Thyme. Photo courtesy of Lisa Cassel Arms
8 Plants for Your Medicine Chest
This year, make the commitment to add plant-based, home grown remedies to your life! Whether in the bathroom cabinet, the first aid kit, or the spice rack, medicinal herbs deserve a place in your home. Below are eight easy-to-grow herbs that you can grow and process to provide your family with plenty of herbal TLC. If you’re looking for more guidance on growing and using herbs this year, we’ll be discussing medicinal gardening in full on March 28th from 10-12 in the Red Wagon classroom!
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium): This common roadside “weed” is actually a treasured medicinal wunderkind. The genus refers to its alleged use by the warrior Achilles, who brought the plant into battle to staunch the sword wounds of his soldiers. Swords aside, yarrow is the premier first aid herb for all sorts of cuts and scrapes. It is both styptic (staunching bleeding) and antimicrobial, so it is quite safe to put directly on a wound. When fresh, the leaves and flowers can be mashed or chewed into a juicy poultice and put directly on the skin. For year-round use, simply dry the aerial parts of the plant (as flowers begin to open), and powder the leaves and flowers. This can be stored in a first aid kit for easy access, and will keep for a couple years. Yarrow is a popular ornamental, so while the wild white variety is traditionally used medicinally, the brightly colored ornamental varieties can also be used in a pinch.
Calendula (Calendula officinalis): Sunny, cheery “pot marigold” is one of the first flowers to burst forth in June, and one of the last to die back as frost looms in October. Harvesting is as simple as plucking the flowers from the stem as they open and drying them for a couple days in a warm, sunny location, then storing in a dark place. Once the plants start flowering, harvest can happen as frequently as every other day, which helps keep the plant in bloom consistently. Calendula is healing to all damaged tissue, internal and external, and can help foster immunity and a bright spirit in the depths of winter. Deb Soule of Avena Botanicals in Maine encourages everyone to “Grow a Row” of calendula as a way of supporting folks healing from abuse and trauma.
Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea, angustifolia): Many folks already have Echinacea growing as an easy native ornamental in their perennial gardens, but haven’t harvested it before. A favorite of nectar-seeking butterflies, both the flowers and roots of the plant are harvested for medicine. Pop the matured flower heads off the stalk through the late summer (leaving plenty for the pollinators), and either dry for tea or chop up and cover with vodka to make your own immune-boosting tincture. Harvest roots in late fall and add to the vodka, and in a month you’ll have enough Echinacea tincture to keep your loved ones healthy through the winter!
Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum, tenuiflorum): A relative of basil, tulsi brings joy to the garden with its heavenly scent and flower stalks that attract all manner of pollinating insects. Tulsi leaves and flowers can be harvested fresh for tea, or hung in a dry, warm place to dry, then stripped off their stems and stored for a burst of sweetness throughout the year. Though native to farm warmer climates, this plant thrives through our northern summers and is a favorite tea plant for children and adults alike.
Thyme (Thymus vulgaris): We offer a few varieties of thyme at Red Wagon, and this culinary staple is equally useful as infection-fighting medicine. My favorite to dry for tea is the French variety, which is a bit more floral and sweet than the German variety. Harvest by giving the plant a “haircut” right as it begins to set blossoms, and dry in a basket or paper bag, then strip from the stem. Strong thyme tea with a bit of honey provides welcome warmth during cold and flu season, and it can be added to biscuits and other baked goods for a dash of herbaceous brightness.
Rose (Rosa spp.): Growing roses can be as simple or as complicated as you like, but harvesting their bounty is easy regardless of the species you cultivate. As the flowers bloom, pluck the petals and allow to dry in a basket out of the sun. You can certainly harvest the buds, but that robs the pollinators of the nectar, and reduces the showiness of your plants. Often once the bloom has been pollinated, it will begin to drop its fragrant petals on its own, and you can come along with your basket to catch them! Rose petals brighten and sweeten any tea blend, add luxury to chocolate treats, and are a classic skin-soothing secret. To learn more about using roses in skincare, join us June 30th for a Make-and-Take skin spray class at RWP!
Mint (Mentha spp): This year at Red Wagon we’re growing fifteen different kinds of mint varieties, all with distinct aromatic profiles! I’m personally a big fan of the Kentucky Colonel and Chocolate mints, but it’s tremendously fun to plant a variety (in pots if you’re concerned about spreading) and see which types work best in your kitchen. Mint dries well, and I often will combine a few varieties into a tea blend for greater depth of flavor. In addition to settling digestion and brightening the spirit, mint can be used to literally cool down in the heat of summer- a strong mint tea can be chilled, and applied with a washcloth to the face and neck after sun exposure (as well as drunk for maximum cooling!)
Lavender (Lavandula spp.): What could be more classic in the garden than lavender? With its beautiful purple blossoms and sturdy upright habit, it’s the definition of classic English gardening. We have quite a few lavender varieties in the greenhouses. For harvesting, the Phenomenal (L. intermedia) type seems to be a frontrunner in terms of quantity and fragrance of blooms, but Hidcote and Provence also work well. Cut flower stalks in early bloom and make a fresh lavender wand, or dry flowers and leaves to crush for homemade sachets. I also love infusing lavender into bath salts, and drying to use in the winter for uplifting facial steams.
I hope this list piques your interest in planning your herb garden this year! There’s more inspiration to be found on the Red Wagon Herbs We Grow list, so be sure to peruse before the planting season begins!