Perhaps you have chosen to grow herbs because they are useful to you in the kitchen.  They taste great!

But maybe you've also heard about how certain teas can be good for you when you have a fever or cold.  Many of us in North America are familiar with certain tea blends such as, "Gypsy Cold Care" or "Throat Coat."

Well, this blog is going to make it easier on you to reach into your garden and grab the few herbs that make such blends as these possible.

Creation is so replete with herbs that support human health that we only have enough room to list a few herbs that are easy to grow and fall under the following medicinal categories:

• Immunity-Boosting Herbs
• Relaxing Nervines
• Anti-Microbial Herbs
• Herbs that Aid in Digestion
• Heart-Healthy Herbs

A lot of herbs listed below actually span 2 or more of these categories. And there are many more medicinal categories that herbalists use not listed here. 

For instance, ginger is both an anti-microbial and a digestive aid.  So keep that in mind as you explore plant possibilities for your own herb garden.

The underlying principle governing herb usage is this:  Herbs are not nature’s equivalent to “off-the-counter (OTC)” medication.  They work in different ways, often take longer to work, and provide better results! 

Herbs can and do heal, but they are not a "one-size-fits-all" pill.

If you wake up in the middle of the night with a sore throat and you want something to alleviate that discomfort, using ginger may not work as well as peppermint for you.  That's if you're the type of person who always tends to feel hot.

If you’re the type, however, who gets cold hands and feet easily (like me), then ginger may be your best bet!

As herbalist Rosalee de la Foret often says, “Herbs are most effective when they are matched to the person and not the disease.”

She also adds, “It’s illegal for herbalists to prescribe herbs to outright treat western diseases.”

Herbs heal.

But in a slow and steady, "one-piece-of-the-entire-puzzle" kind of way.

And that is more empowering than you may initially think.  Because then you train yourself to see the bigger picture (diet, lifestyle, exposure to chemicals, etc.,)

and not just the outward manifestation (for instance, eczema)

of some underlying problem (for instance, a person's problems with digestion).

What's in a Name?

It’s also important to note the Latin name of these plants if you decide to use them for your own herb garden. Except in the case of the Hawthorn family, some varieties of the same plant can be toxic to consume.

Immuno-modulating herbs, in general, are herbs that support the immune function of the body. They are used for colds or cases of flu.

Astragalus  (Astragalus membranaceous) - a low bush or stalk

This legume plant is originally from China but can be grown in North America.  It is a particularly good herb to grow because it is:

• pretty expensive to buy it in health stores or even online.
• extensively proven to provide support to one’s immune system.
• a great "nitrogen-fixer" in your garden!

Chinese grandmothers are known to start sneaking these roots into soups and stews when flu season comes around in the winter.

Courtesy of Strictly Medicinals

Recently, Astragalus as been studied as an adjunct therapy to chemotherapy patients.

Hardiness: USDA zones 6 to 11

Diameter: 1 ft

Height: 4 ft.

Roots are most commonly used in soups and stews and taken out when serving the stew.  Also used in teas.

Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea and Echinacea angustifolia) - a cluster of shrubby flowers

In permaculture terms, this plant “stacks a lot of functions!”  Here are just a few reasons why this should be in any American garden:

• It is a native perennial that attracts pollinators
• It blooms beautifully throughout the summer
• It is famous in its ability to ward off the earliest signs of colds, flu and many different types of infections (from acne, toothache and boils to syphilis and rabies)

Hardiness: USDA zones 2 to 10

Diameter: 4 feet

Height: 5 feet.

I use all parts of the flower to make a tincture.  The recipe I use is by Rosemary Gladstar in her book,

To avoid digging out the plant and replanting again next year, I try to use the flowers and stems first and use only the roots of echinaceas if I see the plant is dying.

The roots are more commonly harvested in the fall than at any other time during the year.

Elderberry (Sambucus nigra and Sambucus canadensis) - a large bush with thin stems

If you plan to incorporate elderberry into your garden because of:

• its many benefits as a cough and cold syrup
• it is rich flavanoids (making it an antiviral) and antioxidants
• it has been used as an anti-pyretic (fever-lowering agent) throughout the ages...

Please note that this perennial grows big, tall and sprawls.  It may need to be up against a wall or fence and definitely provided with sufficient room to grow.

Elderberry has been studied so intensely in the past decade that 2013 marked the first international conference dedicated solely to “rais(ing) elderberry to the scientific level it deserves.”

Hardiness: USDA zones 3 to 8

Diameter: 10-12 feet

Height: 5-12 feet

Both berries and flowers can be harvested and used in teas.

Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) - a tall, thick bush, good for edges

Lemon balm is a mint-family member that is easy to grow and so pleasant to smell and drink in teas.

Like peppermint, it is refreshing and aromatic, but more than that, it is also calming.

Herbalist Rosemary Gladstar suggests giving children chamomile and lemon balm tea to calm them when they're hyperactive.  She says it is particularly good for those who suffer from ADHD.  In general, the veteran herbalist also says she associates lemon balm with longevity!

Lemon balm:

• is an anti-viral used to staunch wounds, alleviate cold sores and genital herpes
• is a relaxing nervine that helps when you are feeling "stressed out," tense or have heart palpitations
• aids in digestion and menstrual cramps because of its anti-spasmodic properties

Hardiness: USDA zones 4 to 9

Diameter: Waist-high bush about 3 feet in diameter and slowly spreads.

I have my children take lemon-balm and chamomile in the afternoons when they both tired and hyper at the same time.

Tulsi or Holy Basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum or Ocimum sanctum) - a cluster of shrubby flowers

If you can grow culinary basil, you can grow Tulsi.  Personally, if I had to choose between the two basils, I would choose Tulsi because in herbalism, Holy Basil falls under the category of nourishing plants called "adaptogens."

The more these plants are taken, the more they improve your vitality, your immunity and basically your overall health.  In particular, Tulsi:

• helps improve your body's ability to oxygenate itself (Rosalee de la Foret)
• relaxes you and puts you to sleep (if you need to rest)
• is antimicrobial & anti-inflammatory
• is cardio-protective
• improves memory function
• also has immunomodulating properties

Hardiness: USDA zones 4 to 9

Diameter: Waist-high bush 2 feet in diameter or less.

Height: 3 - 4 ft. tall

Just smelling these flowers will make you happy. Depending on the seed variety, Tulsi can be very prolific.  Because these plants originate from India, they grow as annuals in North America. 

Find an Indian gardener and you will likely find, many different kinds of "tulasi" growing in their garden.

Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) - a vine

This is a unique vining herb, which makes it a great choice for a permaculture herb garden because vines are one of the 7 layers in a food forest.

More on these layers on a future blog post, but suffice it to say that we need to think of the physical space that our herbs occupy and maximize the spaces so that more things can grow and support the rest of our diverse plantings.

Passionflower is also a great choice because it is very resilient.  It comes back every year and rewards us growers with its intricate beautiful flowers and a sleepy and relaxing nervine tea.

• Like lemon balm, passionflower is a relaxing nervine suitable for children and adults who have trouble getting to sleep or calming down.
• According to Rosalee de la Foret, passionflower also helps with anxiety and muscle cramps associated with a woman's menstrual period.

Hardiness: USDA zones 6 to 10

Diameter: vining 6-8 feet can grow up to 40 feet.

Warning: Leaves and unripe fruit are toxic due to its cyanide content.  The ripe fruit is the amazingly delicious passion fruit we buy in grocery stores or farmer's markets!

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) - herbaceous low growing plant

In permaculture, we know wherever dandelion is, you have a reliable "dynamic accumulator" ally in your lawn.  A plant which mines your soil for nutrients and stores it in its leaves.  So chopping and dropping the dandelion leaves is not a bad idea to promote soil fertility.

Its benefits don't stop there.  Until the mid 20th century, dandelion (which takes its name from the French, "Dent de lion "tooth of a lion") was commonly used medicinally to help with:

• liver ailments
• arthritis due to the presence of teraxasterol which is known to help reduce the effects of osteoarthritis

Today, we know dandelion to be:

• a huge source of inulin, which is known to lower blood sugar in diabetics and is also a "prebiotic"
• nutritionally high in micronutrients and phytonutrients (Rosalee de la Foret)

Hardiness: USDA zones 4 to 9

Diameter: 1 foot

Detox tea formulas almost always have dandelion in them.   The dandelion roots are often roasted during the winter-time and the flowers and leaves are used when they appear from spring to early fall.

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) - a root crop with a single stem of pinnate leaves (having opposite leaves on each side of a common stem axis)

Our freshly harvested ginger

I want to include ginger because it is such a medicinal powerhouse!  Like garlic, it is also a root crop that would fill in one of the 7 layers in a permaculture food forest designed to make use of all the space you have in your herb garden!

Ginger is known to:

• relieve anti-inflammatory pain (Note:  Not all kinds of physical pain).  Pain caused by menstrual cramps, arthritis, pain after exercise
• warm you up when you are cold because it is "moves the blood" or in herbalist lingo, is "diffusive."
• make you sweat or is a "stimulating diaphoretic"
• help when you are dizzy or nauseous
• act as an anti-microbial agent
• help prevent cancer
• Plus it tastes good!

Hawthorn (Crataegus spp) - medium-sized tree

Hawthorn has been a prized herbal remedy for the heart throughout the ages in Europe and North America.

It has shown to decrease:

• heart failure
• stress
• fatigue and
• palpitations in patients who took it as a supplement to the cardiac treatments.
• And in China, it's a popular remedy for diarrhea.

Hardiness: USDA zones 3 to 9

Diameter: Crown of 5-6 feet

The leaves, flowers, stems and especially the fruit of this tree are used in teas, tinctures (preserved in Vodka or some strong alcohol) and made into different kinds of vinegar, jellies and syrups.

Do you want to design or re-design your very own herb garden?

The "Build Your Own Herb Garden" course can help you do just that! It includes:

• guided lessons on simple steps to building your herb garden
• a workbook to design & plan your herbs using permaculture principles
• examples of herbs to consider and their uses