Tea Gardening for Beginners by Julia Dimakos

Have you ever wanted to grow your own tea leaves or create herbal infusions at home? If so, this month’s 2025 Garden Book Club selection, Tea Gardening for Beginners, is the perfect guide to help you get started. Not only does this book teach you how to grow tea, but it also walks you through blending your own unique creations.

In this book, you’ll learn how to plan your garden and cultivate 25 flavorful plants, such as lavender and lemongrass. Additionally, you’ll discover how to create custom tea blends for energy, relaxation, and more. With step-by-step instructions and detailed plant profiles, brewing fresh tea from your own garden becomes simple and enjoyable.

Fun fact: The author, Julia Dimakos, and I were once in the same gardening group on Instagram! Interestingly, Julia lives in Canada and has a massive and beautiful kitchen garden space. Because of her experience growing her own garden and teaching others in her community she is an excellent resource for kitchen gardeners. If you’d like to learn more about her, you can visit her website here.

Want a sneak peek of the book? Watch a discussion in the YouTube video below!

Reading Schedule for Tea Gardening for Beginners

 7Chapters/117 pages 

• Week 1: Read Intro & Chapter 1. The Discussion is March 4
• Week 2: Read Chapters 2–3. The Discussion March 11
• Week 3: Read Chapters 4–5. The Discussion March 18 
• Week 4: Read Chapters 6–7. The Discussion March 25

How The 2025 Garden Book Club Discussion Works

Each Tuesday around 7:00PM EST. I chat about a section of the book we are reading in the 2025 Garden Book Club over on my Instagram Stories. I then save the discussions to a Garden Book Club Highlight on my Instagram page so you can visit them whenever you have time. If you’d like the complete book list for each month of our Garden Book Club you can find it here. 

How to Participate

• Join me every Tuesday at ~7PM EST on Instagram Stories for discussions. I’ll be discussing the book of the month, sharing insights, and diving into the themes, gardening tips, and reflections. I’ll also have polls and question boxes for you to share your thoughts and insights. I also save each story to a Book Club Highlight so you can go back and watch later if you miss it on Tuesdays.
• Engage by sending voice or written messages via Instagram DMs with your thoughts and key takeaways! I’ll share your messages throughout
  the following days, though I won’t be taking questions or comments in real-time.
•   Stay on track: To help you stay on track, I’ll post weekly reminders on Instagram Stories with a book club graphic. This Book Club is super flexible. No pressure to join, just jump in when a book looks interesting to you. Even if your not reading the book you are welcome to follow along in my Instagram Stories every Tuesday .

Where to Find the Book 

You can find Tea Gardening for Beginners at Juliadimakos.com , your local library, Abe Books, Thrift Books, Audible orAmazon.

Book Club Facilitator

Michelle is a self-taught kitchen gardener whose goal is to help everyone find resources, guidance, and inspiration to rediscover or discover for the first time how fun and rewarding gardening can be.

Through her blog and social media, Michelle’s Garden Grows, she encourage others on their own gardening journeys.

With an RN, BSN degree, Michelle blends her faith and nursing background with gardening, showing how the garden can be a place of healing, growth, and renewal. You can learn more about Michelle’s Garden Grows here.

The post March Garden Book Club: Tea Gardening for Beginners appeared first on Michelle's Garden Grows.

It’s Time for the January Garden Book Club Selection: The Garden Within by Dr. Anita Phillips

Each Tuesday around 7:15PM EST starting January 14, I’ll be chatting about one section of the book on Instastories and then saving them all to a highlight so you can visit them whenever you’re ready.

DISCLAIMER: this book blends faith through a Christian lens with neurobiology, gardening, and the author’s research as a therapist. While the faith aspect isn’t overt, it includes Bible verses and mentions the Creator and Jesus in a respectful way. Some people may not prefer those topics &  wanted to ensure everyone is aware!

Book Club Schedule

15 Chapters/198 pages

• Week 1: Read Chapters 1–4 
• Week 2: Read Chapters 5–8: Discuss chapters 1-8 Tuesday January 14
• Week 3: Read Chapters 9–12 Discuss Tuesday January 21
• Week 4: Read Chapters 13–15 Tuesday January 28

You can read all about how our 2025 Garden Book Club works in this post and see the full list here for the rest of the month’s selections.

Our January book selection shows how embracing your emotions can unlock your most powerful life in this transformative book by trauma therapist Dr. Anita Phillips. Combining faith, neurobiology, and practical tools, Dr. Phillips reveals how emotional well-being heals trauma, calms anxiety, and renews the mind. Just as gardens thrive in good soil, your heart flourishes when nurtured. 

I’m excited for you to join me!

Where to find the book

You can find it at your local library, Abe Books, Thrift Books, or Amazon.

How to Participate in The Garden Book Club

• Join me every Tuesday at ~7pm on Instagram Stories for discussions. I’ll save each story to a Book Club Highlight so you can go back and watch later if you miss it on Tuesdays.
• Discussion: Each week I’ll be discussing the book of the month, sharing insights, and diving into the themes, gardening tips, and reflections.
• Engage by sending voice or written messages via Instagram DMs with your thoughts and key takeaways! I’ll share your messages throughout the following days, though I won’t be taking questions or comments in real-time.
• Stay on track: To help you stay on track, I’ll post weekly reminders on Instagram Stories with a book club graphic.

About the Author

Michelle is a self-taught kitchen gardener whose goal is to help everyone find resources, guidance, and inspiration to rediscover or discover for the first time how fun and rewarding gardening can be. 

Through her blog and social media, Michelle’s Garden Grows, she offers practical tips, educational content, and inspiration to support and encourage others on their gardening journeys.

With an RN, BSN degree, Michelle blends her faith and nursing background with gardening, showing how the garden can be a place of healing, growth, and renewal. You can learn more about Michelle’s Garden Grows here.

The post January Garden Book Club: The Garden Within  appeared first on Michelle's Garden Grows.