes and stitching detail on a machine at a slow speed with a very tiny stitch (to make sure the seeds couldn't creep out). The paper is just normal printer-paper weight and was taken from the pages of a recycled brown paper sketchbook, so it was easy to fold. The little envelope sealers are cut from the remnants of a sticker sheet.

[mizzoufan96]

This is AWESOME! Such a great gift idea. Great Job!

[ChrysN]

What a great idea for a gift!

[SHIFT!]

Kawaii! This is a very cute booklet and I'm sorry the description isn't working for you. Have you tried on a different network?

[emilygraceking]

Thank you so much!! That did the trick.You are awesome.

[reedz]

This is great!

If only it was up a few days earlier, it would have made a wonderful gift for Mother's day (today)

Do all of the plants take similar care, water, light, etc.? 

[emilygraceking]

I wish I had it up earlier! Although I have been a member of instructables a long time, I have only began uploading things I've done in the past few days. I hope to be better about putting projects up in a step-by-step format, but I get so distracted while making things that I forget to take pictures along the way.

Yes, all the plants do well in full sun, but a few can also be in partial sun or part shade. They do have varying harvesting directions--some teas use the leaves, some use dried flowers and petals. Here are the specifications for each:

Anise - Full sun, well-drained soil. Start seeds indoors in early spring. Space 6" apart. Fully mature 130 days. Harvesting: cut the heads off when flowers are full of seeds. Sun dry. When crisp, crumble in your fingers and sift through s sieve. Air-dry leaves on a screen in shade. Store in an airtight container.

Wild Bergamot - Full to partial sun, moist soil. Start indoors in early spring. Barely press seeds into soil. Transplant to individual containers when first leaves appear. Plant outdoor spring or summer, 12" apart, 6-8 weeks after starting. Harvesting: Fresh leaves may be used to make tea. to dry, pick leaves from the stems in late summer when in full bloom. Dry on a wire rack in a shady area.

German Chamomile - Full sun, well-drained soil. Start indoors or out. Press gently into soil, 8' apart. Thin to clusters of 3-4 once seedlings are 1-2" tall. Harvesting: pick flowers in full bloom before noon (not sure why...this is just what I found online). Place flower heads one layer deep on a screen in a dry, cool place.

Lavender - Full sun, well-drained soil. Start indoors, barley cover seeds with soil. Plant outside 12" apart. Harvesting: Harvest flower spikes at peak of their bloom. Air-dry on screens or hang in bunches. Strip blossoms from stems and discard stems.

Peppermint - Full sun to partial shade. Rich soil with good drainage. Gently press seeds into soil. Do not cover if using small greenhouse seed starters. Plant 12-18" apart. CAUTION: Mint crawls all over your garden! To control sprawling, plant in a pot or a bucket. Harvesting: pinch off top two leaves regularly. Harvest leaves before the plant blooms. Dry hanging or on a screen in a dry place.

To steep herbal teas: Place 1 tablesppon fresh or 1 teaspoon dried herbs per 8oz. water in a cup. Pour boiling water over the leaves. Steep 6-7 min. Strain and drink happily!