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Herbal garden ideas


MommaDogs

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Thought it would be fun for us all to post our favorite medicinals for a medicinal herb garden. I'm moving my flowers to the front of my house in order to make room for a good medicinal garden. The only thing I grow now is mint and chamomile for stomach problems.

 

Here are some of the sites I have been researching on.

 

http://nnlm.gov/pnr/uwmhg/

http://herbgardens.about.com/od/herbalgard...alistGarden.htm

http://herbgardens.about.com/od/herbalgard...alistGarden.htm

 

So, what are your favorites to grow, or to use? What would you grow if you could but can't?

 

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Dill and mint, for cranky-baby tea and for adult stomach-aches.

Bay laurel for hard stomach cramps. (My high school beau doubled over with cramps during a date. Frightened, I drove him to his great-aunt/great-uncle's house. They asked what he'd been eating, scolded him for drinking large quantities of ice tea with hot fried fish, and dosed him with hot bay leaf tea. The tea made an immediate difference. The great uncle was bellowing, "Give the boy an enema! Clean him out good!" and I was about in tears at the prospect, and Aunta Olga just kept saying "No, no, the bay leaf tea will fix him." I was so glad it did.)

Echinacea/coneflower, for colds.

Poppies, because they look pretty in the bed with the echinacea.

Thyme, for toothpaste and gargle, especially when someone in the house has a sore throat.

Elder, for flu. The flowers are supposed to be good in a tea with mint and yarrow for cold, but I think I may be allergic to yarrow.

Redbud, for coughing tea. (The Cherokee used the inner bark the same as other Nations used the inner bark of Redbud's first cousin, the black cherry.)

Hibiscus, mint as above, blackberry, and lemon grass to make a Red Zinger knockoff for mild dysphoria.

Lemon Eucalyptus, on the hope it will ward off mosquitoes better than geraniums do, and for coughs/congestion, and to keep a cough-irritted throat from going putrid.

Onion, for burns

Garlic for what-ails-you, particularly skin afflictions

Aloe, for burns and hemmorhoids (For the latter, clean the area, peel an inch-long bit of aloe, and insert the aloe in the affected area. How simple can it get?)

Lemon verbena, for soaps, for a feverish-cold tea (and because, darn it, I ought to be able to grow it if I try hard enough!)

Marsh mallow, for when you need a soothing slime.

Sweet Annie, for malaria

Asparagus, for worms and water retention, and to help the liver

Milkweed, for the liver

Milk vetch, for dysphoria and the drags

Borage, although the tea is over-rated as to its taste and "cooling, soothing powers" because its root has lots of gamma0linoleic acid

Tea camelia, because it's good for what ails you

cayenne, for pain

camphor tree for chapped-lip balm and in a steam bath for congestion

Willow, for fever

Citrus, for everything except burns or fever

Coriander, for indigestion

Hawthorn, for good circulation

Turmeric, for belly-ache, ladies' cramps, jaundice, and topically for skin problems

Lemon grass, for belly-ache and for hibiscus tea when one feels blah, and topically for skin problems

artichoke to strengthen the liver and gall bladder

carrots, for beta carotene (My seedlings of purple carrots fell prey to the cats, but Fall is coming!

Cardamom, for coughing and belly-ache

Meadowsweet queen of the meadow for fever, inflammation, and belly-ache

Betony, for everything

Lavender, for skin problems and drink slowly in tea to ward off a hissy-fit

Valerian, though it stinks horribly, for cramps

Vervain, which is sort of like Valerian's more congenial sister, but beware that slugs will trek to your yard from miles around to take a much of it

Flax for regularity

Lemon balm for skin ailments, for a soothing tea (good for hyper kids and the headaches they cause), for bee stings, and to keep bees happy

Tobacco, because lack of it can cause mortal sin and the detailed imagining of mortal sins

Catmip for belly aches, headaches, jitters, and bored cats

Pennyroyal for fleas, headaches, and blah moods

Basil for skin problems and indigestion

Passionflower, or rather maypop, for jitters and nervous headaches

Purslane to strengthen the heart and for sore throat

 

Note that lemon grass tea, orange-petal tea, mint tea, and dill tea are good for babies and toddlers--very gentle, and soothing to the belly.

 

I know I'm forgetting as many as I've listed, but my mind is squeezed dry right now. See why if I had acreage I'd have to put in at least one greenhouse?

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Like Ambergris, I have dozens of herbs on my list, some are on my want list but most of them are of a more exotic nature. Mostly I WANT to have the energy to get them all, put them in, and harvest and process them for use. I used to have hundreds growing in my garden (at another home and in another, younger, time) and did just that with them but now-a-days I use a lot more local wild medicinals instead of domesticated ones. Mother nature takes care of the wild ones and even has dozens of them growing right in the yard or very near the house (with help from me some times) And she has them waiting for me just at the right time, LOL.

 

I laughed when I saw the links to nettle and dandelion as I have them growing by the thousands around me and utilize them both. Of the two, I use nettles more than the dandelion as I use it in my hair care products, for a tea, and as a cooked greens. I also use it in the form of a sun tea as fertilizer for my plants both inside and out.

 

Of the more domestic herbs I grow, which is still quite a few, I like lemon balm (Melissa) for it's refreshing lemon taste and soothing properties. It is easy care and usually requires only some mowing to keep it from spreading. I have comfrey, chamomile, thyme (several varieties), sage, chamomile, French tarragon, mints, yarrow, and a whole lot more growing without much help on my part. There are a few, however, that I put some effort into. Pineapple sage is one of my favorites. It's a very tender perennial and I end up replacing it every few years as it just doesn’t winter over well in the house during the winter. Thankfully it will grow from cuttings as it is best used fresh. Stevia has the same tender ways but well worth the effort. Lemon verbena is another favorite.

 

 

 

Oh dear, I guess they are all favorites and I can’t just pick one easily. Though if I were going to move and could only take one medicinal with me, I guess I’d have to choose my comfrey. It’s moved with me wherever we went for over forty years.

 

I'm looking forward to reading about other's love of herbs.

:bighug2:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Thanks for starting this one. I'm new to herbs....I've taken them before but have no clue as to what to plant. Now that I have an idea how do we know how to process them or use them?

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So far, this has been the first year I've been able to have a 'herb garden' and I'm thrilled to find medicinal herbs.

 

I have:

 

Yarrow

Chammomile

Rosemary

Feverfew

Bay

Sage

Dill

Marjoram (died - I need to get another start)

Thyme

Lemon Verbena

Mint

Lavender

Parsley

Lots of onions

Chives

Garlic & elephant garlic

 

ummm... a few others...

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Here's a question. I have a few herbs picked out, I have decided to begin searching and planting... but is there a companion guide for herbs online that anyone knows of? Is anyone aware of any companion planting guidelines? Anyone have any experiences to share, such as never plant yarrow next to horseradish... or something. (made that one up, guys)

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I had an herb garden area until the chickens decided it needed some intensive "tilling." <_<

I need to find a new spot and some attractive and inexpensive way to keep them out.

Since I'll be starting from ground floor, I have an opportunity to think it through and get it right. Before, I just bought a little of this and a little of that. I didn't even end up using everything.

I would also like to save seed from them, so I need to know what will cross pollinate. I know marjoram is closly related to oregano, so I need to figure out how to isolate and manually pollinate it myself. Of course, some herbs can be propogated through division.

The good things about most herbs is that the deer, groundhogs and rabbits in my yard don't seem to bother them.

I'll work on my plans this winter. I can't handle another project this year. I'm already building a chicken coop, tending my huge garden, painting the upper story windows and shutters, and I must get to building the cold frames for this fall. And of course, canning will start back up again.

So many projects... so little time, money and strength!

 

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This is my first year dabbling in the knowledge of medicinal herbs. Culinary herbs are also medicinal, most just don't know it yet. That said, here is my list (if I haven't forgotten anything, LOL:

 

Stevia

Dill

Borage

Cilantro

Feverfew

Sage

Echinacea

Cumin

Sweet Basil

Lavender Lady

Moss Curled Parsley

Peppermint

Chamomile

rosemary

elderberry

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