“And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which [is] upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which [is] the fruit of a tree yielding seed;”
Genesis 1:29
The wooden gate, a gift from my father in law, creaked as I entered the garden…. the fresh smell of awakening mint wafted through the morning air as I made my way to the back of the garden … I listened as the morning broke with waking sounds … Mourning Doves cooed from their nests above in the pine tree branches … the children were hustling about, feeding their animals before breakfast …
Welcome to my {very humble and weedy} herb garden.
When I walk through this simple and rather disorganized herb garden, I feel so much joy and gratefulness. Although I did not plan this garden out very well, it has grown into a place I love to visit.
Each of the plants that reside in this garden will aid in either health or cooking. They are beautiful for so many different reasons.
In this rustic small corner of earth,
you will find many herbs that I am growing …
thyme
tarragon
meadow sage
sage
lavender
calendula
oregano
mullein
basil
mint {apple/chocolate/peppermint/spearmint}
chamomile
comfrey
bergamot
dill
rue
evening primrose
echinacea
lungwort
parsley
fennel
yarrow
{I am sure I am missing a few in this list …}
Walking through the herb garden yesterday, I counted 26 different herbs that are growing. This brought a smile to my face, as I feel my herb garden is like a natural medicine chest, dug right there in the vibrant, humble soil.
Over the past three years, I have been reading herbal books, writing down recipes and collecting these amazing perennial herbs and allowing them to seed as they mature, with hopes of a bigger and healthy patch in the next year to come. Building it up has taken time and patience.
My chamomile patch is just blooming right now … a lovely patch of gentle white flowers that I will dry for tea and balms … my daughter has her eye on them for making homemade soap and lotions.
The luscious comfrey is in full bloom right now — it is an amazing herb (yes, it will take over so watch where you plant it).
It has saved us from needing stitches in the past as it healed up some deep gashes and wounds. I am using it in the vegetable garden as comfrey tea fertilizer by simply picking some leaves, crushing them a bit with my hands and soaking them for a few days in a big bucket of rain water. I will add some of the comfrey tea to my watering can as I water the garden in the evenings.
I will also have plans to make salves and creams with this extremely valuable herb.
Of course, there is mint. 🙂 The mint is always growing and spreading, which is fine by me. I love a good, hardy plant. Not only is it fun to share with others, once the mint plant establishes itself, I can separate it and plant it around the covered porch. When it’s tea time, I simply pluck some mint leaves and add it to my tea pot for instant herbal tea. You will find apple mint, chocolate mint (my favorite) and peppermint …
This week, I will be picking some mint and chamomile to dry for tea in the winter. I will also take my celery and begin drying it for future soups.
{tarragon}
{meadow sage}
[bee balm just waiting to bloom]
This week, I also hope to make a few herbal remedies with my daughters. It is part of their training as future homemakers. 🙂 It’s also an enjoyable time together, as we experiment and come up with herbal lotions, soaps and salves we can use in our own family and also give as gifts.
Learning about herbs and the benefits of growing your own medicine is a never ending hobby for me.
And I completely agree with Thomas Edison … as he stated:
“Until man duplicates a blade of grass, nature can laugh at his so-called scientific knowledge. Remedies from chemicals will never stand in favour compared with the products of nature, the living cell of the plant, the final result of the rays of the sun,
the mother of all life.”
– T. A. Edison
by Gigi
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