so, after spending this previous summer in yosemite valley, california, i am back in kentucky for another year and looking forward to the impending gardening season. i have the gardening bug bad this year, as i did not get to grow a single leaf last summer!! i know it's just january right now, but before you know it, it will be time to start sprouting seeds and getting the garden planned out.
i decided, to celebrate being back home in the rainy and fertile kentucky weather, i am going to plant my very first medicinal herb garden this year. i have dabbled in years past with growing a few medicinal herbs here and there, but with my combined interest in gardening and my job in the supplement and vitamin department at whole foods, it seems very timely indeed to begin the journey of growing my own medicinal herbs to use inside and outside of my body.
so i am devoting an entire area of the garden specifically to these wonderful and potent plants. the first step to successful anything, i believe, is lot's of research. i already have a pretty good idea of the plants i want to grow, so i am spending some time today learning more about their specific germinating and growing conditions and needs.
here is my (rather extensive and probably totally ridiculous) list of my "starter" medicinal herb garden:
chamomile (have grown it before)
arnica
mugwort (i have wild-harvested it before, but not grown it in my garden)
astragalus
lemongrass (have grown it before)
ginseng (have grown it before)
witch hazel
st. johns wort
fenugreek
mullein
valerian
yarrow
echinacea (have grown it before)
holy basil
calendula
lemon balm (have grown it before)
passionflower
white sage (grown regular sage, harvested white sage in the desert, but never grown white sage in my yard)
how did i choose? some are my favorite herbs, some are what i feel to be basic "medicine kit" herbs, some have sentimental value to me, some i regularly purchase to take internally. so, this is the large and comprehensive list. i have already ordered several of these in seed packets from mountain rose herbs online, which has an amazing and super-easy to use website.
i will be blogging more about germinating these seeds and caring for the little herb-babies once the seeds arrive. in the meantime, i might get into some plant lore and magical herb facts if i have the time!
it's going to be a marvelously fabulous summer, i can just feel it. :)
