If you’ve ever watched the show The Big Bang Theory, you might remember one of Sheldon Cooper’s funny quirks about offering hot beverages. To him, it is a non-optional social convention to offer a friend a hot beverage when they are upset. And throughout the show, he expands on the convention, calling for hot apple cider with cinnamon sticks to be offered when someone is angrier than ever and full of despair and hot cocoa when someone is outraged about an unannounced houseguest. The standard of course is to offer a friend who is upset hot tea.

I was thinking about this little quirk of Sheldon’s as I walked the nursery this week and realized we have quite a few plants that can be grown in your backyard garden and used to make different types of beverages, including Camellia sinensis, the source of tea.

Tea is one of those world-wide beverages that has been used for centuries for healing, relaxation, and of course refreshment. (Anyone else craving a tall glass of sweet tea right now?) Plus, as Sheldon reminds us, it can be used to help calm and relax a friend who is having a bad day.

In a year that has seen us all run a range of emotions that would have had friends offering the above beverages if they’d been able to visit, finding ways to relax is more important than ever. Without as many friends and family around, you have to make sure that you are taking care of yourself. It takes finding routines that allow you to breathe and to shut out the world for a minute. We’ve talked a lot this year about how the garden is an amazing place for finding peace and tranquility. And now with some of the plants and instructions from this Teaching Thursday post – Backyard Beverages – you can also grow the plants that allow for a relaxing tea-time routine. Get them planted, and the next time a friend comes over upset you’ll be ready to offer them the appropriate hot (or cold) beverage, with ingredients grown in your garden.