Apothecary Garden Kits: From Seed to Tea Jar on a Windowsill

Sep 29, 2026

An apothecary garden is a small, labeled collection of herbs you grow on purpose. The labels are the whole trick. You know exactly what you have when you go to pick it. Ours lives on a windowsill, and yours can too.

The idea is old. In 1673 the Society of Apothecaries leased a patch of London riverbank and planted one. Chelsea Physic Garden was built as a classroom, and apprentices walked the beds learning to tell one plant from another by leaf and by smell.

One thing up front. Apothecaries made medicine. This post is about tea, flavor and scent. Nothing here is medical advice.

Apothecary garden kit opened flat, showing nine small pots, soil pellets and nine labeled herb seed packets
Nine pots and nine labels. The labels are what turn a shelf of pots into a collection.

What is an apothecary garden?

The historical name is a physic garden. Oxford started one in 1621 and grew plants for medicinal use, and by 1648 its first catalogue listed around 1,400 of them. London's version came half a century later, founded by apothecaries as an outdoor classroom for their apprentices.

Both were teaching collections. Plants were laid out so a beginner could learn them one at a time.

That part is easy to copy at home. Four or five herbs, each in its own labeled section, is an apothecary garden.

Which herbs are in an apothecary garden?

German chamomile. This is the tea chamomile, an annual, and the flowers are the part you use. University of Wisconsin Extension says germination usually happens within a week when conditions are warm. Our own kit sheets are more careful and say 14 to 21 days. Plan on ours and be pleased if it beats it. The Royal Horticultural Society says chamomile can start flowering in as little as ten weeks.

Lemon balm. Lemony leaves, fast clumps, very happy in a pot. Utah State Extension is blunt about why a pot helps. Lemon balm spreads like mint and will take over a bed. RHS says seedlings can take up to three weeks to show. Our Tea Garden page prints no figure for lemon balm, so use the RHS one. One nice flavor detail from the same page: dried leaves are much milder than fresh.

Mint. The most forgiving of the set. University of Maryland Extension recommends growing mint in a container specifically to stop it spreading, in a pot 12 to 16 inches across. RHS goes further and names a sunny windowsill as the way to keep picking it through winter.

Lavender. The long game, and the numbers need care. Utah State Extension puts germination at 14 to 21 days, with a heat mat holding the pot at 70 degrees. New Mexico State Extension says 30 days at 65 degrees or higher. On a windowsill with no bottom heat our kit sheets say four to eight weeks, so that is the honest figure for a kitchen. Both extension services agree on something more useful: seed-grown lavender is slow and uneven, which is why most lavender is grown from cuttings instead.

Why sow lavender and chamomile separately?

Because they arrive weeks apart, and an empty half of a pot looks like failure.

Our Zen Garden Grow Kit holds both in one pot, and the instructions tell you to sow each variety in its own section. Chamomile comes up in 14 to 21 days, per that kit's own sheet. Lavender takes four to eight weeks.

Sow them in their own corners and nothing looks broken. One corner is fast, one corner is slow, and you know which is which.

The second instruction is just as useful. Both seeds go on the surface and stay uncovered, because both need light to germinate. RHS and University of Wisconsin Extension say the same for chamomile. Surface sow, press in gently, do not bury it.

Zen Garden herb kit contents, with the divided pot, soil pellets and lavender and chamomile seed packets
Two seeds on very different clocks, which is why the pot has sections.

How long does each herb take?

These figures come straight off our own kit pages, so they match what is printed on the box you get.

Plant (kit) Sow Warmth Up in Mature in
Chamomile (Zen Garden) Surface, uncovered 65 degrees 14 to 21 days 70 to 75 days
Lavender (Zen Garden) Surface, uncovered 70 degrees 4 to 8 weeks 90 to 200 days
Lavender (Lavender Basket) Surface, uncovered 70 to 75 degrees 4 to 6 weeks Second year
Mint (Cocktail Herb) Surface, uncovered 70 degrees 14 to 21 days 90 to 200 days
Lime basil (Cocktail Herb) 1/4 inch deep 65 degrees 7 to 14 days 70 to 75 days

Look at the spread. Lime basil is up in one to two weeks. Lavender can take two months. That is the same box and the same windowsill, running on two different clocks.

Notice the two lavender rows disagree about maturity, too. The Zen Garden sheet gives a day count and the basket kit says second year. Lavender really is like that, and we would rather print both numbers than pick the flattering one.

How much light do herbs need indoors?

More than most of us think, and the extension services do not fully agree on the number.

Penn State Extension, University of Illinois Extension and Montana State Extension all say at least six hours of direct sun. University of Maryland Extension says at least five. Iowa State Extension says four to six on one of its pages.

Five or six hours is the safe floor. A south-facing window is the recommendation, with east or west as a solid second choice. Nobody recommends north.

What happens in less light is worth knowing. Penn State puts it plainly. Herbs get thin and spindly, make smaller leaves, and lose aroma.

Which of these will actually thrive on a windowsill?

Mint and thyme will. They appear on every extension list of herbs that do well indoors, and RHS names a sunny windowsill for winter mint. Lemon balm grows beautifully in a pot, although Iowa State and Montana State both put it in the harder group indoors.

Chamomile and lavender are a different story, and we should say so. We read five extension services on indoor herbs and neither plant appears on any of their lists. Chamomile in a container is well supported. Chamomile flowering on a dim January sill is not.

So here is the plan, in three versions.

  • Bright south or west window, no outdoor space at all. Start everything. Mint and thyme will keep going all winter. Chamomile will flower for you, just less generously than a plant outdoors would.
  • Bright window plus a step, balcony or fire escape. Start indoors now and move the chamomile and lavender out once nights turn mild. This is the best of the three.
  • Dim windows. A clip-on grow light fixes this for roughly the price of a kit. Extension services suggest running one 12 to 16 hours a day, held 6 to 12 inches above the leaves.

Would rather not buy a light? Then start with the two that do not need one. Our Cocktail Herb Grow Kit brings the mint, with lime basil up in a week or two and lavender for later. The Grilling Herb Grow Kit brings the thyme.

Tea Garden herb kit after a full season of growing, with lavender, chamomile and lemon balm in three pots
A full season of growing got them here, not a month.

How do you dry chamomile for tea?

Pick the flowers when they are near full bloom, snipping just the flower head off the stem. Wisconsin Extension says that is when quality is best, and RHS adds that regular picking brings more flowers.

Then follow the food preservation people, because this is a food question. Penn State Extension and Oregon State Extension agree on all of it.

  • Rinse in cool water and shake off the excess. Pat dry with a paper towel.
  • Spread the flowers on a tray in one layer. Somewhere warm and dry, out of direct sun.
  • Give it a week or two. Oregon State puts leaf herbs at five to ten days.
  • Test by crumbling. Dry flowers crumble easily and stems snap when bent.
  • Store in an airtight jar in a cool, dark cupboard, away from the stove.
  • Use within a year. Oregon State says flavor and color are best in the first six months.

One step most guides skip. Penn State Extension recommends treating air dried herbs for insects and eggs. Freeze at 0 degrees for at least 48 hours, or heat at 160 degrees for 30 minutes.

That labeled jar is the real gift. It just arrives a season later than the box does.

German or Roman chamomile?

Three extension sources say outright that these two get confused, so it is worth thirty seconds.

German chamomile is the annual and the tea one. Wisconsin Extension notes that Roman chamomile is used less often in tea because it tastes more bitter. NC State Extension lists Roman chamomile as a perennial, and a shorter, spreading plant.

Need to tell them apart in a jar? German chamomile flowers have a hollow center. The little yellow dome is not solid.

What else belongs in an apothecary garden?

Calendula, if you want something fast. University of New Hampshire Extension puts it at 10 to 15 days to germinate and 30 to 50 days from sowing to flower. The same page notes the petals can be dried for tea, or scattered fresh on a salad. It comes in our Hippie Bus Flower Grow Kit.

Thyme is the other one worth adding, and it keeps going through winter on a bright sill.

One to leave out of the tea jar. NC State Extension documents hyssop as a cooking flavor for soups and sauces, not as a tea.

A few things we liked learning

  • The garden's own history says Chelsea Physic Garden grew from an apothecaries' training ground into a collection of more than 4,500 plants.
  • UC Marin Master Gardeners note that German chamomile often flowers two or three times in a single year.
  • RHS says dried lemon balm tastes noticeably milder than fresh, which is worth knowing before you dry the whole plant.
  • Oxford Botanic Garden says its first catalogue, published in 1648, listed around 1,400 plants.
  • Utah State Extension says lavender takes about three years to reach full size, so a first-year plant is a teenager.

What to expect, month by month

When What you will see
Week 1 Usually nothing. This is correct.
Weeks 2 to 3 Chamomile and mint seedlings, tiny and green.
Weeks 4 to 8 Lavender finally shows up. Late is normal for lavender.
Second set of leaves The bigger leaves after the first two. Start feeding, at half the strength on the fertilizer label.
From week 10 Earliest chamomile flowers, in a very bright window.
Next summer A labeled jar of dried flowers.

Which kit to start with

Kit Good for
Apothecary Garden Grow Kit, 9 varieties The full teaching collection. The one to give a curious person.
Tea Garden Grow Kit Lavender, chamomile and lemon balm in three pots.
Zen Garden Grow Kit Lavender and chamomile sharing one pot, in their own sections.
Chamomile Peaceful Pot Just the tea flower, and the fastest flower of the set.
Lavender Grow Kit contents in a white basket planter, with soil pellets and a lavender seed packet
The basket kit says second year maturity right on its page. We would rather tell you now.

Every kit is covered by our Guaranteed to Grow promise. If your seeds do not come up, we will replace the seed packet for free.

Start it on a gray afternoon in a warm kitchen. Two weeks later there are seedlings on the sill, and the light is already coming back. That is a good trade for a winter.

Keep reading
How to Grow Lavender from Seed at Home (Patience Pays Off) · Summer is Winding Down. Your Herb Garden Doesn't Have To · A Gardening Gift for Everyone on Your List · 7 Best Indoor Herb Garden Kits for Small Apartments

Sources
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