It’s summer, and I love cold drinks. I’ve been making iced tea like nobody’s business! I’ve also been making tea from plants and herbs from my yard, with a revolving cast of characters depending on what’s growing/in bloom.

Today’s tea was made of raspberry leaf, yarrow, lemon balm, sage, bee balm, two types of mint.

Bee balm is my favorite plant! It’s a type of mint so it’ll take over your garden, so plant it where you won’t mind if it spreads. Bee balm is spicy and minty, and sometimes I use it in place of basil in tomato salads when it’s tomato season. It’s good on it’s own in tea as well.

Lemon balm is also a type of mint, but lemony, and also called Melissa! Lemon balm is used to promote calmness.

Mint is, well, mint. Mint is good for digestion, and refreshing in summer!

Raspberry leaf is one of my favorite teas. It helps ‘tone’ the uterus, and is the only thing besides Midol that helps with my menstrual cramps. Raspberry leaf tea is often used in pregnancy and childbirth.

Sage is most often used in stuffing around Thanksgiving, but is also a good medicinal herb as well. Sage is used to dry up milk when finished breastfeeding, and can help with mental clarity.

Yarrow grows wild all over my yard. It’s most used in treating colds.

To make yard tea: collect herbs, tie into a bouquet, put in a large jar and pour boiling water over. Steep for 10 minutes or so, add honey or sugar if you’d like, then store in the fridge.