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Healing & Alternative Health
Herbal Gardening
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by Kami McBride |
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In the past several years I have had many obstacles to keeping my herb gardens watered. Having a baby, our well running dry and the watering system being ripped out by winter flooding are just a few of the excuses I have used for not watering the herb gardens. It is absolutely beautiful here most of the time, but living in a forest on the edge of a creek has its challenges. When the wind blows, trees fall over. When it rains, the water moves giant boulders and complete watering systems. When the summer heat arrives, the rattle snakes love the coolness of the garden. Ah yes, the wonders of living in the woods.
Anyway, my point is that what I have learned really well is which medicinal plants are easy to grow; in fact I really like the plants that need no care at all!
There are so many wonderful medicinal herbs that will continue to thrive year after year even if you completely forget about them. Here are a few of my favorites.
Calendula (Calendula officinalis
This is a wonderful plant with a medicinal yellow or gold flower. It can be purchased at most nurseries. Many nurseries call this plant Marigold, which is a common name; make sure that you get Calendula officinalis, because that is the medicinal Marigold. The other Marigold which has the botanical name of Tagetes, is not medicinal. Calendula flowers make a wonderful tea for colds and flu. This plant will re-seed itself year after year and can go for a very long time without water. If you do water it though, you will harvest large flowers for the entire year. One of the reasons it has the name Calendula is because it flowers for the entire calendar year. My favorite use for calendula, is putting the fresh petals in all of my salads!
Lemon balm (Mellissa)
This is a mint family favorite that when introduced into your garden, can take on the noble status of a weed. Once you plant it, it will forever travel your garden, popping up in a different place each year. Even if you move, one of the seeds will attach itself to your clothing and go with you to your next garden. It has a wonderful lemon smell and a very mild taste that most people enjoy. The light flavor is cooling and refreshing. Lemon balm makes a very nice tea to help calm the nervous system. It helps with anxiety and insomnia and brings the bees to your garden. I love putting a few fresh lemon balm leaves into summer drinks.
Mullein (Verbascum thapsis)
This is another plant that once you bring it home, it will forever be your friend. I planted a single mullein plant five years ago and I now have over fifty plants! Mullein grows a tall stalk that has beautiful yellow flowers in the summer time. The flowering stalks look like giant candelabras, giving reason for one of the common names of this plant; Our Ladies Candle! Each mullein stalk produces millions of seeds that will spread throughout your garden. The leaves of this plant make a wonderful tea for stubborn winter coughs. Mullein tea also helps to soothe a sore throat and is a very good expectorant for winter chest colds.
Plantain (Plantago spp)
Plantain is a common weed, you cannot buy it in the nurseries, you have to be lucky enough for it to just show up in your garden. If it hasn’t come to you yet, gather the seeds from the plant in the fall and throw them out into your garden and it will grow. Plantain can be found growing in almost any park lawn. Plantain leaves make the best topical poultice for any kind of sting or bite. Simply mash the leaves with water or saliva, place the plantain on the bite and watch the pain and redness go away. We call plantain the herbal band aid; it goes onto all of our bumps, bruises, bites and stings.
Mugwort (Artemesia douglasiana)
This variety of mugwort is a native California plant. It is another green friend that will be in your garden forever once you put it into the ground. I planted four plants about seven years ago and I now have hundreds of mugwort plants. It is very beautiful with its silvery back side of the leaf that shimmers at night under a full moon. I have large mugwort plants growing at the entrance to my door. When I go in the house to eat lunch, I take a bite of the mugwort to stimulate my digestion. Mugwort makes a wonderful tea to support digestive function or to help with an upset stomach. I chop mugwort leaves into small pieces and add them to my salads in the summer time. I also soak the leaves in vinegar and put the mugwort vinegar into salad dressings.
As always with herbal medicine, it is important to have the plants you use properly identified before using them.
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Kami McBride,
Teacher of Herbal Medicine
& Women's Health
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Kami McBride has taught herbal medicine and women’s health since 1988. She has studied medicinal plants for almost 20 years and has taught Herbology at the University of California School of Nursing and Stanford Hospital. Her popular course, Cultivating the Herbal Medicine Woman Within is an experiential earth awareness and herbal studies program that is taught at her beautiful school and herb gardens in Vacaville, California.
An intuitive and inspiring teacher, Kami has helped thousands of people learn to use healing plants in their daily lives in ways that are healthy, safe and fun. Her extensive knowledge of herbal medicine along with a focus on teaching herbology as a relationship with the Earth and a way of life, help to fulfill her mission of reviving the cultural art of home herbal care.
Kami is an herbal consultant and an expert in the field of holistic health specializing in women’s issues. Her herbal consultations empower women to discover sacredness and pleasure in their healing process. Her educational courses provide a sanctuary for women to transform their relationship with their body and reclaim their heritage as healers and herbalists.
Kami is the author of 105 Ways to Celebrate Menstruation, available at www.amazon.com.
Visit Kami’s website at:
www.livingawareness.
com
Sign up for her free quarterly herbal e-newsletter.
kami@livingawarness.
com
For Classes, Books & Consultations:
Phone: 707-446-1290
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