If you love different types of fruit tea and herbal tea then you could create a perfect paradise in your polytunnel. A polytunnel could be not only a place to grow all your favourites, but also a place to relax and enjoy a cup of tea out of your house but also out of the elements. Fruit and herbal teas can be very good for your health, as can gardening. So why not decide to do both with this perfect polytunnel planting scheme for tea lovers.
Soft fruits such as strawberries and currants are ideal for fruit teas and many are perfect for growing inside a polytunnel. Create the backbone of the structure of your polytunnel beds with fruit bushes, then companion plant with lower growing fruiting plants such as strawberries and other herbs and flowers. Soft fruits will do well in a polytunnel and can also help to create a sense of abundance and calm that comes from sitting in a well-stocked polytunnel that is promising an excellent harvest.
A wide range of herbs are wonderful for tea, as are several flowering plants. To get started, how about a range of lovely mints – peppermint, apple mint, chocolate mint etc... You could experiment with different herbs that you grow to see which ones make the best tea. Other classics for tea making are chamomile, lemon balm, lavender etc...
Another thing to consider is that you may wish to allow some weeds to grow. Nettles, for example, may be a little annoying to gardeners when they sting, but they can also make a healthy cuppa, so you might want to be a little less rigorous in your weeding around the edges. The key thing is to plan your lay out not only so the plants get what they need but so you do too. Don't allow nettles, of course, where you will brush past them, or where you want to be able to sit and enjoy a relaxing brew. If you are clever about your placement of paths and plants, you could create a magical space.
You could even use soft fruit canes, such as raspberry canes, to create an arbour, partition screen to create some sense of isolation or a cosy hideaway to sit in while you drink your tea. If you run power to your polytunnel, from a solar panel ideally, you could even make your tea out here too – so there is no need to pop back in to your kitchen. Having a little power and a kettle in the polytunnel could be especially handy if you have sited your polytunnel on an allotment or in another location not immediately adjacent to your home.
