Herbal Year in Review 2025: Lessons, Cozy Wins & What’s Growing Next

Looking Back with a Cup of Tea (and a Little Gratitude)

Every December, I sit down with a mug of something warm — usually lemon balm and chamomile — and take stock of the year. Not the productivity kind of stock, but the softer kind: what we planted, what we made, what worked, what didn’t, and what we’ll carry forward.

2025 was full of experiments, quiet wins, a few messes, and a lot of growth — both herbal and otherwise. This space became a place to slow down, try things, learn out loud, and build something steady.

Here’s a look behind the apothecary shelves — my herbal year in review.

What We Grew (and Learned from the Garden)

This year, the garden gave us more than herbs — it gave us lessons in patience and flexibility.

Standouts from the season:

• Calendula – The true workhorse. It bloomed from late spring through fall and found its way into salves, oils, bath blends, and teas.

• Lemon Balm – Grew like it had a personal mission to cheer everyone up. Still my favorite for mood, digestion, and nervous-system support.

• Holy Basil (Tulsi) – I finally nailed the drying process this year. The scent alone feels like a ritual.

• Comfrey – Thrived again and went straight into infused oils and summer salves for scrapes and overworked hands.

Lesson learned: grow twice as much lemon balm next year… and desperately try to keep up with the mint!

What We Made (and Kept Reaching For)

From early spring infusions to winter skin care, the apothecary shelves filled up fast. A few recipes became true staples:

• Chamomile & Calendula Healing Balm – Our family’s go-to for dry hands, garden nicks, and minor skin irritations.

• Sleepytime Tea Blend – Lemon balm, chamomile, and lavender stayed in constant rotation.

• Tallow Lip Balm – A new favorite gift that earned a permanent place in my winter lineup.

• Tallow & Rosehip Balm – The surprise favorite I keep remaking for myself.

Each batch taught me more about ratios, patience, and letting things be simple instead of perfect.

What We Learned Along the Way

2025 became the year of lazy efficiency — creating systems that actually fit real life.

A few lessons that stuck:

• Herbs are forgiving. They don’t mind if you strain on day four instead of day three.

• Your freezer is your best friend. Extra infused oils = stress-free batching later.

• Print labels before you start pouring. Always.

• “Perfect” isn’t the goal — consistency is.

• Also to just try. New things may seem overwhelming, but once it's tried, you know what works for you and what doesn't.

Letting the process be easier made everything feel more sustainable.

What We Loved Most

The real joy this year wasn’t just the recipes — it was the connection.

Messages from readers trying their first salve. Photos of tea jars on kitchen counters. Notes about starting a small apothecary shelf at home. Those moments matter.

Herbal living reminds us that care doesn’t have to be complicated — it often starts with a jar, a kettle, and a little intention.

A Few Tools I Reached for Again and Again

(Affiliate links — thank you for supporting The Hearth Witch’s Nook)

If you’re building a home apothecary or batching herbal recipes, these are the things I genuinely use year-round:

• Wide-Mouth Glass Jars – for infusions, bath salts, and tea blends-my favorite are the Azure Standard Jars or thrifted jars I find.

• Muslin Bags – perfect for baths, simmer pots, and kid-friendly herbs

• Digital Kitchen Scale – essential for consistent creams and balms

• Dried Culinary-Grade Herbs – calendula, lemon balm, chamomile, rosehips (or make your herb garden and dry your own! You'll always know what you're getting.)

• Amber Dropper Bottles – for oils and glycerites. Somehow, I never have enough.

• Simple Label Sheets – makes everything feel finished without fuss, and easy clean!

I keep these stocked so herbal projects stay simple instead of overwhelming.

What’s Growing in 2026

Everything I learned this year is shaping what comes next:

• A Family Herbal Planner (digital) — a more in-depth tool I’m slowly building to help track recipes, harvests, and seasonal rhythms over time

• The Herbal Year Starter Kit — a simple, beginner-friendly collection of seasonal recipes to help you get started right now

• Continued blog posts focused on cozy systems, gentle learning, and steady growth

If you’d like a calm, no-pressure way to step into the new year, I’ve already put together a small guide that reflects everything I learned this year.

👉 Herbal Year Starter Kit
A digital guide with 8 beginner herbal recipes, a printable planner page, and a seasonal reset checklist — designed to help you ease into the year with intention.

Final Thought

It’s easy to rush past the end of the year, but herbs remind us that rest is part of growth. Reflection is nourishment.

So here’s to 2025 — for everything it taught us, everything it healed, and everything it quietly prepared us for.

Light a candle. Pour a cup of tea. You grew something beautiful this year.