Kids corner
Fragrant and Tasty Potions
by Jane Byrne
We all know that children love having tea parties and making make believe potions.
Why not make some tasty and fun teas from growing your own selection of herbs that are sensory and that are also useful for cooking and baking.
Depending on your palette you can steer your children to mint, cinnamon, chamomile, lemon balm, lavender; the choice is really up to what you think your child’s tastes might be.
We often buy herbal teas that are fairly pricey, but they are so easy to grow! They can be collected at different times of the year, dried and placed into jars with labels. Your child could design and make the labels – even more fun! Drying these ingredients is super easy, just lay them out on a piece of paper towel or if you have a dehydrator it is better still.
It’s very simple to make a potion really. If using fresh herbs, wash them thoroughly. You need about a teaspoon of herbs to 1 cup of boiling water (supervision of children is necessary with boiling water). If you need to sweeten your herbal tea, use honey. Honey is best added when the water is cooling so the medicinal benefits aren’t lost.
If you would like to try a floral blend, try chamomile, rose petals and lavender.
You can even use these flavors for a good old fashion fruit punch, especially with a good old fashion potato salad with mint!
Here are some suggestions of flavors that can be used…..
- Pineapple sage
- Lavender
- Rose petals
- Chamomile
- Mint
- Lemongrass
- Orange peel
- Lemon verbena
- Cinnamon
Don’t forget to send in your creations to operations@opengardensvictoria.org.au We love seeing what you’re growing or making.
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