20 Easy Medicinal Herbs to Grow in Your Healing Garden
NOTE: This article is about 20 of my favorite medicinal healing herbs to grow in most garden areas and types of soil. There are 100’s more, though, that I just couldn’t include because of space. Enjoy this rundown of 20 of my favorites.
Have you ever wondered which medicinal herbs are the best ones to start growing in your healing garden, but felt overwhelmed and just didn't know where to begin? There are SO many great herbs with useful properties that you can grow to create your very own medicinal herb garden.
I’m sharing my favorite 20 best herbs you should grow in your own healing garden and how to grow and use your plant medicine.
But I have to tell you--- I had a REALLY hard time narrowing my list down to just 20. I left out Oregon grape root, Juniper, Arnica, Turmeric, and many more that could have and should have made it to this list. But if I had included them all---well, this would have been a BOOK!
The way I ended up narrowing this list down was based on:
1) how easy the herbs are to grow,
2) how easy they are to forage or purchase and still have quality, and
3) their overall usefulness for multiple issues.
**If an herb can only be useful for one single thing, then you need to consider if it’s worth taking up precious real estate in your medicinal garden….unless you have unlimited space of course! In that case, grow them ALL! :-)
The herbs below are medicinal plants I use ALL the time for various natural remedies, I can grow most of them, even in my harsh climate, and the rest I can easily purchase if need be.
This way, you can still access the herbs even if you live in a difficult zone. If you are fortunate to live in a great gardening area, then these herbs should be no problem at all for you to start out with in your own garden.
You might also be interested in my article on growing an herbal tea garden! The herbs in that article are delicious in your homemade herbal tea blends. And they’re beautiful too.
FTC Disclosure: There are affiliate links scattered throughout this article. If you click through and make any kind of purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Having an herb garden filled with medicinal plants is a way to grow your own healing garden where you can pick your own herbal and natural remedies. Here are the top 20 best herbs to grow for beginners and how to grow and use them! Tons of remedies listed under each herb, so you can start growing your herb garden for health today. #herbgarden #growing #beginners #medicinal #healing #health #healingharvesthomestead
The Best 20 Medicinal Herbs to Grow for a Plant Medicine Garden
1) Calendula for Plant Medicine:
Common Name: Calendula
Latin Name: Calendula officinalis
Calendula is one of my top five favorite herbs of all time. It's sunny yellow or orange face can't help but make me smile. In summer time, it grows like crazy, just about anywhere, and like other flowers, the bees love it.
Calendula has some super skin healing and strengthening properties, and I always have some infusing in olive oil in a sunny window for use in salves, soaps, and other body products. In fact, you can see the beautiful yellow color it made the soap in this soap recipe.
Calendula is also edible, and it's so fun to toss some blooms in your salad! It really brightens things up and adds excellent color. I love Calendula.
Calendula Growing Tips:
Calendula is often called “pot marigold,” although it’s not a true marigold. This is because it does quite well in pots! To plant in pots, use regular potting soil, sprinkle the seeds on top, then disturb the soil on top to submerge the seeds about 1/4 inch or sprinkle a bit more soil on top. Water. I let the soil barely dry before watering again.
Calendula reseeds really well. Once you plant it, you’ll find new plants springing up the following year!
To plant in the garden, I find a good space, and plant the seeds as mentioned above for pots just after the last frost. They start indoors easily too, if you prefer planting out seedlings. Calendula likes full sun to a little bit of shade in well-drained soil. It tolerates relatively poor soil, but doesn’t enjoy a lot of heat. Therefore, if you live in a very hot place (like Las Vegas, NV or someplace in Arizona), then making sure it has some shade during the hottest part of the day is a good idea.
Calendula just makes you smile.
2) Cayenne as a Medicinal Herb:
Common Name: Cayenne Pepper
Latin Name: Capsicum annuum ‘Cayenne’
Here is another herb I think should be in every garden. Cayenne is a very hot and pretty red pepper with some excellent culinary uses for adding spice to foods. It’s a member of the nightshade (Solanaceae) family.
It's also great for helping with circulatory problems, can be used to help stop bleeding, since it's a hemostatic herb, and has been shown to be useful in helping slow or even stop a heart attack until help can arrive.
It's also a very attractive plant, and the bright red of the pepper is just gorgeous mixed Into the dark green of the plant's leaves. This is one herb you should definitely grow if you can, and have handy in your herbal medicine chest.
Also, here is a recipe that uses Cayenne: How to Make a Natural Decongestant that Really Works, and you may also enjoy How to Make Fire Cider and How to Make a Pain Relief Salve for Joints and Back.
Growing Cayenne Peppers:
Cayenne is a perennial herb in warm to hot areas (9-11) and is native to South and Central America. In more northern zones, cayenne is an annual herb.
Cayenne likes moist, well-drained peppers in neutral soil. Plant your seedlings out in the spring after the last chance of frost. If seed-starting indoors, get them going 8-10 weeks prior to when you plan to plant out into the garden. When planting out, it’s a good idea to make sure the temperatures are in the mid-60’s for best results.
Choose a sunny site and plant them outside of any shade areas and away from plants (like tomatoes) that may overshadow them. Cayenne peppers can also be grown quite well in containers, making them excellent for urban gardens. Space your plants around a foot apart. They like moist soil, but don’t overwater them, as they don’t like this! They enjoy fertile soil, so you may need to use compost or organic fertilizer through the growing period.
Luckily, they’re self-pollinating, which adds to their easy care.
Cayenne grows like crazy, especially in warmer climates. They dry well, too.
You might enjoy my Medicinal Garden Tour series. Here’s Video #1, where you’ll learn about many of the herbs I grow in my own garden and their benefits and uses. This is a growing series, so be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more of these!
3) Chamomile as a Medicinal Herb:
Common Name: Chamomile, German Chamomile
Latin Name: Matricaria recutita
Like Lavender, what would an herbal garden be without sweet Chamomile? It's honey scent and sweet taste are an absolute pleasure. Besides that....Chamomile is a popular relaxant and mild sedative herb.
Need to de-stress? Drink a bit of Chamomile tea!
Chamomile is also useful as an anti-inflammatory, as it contains high levels of azulene. It helps with pain relief, including for arthritis. If you are heading to bed and are bothered by mild pain, try drinking some chamomile tea! In one clinical study, this helped 10 out of 12 people fall into a restful sleep. (Gladstar)
It’s also a wonderful digestive herb, and can be helpful for babies with colic. And…if you’re into skincare formulation, chamomile makes lovely herbal infused oil for many kinds of products including lotions and salves.
Growing Chamomile can be tricky in very hot climates as it’s not a fan of heat. It likes full sun, but a cooler climate. Chamomile is also best grown in less maintained soil and doesn't need the rich fertilization other plants require.
Here is a recipe for my Ultimate Herbal Relaxation Tea that uses Chamomile. It's a wonderful de-stressing drink!
Growing Chamomile:
Chamomile forms small, daisy-like flowers with a yellow center and white petals. The flowers are delicate, and the stem and leaves appear to be, too, but they’re tougher than you think. They grow quickly and are ready for harvest in 10-12 weeks, sometimes sooner.
Chamomile is an annual and reseeds very easily. It likes well-drained, neutral soil and is hardy to 2-9 garden zones.
The seeds are tiny, and I like to add them to a bit of sand to help sprinkle them more evenly on the soil surface. Water and keep slightly moist, but not wet. Chamomile likes about 4 to 6 hours of bright sunshine or more.
Chamomile tea---you don't need the flowers in the cup. ;-)
4) Chickweed as a Medicinal Herb:
Common Name: chickweed
Latin Name: Stellaria media
Chickweed is another one of those "weeds" that is completely misunderstood and has some excellent medicinal qualities.
It's Latin name, (stellaria) means "star," and that is because of its small, pretty starlike white flowers. It's easy to grow, and has many uses.
Chickweed supports liver and kidney health due to its high nutrition and diuretic properties. It's also wonderful in salves for healing skin issues, including rashes, eczema, and very dry skin. It’s very high in vitamins and especially minerals and has an affinity for the urinary system.
Chickweed is one of the star ingredients in this urinary tract support tea blend.
Growing Chickweed:
Chickweed is actually a weed and is one of the first to emerge in the spring if you have it growing in your area naturally. This makes it a favorite for detoxification herbal teas in the early spring when we’re feeling sluggish.
It likes moist, cultivated soils, and can act as a good cover crop in garden beds as it prevents erosion of the soil. You’ll notice five paired petals on the tiny white flowers that emerge at the top of the stem surrounded by leaves.
Like chamomile, just use a bit of sand to sprinkle the tiny seeds onto fertile, moist soil in early spring.
Chickweed is an edible plant and can be added to salads!
Chickweed is a great diuretic and blood purifier.
5) Dandelion as a Medicinal Plant:
Common name: Dandelion
Latin Name: Taraxacum officinale
This prolific weed, as some people see when they notice Dandelion in their yard, is actually a powerfully helpful medicinal herb! Dandelion is terrific for your liver and kidney health, having diuretic properties.
It's also an edible plant! You can roast the roots and add it to teas and even your coffee for a delicious flavor that also packs a healthy punch. The leaves can be eaten in salads and other foods.
Want a detoxification, blood purifying, liver-supportive herbal tea blend? Here you go: How to Make a Liver Support Tonic Tea. Dandelion is also a star in my herbal tea for urinary tract infection prevention and healing.
Growing Dandelion:
You know what? Dandelion grows just about anywhere and is very easy to grow. It’s also hard to kill and is why those suburban home owners who only care about a nice lawn blast herbicides around.
Dandelions like cooler weather and do best in the spring. Sow the seeds directly into the soil after the last frost and lightly cover them. If you want to start them indoors, you can! They take about two to three weeks to germinate, and the flowering process starts about two months after sowing the seeds.
Last year, I just threw some seeds out into the front yard and watered---I had plenty of this wonderful herb until the goats came along and ate them all before I could get to it! :-)
Dandelion doesn’t mind poor soil, either. In fact, it does quite well in watered disturbed soil. They tend to spread quite well if they’re not mowed down.
This little weed, Dandelion, packs a powerful healthy punch.
6) Feverfew as a Medicinal Herb:
Common name: Feverfew
Latin Name: Tanacetum parthenium
Feverfew has lovely white flowers and at least where I live, is rather invasive. I don't mind, though, because it has a great number of medicinal benefits. Once mature, feverfew can be as tall as two to three feet in wide bush-like clumps. It’s really a lovely garden accent plant.
As its name connotes, feverfew is helpful with reducing fevers. Most recently, however, feverfew has become rather well-known for helping with migraines, both preventing and reducing the intensity and time.
One of my favorite teas to provide for people who suffer from migraines is: 1 part feverfew, 1 part spearmint, and 1 part lemon balm. This is a soothing, nervine combination, that along with the powers of feverfew, can be used as a daily tonic.
Feverfew is also great for minor bug bites. Just apply the tincture topically. Since it has mild pain relieving properties, it will help with the discomfort too.
Here is a recipe for my nerve soothing tincture, that is easy to make!
Growing Feverfew:
I start my feverfew from seeds, and it takes 10-15 days to germinate. It requires light to germinate. Once the seedlings are hardened off, plant out after the last frost. Feverfew loves moist, relatively fertile soil. It reseeds very easily, and can therefore be quite invasive. One year it took over a good part of my garden, and it was very difficult to get rid of in areas where I didn’t want it. Therefore, take care where you plant it!
It does well in partial shade, too!
7) Garlic as a Medicinal Herb:
Common Name: Garlic, Stinking Rose
Latin Name: Allium sativum
As a healing herb, garlic has a very long history of traditional use—-around 5,000 years at least!
Garlic is one of the BEST all around medicinal herbs anyone can grow, in my opinion. It's useful for treating colds, flus, sore throats, and digestive issues. Garlic boosts the immune system by increasing and stimulating the production of white blood cells. It helps promote strength and vitality.
It’s excellent for the circulatory system and heart health and is one that I take on the daily!
Garlic is antiseptic, anti-bacterial, and vermifuge (kills parasites). It is also useful as a blood purifier and helps promote healthy circulation. It may also help regulate blood sugar levels in those with type 2 diabetes.
Besides all these wonderful benefits, garlic is delicious! It's added to so many foods and dishes because of the flavor it imparts. Granted, using garlic medicinally is different than in culinary uses, but if you really want to "eat thy medicine," as Hippocrates famously stated, garlic is a great place to start.
Here's a recipe for traditional Fire Cider, one of the best immune boosting drinks you can create yourself!
Growing Garlic:
Garlic grows from a single clove, and in the bulb itself you’ll find several cloves. A clove is like a mini bulb of one and will have it’s own little roots at the base. Each clove will grow into a whole bulb!
It’s most common to plant your garlic in the late fall a couple of weeks after a hard frost because this causes them to go dormant while giving them a little headstart for spring growth. Garlic likes a cold period to grow, roughly 10 weeks or so before temperatures reach 45 degrees. You’ll want to choose a hardneck variety for Northern climates and a softneck variety for Southern (warmer) climates.
Garlic likes well-drained soil, so if you have clay soil, plan to amend it. Garlic just won’t do well in soggy wet soil. I plant mine in our raised beds, and they do well with minimal watering.
8) Ginger as a Medicinal Herb:
Common Name: Ginger
Latin Name: Zingiber officinale
Oh, what would the herb world be without Ginger? This sweet and spicy pungent herb is actually a rhizome, not a root, as many believe. The useful part grows under ground, so is often confused.
Ginger is stimulating and is a great additive for teas, tinctures, and fermented foods, as well as culinary uses. Ginger is anti-inflammatory, decongesting, and increases circulation, promoting warmth. Ginger is also excellent for flatulence and stomach issues, including nausea.
Ginger likes a tropical environment---hot and humid. Therefore, unless you live down South, Ginger would most likely need to be grown in a green house.
Here's an incredible recipe for How to Make Natural Decongestant that Really Works, How to Make and Use a Ginger Bug, and How to Make Fire Cider--A Healthy Immune Tonic Drink.
Growing Ginger:
Planting ginger in the garden is an excellent endeavor if you live in a warm climate, and it’s relatively easy to grow, too! You may even be fortunate enough to enjoy a flower or two! In Northern climates, like where we live in N. Idaho, ginger can be grown quite easily right inside your home. In most locations in the United States it’s considered a long-season annual. Ginger will not tolerate any kind of very cold weather.
It grows from a rhizome, which is an underground portion of the stem and not an actual root. The rhizomes grow and spread as the plant grows.
Be sure to water your ginger regularly and keep the soil moist but not soggy and wet. Reduce watering when the temperatures are cooler.
Ginger needs quite a bit of time to grow and mature. You’ll see lovely stems that grow around three feet tall with grassy leaves. Once the leaves and stem begin to die back, you’ll know it’s time to harvest your ginger. Gently dig up the entire plant and cut off the beautiful rhizomes!
Fresh ginger rhizome
9) Lavender as a Medicinal Herb:
Common Name: Lavender
Latin Name: Lavandula angustifolia
What would the herbal world be without lavender? It's good for SO many things. Lavender smells wonderful, the bees love it, it's great for medicinal uses, AND it's a gorgeous flower. Lavender is useful for air freshening and cleaning the air or freshening closed up places such as drawers. It's popular in sachets for this reason.
There’s a saying in the aromatherapy world, “When in doubt, use lavender.”
Indeed, lavender has many uses:
Skincare and haircare
Respiratory support
Nausea and digestive upsets
Relaxation and Sleep
Emotional Support and mood
By extension….cardiovascular system support via calming of the parasympathetic nervous system
Various beauty treatments
and MORE!
Here is an article about How to Make Soothing Lavender Salve I think you'll like. And if you like Lavender, here is How to Make Lavender-Rosemary Vanilla Hot Process Soap!
Growing Lavender:
Lavender loves full sun and well-drained soil for best growth. If you’re in a place with very hot summers, your lavender may enjoy a bit of shade. Lavender doesn’t require a great deal of fertilization and does well in poor soil that are neutral to just slightly alkaline. Plants mature best if planted 1 to 3 feet apart. One of my friends had a lavender farm, and her plants got quite large at maturity, so I suggest at least 2 feet apart.
Plant your lavender plants in the spring or the early summer. If you’re in a garden zone above zone 6, then you can plant in the early fall which will give the roots time to become established before heavy spring growth. Water well at first, then as the plant matures, you can back off the water. Be sure to use well-drained soil.
Lavender is actually relatively hardy, growing well in Zones 5 through 8. If you are in a colder zone, be sure to plant your lavender in an area where it will get plenty of sunshine and be as warm as possible. If your winters are rough, you'll need to provide your lavender with some type of protection, especially from harsh winds.
I had some planted in pots here in the mountains, and it did very well all summer long. Even through snows, it was fine. But we get wind speeds over 125 miles an hour at times, and lavender just didn't last through that. Not much will, I guess.
To harvest lavender for medicinal and aromatic use, be sure to cut the stems right as the flower is beginning to bud. Once they’ve completely budded out, it’s a little late for best medicinal properties.
Here’s the next Healing Garden Tour (#2):
Lavender is useful for so many things---AND it smells incredible.
10) Lemon Balm as a Medicinal Herb:
Common Name: Lemon Balm, Melissa
Latin Name: Melissa officinalis
Lemon Balm....I LOVE this species of mint. It smells lovely, the bees love it, and it grows well nearly everywhere. Lemon Balm has a pleasant lemony taste and is a great additive in herbal teas, both for the nutritive value as well as the soothing nature and relaxing effects it has on the body.
Lemon balm as a medicinal has some pretty special powers. It’s a relaxing nervine herb, meaning it helps one to calm and soothe and perhaps even to sleep. It has a strong overall affinity for supporting the entire nervous system from the brain and spinal cord to the peripheral nerves too.
It’s a special helper for migraine headaches when used in conjunction with feverfew and spearmint all in equal amounts, and this blend can be used as a tonic on the daily.
It’s very antiviral, too! Especially against the herpes family of viruses, lemon balm is king (or queen). These include chicken pox, shingles, herpes simplex varieties, and more.
Here’s my shingles protocol, if you’re interested in helping speed recovery and soothing the stabbing pains. And, for cold sores on the lips or skin, here is a wonderful cold sore healing salve recipe for both the pain and speeding recovery.
Here is a recipe for Nerve Soothing Tincture!
Growing Lemon Balm:
Like most members of the mint family, Lemon Balm can be very invasive and spreads all over the place! If this is a concern, consider planting it in a container or a dedicated raised bed. Also like most herbs in the Lamiaceae (mint) family, it’s a perennial herb, coming back year after year to bring in the bees! In colder climates it will die back but spring right back up in the spring months. In warmer climates, lemon balm will stay green all year long! Lemon balm does tolerate light frost.
Lemon balm needs about four to six hours of direct sunlight a day, and it thrives in full sun too. In hotter areas, be sure to provide shade in the afternoons or it will burn up.
It likes well-drained soil and loves water but not soggy conditions. Lemon balm grows in clumps kind of like small bushes when mature, so be sure to give them a bit of space—-about 18 inches or so.
You can grow your lemon balm from seed or just buy some seedlings from your local nursery. I like to start my seeds indoors where I live, but if you’re in a warmer place, it’s fine to sprinkle your seeds directly into the garden about two weeks after the last frost. They need light to germinate, so there’s no need to cover them up.
Lemon balm can also be propagated from cuttings! Take a few four to six inch cuttings from a healthy plant. Dip the stems into some willow bark powder or rooting hormone and place these in a pot with good soil. Keep the pot in some indirect light and keep the soil moist until roots have had time to develop. You can also propagate by root division.
Soothing, lemony lemon balm.
11) Marshmallow as a Medicinal Herb:
Common name: Mallow, marshmallow
Latin Name: Althaea officinalis
Marshmallow is one of the many mallow plants in the Malvaceae family of plants. This group of plants which includes the weed, cheeses or cheese mallow; hollyhocks; and many others have similar constituents and are often completely interchangeable with each other. If marshmallow doesn’t grow naturally where you live, it’s likely there are other mallow species you may be able to work with. Always do your research well, and don’t trust AI (artificial intelligence).
This plant probably isn't included in too many herbalist's garden lists, but I personally know Marshmallow (or a workable cousin) is seriously necessary. It's a demulcent and soothing herb, and it complements "hotter" herbs very well. It also soothes inflammation in mucous membranes and is one of my favorite herbs to use for allergy blends or teas for any kind of inflammation in the body for this reason.
It’s a strong supporter of healthy mucus membranes throughout the entire body, and this keep us supple as well as supports immune system health and lymph movement.
Marshmallow is an upright plant, and mature plants can grow to around five feet tall!
The entire plant is useful for herbal medicine, from the roots, to the leaves and stems, to the flowers. What a wonderful gift! If it’s mucilage you’re after, the roots will have the most of this constituent.
The flowers are light pink and very pretty, too, making it a nice addition to your garden. Go ahead and throw a few flowers into your salad for a beautiful and surprising presentation!
Here is an article about How to Make an Allergy & Sinus Support Tea (or Tincture) using Marshmallow.
Growing Marshmallow:
Marshmallow has “wet feet,” meaning it enjoys quite a lot of moisture. Plan for extra watering of this plant if you’re in a dry climate. I’ve successfully cultivated it in the dry Mojave Desert mountains when we lived off grid, and also here in North Idaho in both a dry area of the garden and a wetter one. Both have done very well, and are well over five feet now with lots of big, thick stems.
This is a perennial plant, and it likes full sun. It will do well in zones 3-9 as long as soil, sun, and water conditions are met. It’s native to Europe and Asia. Flowers are pink, lilac or white, depending on the environment and soil structure.
Your plant will start out smallish and continue growing to maturity year after year. If you’re in a climate where you get sub-freezing temperatures, the stems will die back. I just cut mine back to about a foot or so when I winterize my garden. Deadheading the flowers helps the plant look nice and encourages more flowers to grow. Bees love marshmallow!
We have a Marshmallow Masterclass inside our Confident Herbalist Tribe with some wonderful recipes for foods and medicine using marshmallow root, leaf, and flower. We even have a great homemade old-fashioned candy marshmallow recipe! Marshmallow root was the original ingredient in candied marshmallows, until the big food industry learned about fake plastic foods….and now we have marshmallows that are toxic. Consider making yours from this plant!
Marshmallow is a demulcent anti-inflammatory. Plus, it's pretty.
Get your FREE Herbal Remedy Guide and Cheat Sheet! It’s perfect for your home medicine chest or kitchen.
12) Mullein as a Medicinal Plant:
Common name: Mullein, Candlewick, Hag’s taper and Torches
Latin Name: Verbascum thapsis
You can probably tell from some of the common names that mullein has quite a history of traditional uses, among them, torches for fires.
This is yet another plant many see as just a weed, but has some truly wonderful medicinal qualities. Mullein is a plant that grows from a rosette of fuzzy large leaves into a tall stalk (sometimes as high as 7 feet tall) and is covered with yellow flowers in mid-summer.
There are several different subspecies of mullein, and all of them are helpful medicinally.
The leaves are large and are truly my favorite plant to use for supporting the respiratory system, both upper and lower, for allergies, congestion, cold and flu, cough (expectoration), and other. Mullein is also helpful with support for the kidneys.
The tiny yellow flowers look like little “ears,” and this gives us an idea of what they’re uses are, according to the traditional Doctrine of Signatures. The flowers have a special affinity for ear health, especially in ear infections. I infuse the flowers in oil every year, and some herbalists will add garlic as well. This becomes a helpful ear oil for ear ache and ear infection. ***NOTE: Some herbalists put the oil directly into the ear canal. I do NOT do this and don’t recommend it. Instead, I’ve found success massaging it around the panicle of the ear, as well as around the ear area. I like adding certain essential oils to power up the action of the flowers (thyme, eucalyptus—for adults, lavender, frankincense, lemon if the person is not going to be in the sun).
Growing Mullein:
Mullein does best in full sun, with lots of water, in cooler areas. It grows really well in the creek beds up here in our mountains, but I've heard it is very common in almost all places. It enjoys disturbed soils. When the loggers come through and cut down forest areas, we find a LOT of mullein growing in these fields until the new trees grow up.
It's worth trying to cultivate, in my opinion, if you don't have it growing naturally in your area. The seeds are tiny and black. When I harvest mullein each summer, the flowers drop the seeds naturally, and I just gather up thousands of them. Then I toss them out into areas where I want to see mullein growing!
Mullein is one of the best herbs you can use to support and heal the respiratory system and illnesses that affect the lungs, sinuses, and breathing. It's useful as a tea, tincture, and the large leaves can be used in an emergency to cover a poultice.
Here are additional articles referencing Mullein you might enjoy: DIY Allergy & Sinus Support, How to Make an Herbal Tea for Lung Support, and How to Recover from the Cold/Flu Fast and STAY Better.
In my opinion, Mullein is the premier herb for respiratory issues. Here I am harvesting some mullein from the Southern Nevada Spring Mountains where we lived off-grid for a time. This is probably around 14-ish years ago.
13) Oregano as a Medicinal Plant
Common name: Oregano
Latin name: Origanum vulgare
This wonderful plant which is known in Greece as “joy of the mountain,” seems to be the bane of many gardener's existence. They plant it, and it just goes crazy. I can't tell you how many neighbors, family members, and friends have given me Oregano from their yards over the years! And I'm glad to have it!
Oregano is a fabulous culinary herb, and if you have ever had traditional Italian pizza or marinara sauce, then you've likely tasted this delicious Mediterranean herb. Oregano grows best in warm, dry climates, but I have found in my experience that it is quite hardy and can survive winter lows in the single digits (at least it does in my yard).
Oregano has some excellent medicinal uses, including having anti-viral, antibiotic, anti-fungal properties, as well as being very high in antioxidants. It's a great skin care herb and also a digestive aid. It’s quite tasty, with a peppery flavor and a sharp, rather minty aroma. It is, in fact, a member of the mint family.
It can be used in many forms, too: As a tincture, an herbal infused oil, eaten in foods, and as an essential oil. These all have different strengths, potencies, and uses.
The tincture is an easy way to use the herb medicinally, along with making or using in an herbal tea. If you have an infection, it can be helpful taken internally or used topically for skin infections.
Growing Oregano:
Being a Mediterranean plant, oregano just loves the sun. It’s hardy from zones 4 through 11, so you can see it has a wonderfully wide range of growing area. It grows like crazy! The thing with Oregano is you have to know how to manage it.
It’s a woody perennial that grows up to 2 feet tall in a beautiful loose way that can spread to about 18 inches or more. They’re truly lovely plants! The flowers are white and the bees just love them. For harvesting, please do this before the plant flowers to avoid bitter leaves.
Ready to learn herbalism? Come take a look at the School of Botanical Arts & Sciences (SOBAS) by Healing Harvest Homestead! There’s something there for everyone!
14) Peppermint as a Medicinal Plant:
Common name: Peppermint
Latin name: Mentha x piperita
Peppermint is actually a hybrid, which is indicated by the “x” in the Latin name. To learn more about Latin names and why they’re so important, click here for a fun article and to brush up on your Latin! Peppermint comes from a cross between watermint and spearmint for a delightful new plant we all have grown to love for its refreshing flavor and aroma.
Medicinally, Peppermint is useful for aiding digestion and getting rid of flatulence (gas). It has mild anti-spasmodic properties, so if you are experiencing cramps, especially digestive types or menstrual cramps, it can be very helpful.
For very hot fevers, peppermint makes a wonderful compress to support cooling. Some enjoy doing herbal steams for respiratory support with the leaves too.
It’s extremely tasty and makes a wonderfully cooling and refreshing tea in the summer time.
Peppermint is one of the oldest most traditional herbs with many uses. From culinary uses, medicinal uses, and rituals, peppermint is beloved by many all over the world.
You may also be interested in finding out more about How to Use Peppermint Essential Oil.
Growing Peppermint:
Super easy to grow just about anywhere, Peppermint is a spreading perennial that has the propensity to take over your garden if you allow it! It's spicy, pungent scent is well known to just about everyone, since it's a popular culinary additive in many foods and candies.
Peppermint likes moist soil, but don’t over water as soggy roots will kill it.
This is a very invasive plant, and it will spread like crazy if allowed. It not only reseeds, but also grows from runners. Many gardeners recommend planting it in a nice sized pot in the garden to stem the growth, as it can overtake other plants.
Peppermint grows 1 to 2 feet wide and up to 2 feet tall when mature.
It’s hardy from zones 5-9 and likes full sun. If you’re in a very hot area, you’ll find that it does better with some shade in the afternoon.
Flowers are pink or purplish, and it’s best to harvest the leaves before flowering for sweetest taste. For more medicinal value, harvesting after flowering is helpful.
Peppermint leaves
15) Plantain as a Medicinal Herb:
Common name: plantain, frog leaf, ribwort, English plantain
Latin name: Plantago lanceolata (narrow leaf) and Plantago major (broadleaf) and other species
The two main species of plantain are P. lanceolata and P. major. Narrow leaf plantain is more difficult to harvest, as the leaves can be quite thin, while broadleaf plantain provides beautiful large broad leaves, however, these tend to be tougher.
Here is another weed that many people find repugnant, but that is actually an incredibly useful medicinal herb!
According to Rosemary Gladstar, Plantain grows everywhere, and if you invite it in, it will definitely show up. However, I have to say that in our area here in Southern Nevada, down in the lower elevations or higher---I have not been able to grow it. This makes me feel a bit of a failure as a gardener, since it is supposed to be prolific, like Dandelion...... In Idaho, where we live now, Plantago lanceolata is most commonly found in the wild, but occasionally in more forested areas, a nice broadleaf plant or several can be found.
It’s a wonderful spring detoxifying herb, and I enjoy adding tender leaves to salads, chopped up.
It makes an exceptional poultice for bites and stings and even sunburn or other skin irritations.
One time while gardening, I accidentally disturbed the nest of some big black hornets, and they all came after me. I ran as fast as I could and grabbed several nice broadleaf leaves and escaped into the house after sustaining 5 bad stings. It HURT. I made spit poultices for all the stings, and by the next day…much, MUCH better.
Plantain is great for liver health, detoxifying and cleansing the blood, and drawing out toxins. I like to infuse it in oil for use in healing salves. You can find it in my recipe for Healing Salve.
Growing Plantain:
Plantain is a low growing perennial herb with stems that emerge from low rosettes. The flower spikes are thin and contain seeds that are easily spread and generally dispersed by the wind. Some people use these for extra fiber in the diet!
Plantain grows to around 3 to 8 inches tall, although I’ve seen large broadleaf varieties up to a foot tall! The rosettes are from about 3-4 inches to up to 12 inches in diameter.
Plantain is hardy from zones 3 to 12!
If you have it growing in your yard, you really don’t need to do anything to get it to grow…it will take care of itself. If you’re in an area where you don’t have it around, and you’d like it to spread over your yard, then just take the seeds and sprinkle them where you’d like them to grow. Plantain likes full sun, and it grows in just about any soil you can imagine. The BEST soil is rich and loamy, though, and will have good drainage.
It withstands a great deal of dryness, so you may not even have to water it.
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Like Dandelion, this easy to find weed (Plantain) is edible and useful.
16) Rosemary as a Medicinal Herb:
Common Name: Rosemary, Dew of the Sea, Elf Leaf, Guardrobe, Compass Weed, and others
Latin Name: Salvia rosmarinus syn. Rosmarinus officinalis
Rosemary is a famous culinary herb, and is great for use on red meats and very pungent dishes. It’s truly wonderful as an additive in your homemade breads and cheeses too! Here’s one of my favorite recipes for homemade sourdough rosemary tortillas….SO good!
Besides culinary purposes, rosemary has many medicinal properties!
It's high in anti-oxidants, and has mild analgesic (pain relief) properties. Rosemary is a stimulant herb, and is helpful with circulation and low blood pressure. People with high blood pressure need to exercise caution using rosemary medicinally in therapeutic amounts.
Many clinical studies have proven rosemary’s benefits for the brain, cognitive function, and memory, too.
It’s also an excellent herb to support various respiratory issues, as it’s high in camphor and cineole constituents.
Growing Rosemary:
Rosemary grows best in hot, dry climates and is native to the Southern European countries.
In Las Vegas, Nevada, where temperatures reach 120 degrees in the summer---it does great, and I grew it for many years successfully there. In fact, one plant I had was around four feet tall! It was so fun to clip it’s lovely leaves and stems for my cooking.
When we moved off-grid to the mountains of Southern Nevada we were in more of a Zone 6 growing zone, I had very little success with it. I have been able to keep it alive on my kitchen counter, and outside in the few months of summer we have---- Now in Northern Idaho, I grow it in a large pot, and I move it indoors once the freezes begin.
It’s an “upside down” plant, and this just means it obtains moisture through its leaves, so misting your rosemary, especially if growing it inside, is a very good idea.
Besides the actual herb, you can find out all the Things You Need to Know About Rosemary Essential Oil right here.
You may enjoy this video below about Nootropic herbs (herbs that support the brain).
Besides being a pungent and delicious culinary herb, rosemary provides medicinal qualities and enhances memory.
17) St. John's Wort as a Medicinal Herb:
Common Name: St. John’s wort, goatweed, hypericum, rosin-rose
Latin Name: Hypericum perforatum
St. John's Wort is a misunderstood plant, in my opinion. It went through a popular phase a few years ago in the 90’s and was touted as being the new natural anti-depressant. St. John's Wort can absolutely help with feelings of mild depression, sadness, grief, and Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), but it's not a cure-all.
Important to know---St. John's Wort can interact with certain drugs, especially those for mental and emotional health among others, so be sure you discuss usage with your doctor (as you should with any of these herbs mentioned).
St. John's Wort is also great for neuralgia and supporting the generalized nervous system, and I personally use it both internally and externally as part of my back pain and sciatica regimen with excellent results. I also use it in a tincture form to lift my spirits if I'm feeling down.
It makes the most lovely bright red herbal infused oil, and is exceptional for use in healing salves, for burns and other wounds, in terms of topical use.
Besides all the medicinal qualities of St. John's Wort, it's a really pretty plant. You won't be able to grow it in a super hot area, however, at least it's unlikely. I tried growing it in Las Vegas, and it was a total fail. However, it does well here in the mountains in full sun or partial shade and the cooler climate.
You can find out How to Make an Infused Herbal Oil here, as well as How to Make Happiness Tea Blend (which is wonderful!). Also, here is a recipe for How to Make St. John's Healing Salve---one of my favorite salves ever.
Another safety note for the garden: St. John's Wort has been shown to have potential for phototoxicity, especially in grazing animals if they eat too much. Just be aware and watch what your pastured animals eat.
Growing St. John’s Wort:
St. John’s wort is a herbaceous, perennial medicinal herb that grows profuse bright yellow five-petaled star-shaped flowers at the peak of summer—-usually around the summer solstice. It LOVES the sunshine, but you can also find it in partial shade areas in many places. When I cultivated it in the Southern Nevada mountains (it didn’t grow naturally there, in the desert), I found it did very well with a hint of shade in the afternoon. It really took off, as a matter of fact.
It likes moist soil, but not wet. Also, it seems to do very well in disturbed soils, and you’ll often find it growing near mullein and goldenrod, among others.
It’s hardy to zone 3, but you most likely won’t find it in zones warmer than zone 7.
It’s considered invasive in some states in the Pacific Northwest and also the Midwest, so be sure to look into your state’s laws about growing it.
St. John's Wort is a wonderful healing herb that positively affects the emotions.
18) Thyme as a Medicinal Herb:
Common name: Thyme, garden thyme
Latin name: Thymus vulgaris
Thyme, in my opinion, is one of the best plants to grow in your garden for both food and medicine. Being an exceptional pollinator, it attracts bees, smells incredibly lovely, and is useful for a wide range of medicinal purposes.
Many herbalists forget all about using thyme as a preventative medicinal herb or for helping heal quickly from colds and flus---but it has been shown to fight off colds.
It also has disinfectant properties, and can be used as an effective wash for skin infections or as great sore throat rinse. For medicinal purposes, Thymus vulgaris or Thymus citriodorus (Lemon Thyme) are the best to use.
Thyme is antioxidant, antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, antimicrobial, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, and more.
It contains linalool, which is a wonderful calming mood booster.
Thyme supports healthy digestion too. This is one of the reasons it’s so wonderful in your cooking, besides the delicious flavor.
For coughs, I love combining thyme with sage and honey. What a great combination!
It’s also helpful for supporting healthy oral hygiene, and can be used as a mouth rinse for canker sores and more.
Find out how to boost your child's immune system with thyme infused honey in this article.
Growing Thyme:
Thyme is a small, spreading herb (although some species will grow upright) that is fairly hardy, so if you have rough winters, it may do just fine---you'll be seeing it again in the Spring, with it's pretty scented purple flowers. In fact, this winter has been quite mild, and even with temperatures in the 20’s, my thyme is still thriving! It is hardy in zones 5-9.
Thyme likes full sun or part sun. A little shade doesn’t hurt, especially if you’re in a very hot climate.
Beautiful thyme comes in several (over 50 now, last I heard) different hybridized varieties, but my favorite is just regular, good old thyme. It’s a low growing perennial herb with thin woody stems and small very aromatic leaves. The culinary and medicinal thyme is evergreen, making it such a great overall plant. I have it growing both in the ground and in pots.
Thyme is drought tolerant, as most of the Mediterranean herbs are. Many will pick the leaves before the plant flowers, but I’ve found it’s just as good after flowering….and I do love the bees that are attracted to it!
19) Valerian as a Medicinal Herb:
Common name: Valerian
Latin name: Valeriana officinalis
This stately and fragrant flowering plant can grow from four to six feet tall and has pretty lacy white or pinkish flower clusters. Not only is it a lovely addition to your garden, but it is very useful as a medicinal herb.
It's a strong but safe sedative and is very useful for helping with anxious feelings, sleep issues, and pain relief. Valerian is also helpful for many women in menopause and when combined with a bit of black cohosh and vitex, can ease hot flashes. It’s also helpful with digestive issues and calms spasms in the GI tract.
I use Valerian very often because of its powerful sedative nervine properties for sleeping well, and you can see my recipe for How to Make a Sleep Tincture right here. It works!
Contraindications: Valerian has the opposite effect on some people, so if you are using it for the first time, do so on a the eve of a day that won't affect you much. These folks are rare, but there are definitely some that don't tolerate it well.
Growing Valerian:
Valerian is a tall perennial herb with an upright growth habit. It looks wonderful at the edges of your garden or in places where a little height is called for. It’s an exceptional pollinator! The flowers are scented beautifully. However, I must tell you that the roots (which are the medicinal part of the plant) smell an awful lot like stinky feet. Very different from the lovely flowers.
Valerian can top five feet easily, and it grows to about one to three feet wide.
It’s an easy self-seeding plant, and if you have a mature plant doing well, it’s likely you’ll find “helpers” popping up elsewhere in future years. It also spreads by rhizomes, and you can use root division to further propagate your valerian.
Valerian does well in full sun in more northern climes, and if you’re in a hotter area, it would be wise to give it a space with some partial dappled shade in the heat of the day. It truly prefers places with cooler summers.
You can direct-seed valerian after the last frost, or consider starting the seeds indoors about a month or so ahead of time. They need light to germinate, so keep this in mind. I’ve grown valerian both ways successfully, even with the seeds having a bit of a low germination rate (around 50%).
Valerian likes consistent moisture but never soggy. Apply compost once a year or so. It really doesn’t need much other fertilizer.
And great news! It’s deer resistant!
One of nature's best gifts---Valerian is lovely and it is an excellent safe sedative.
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20) Yarrow as a Medicinal Herb:
Common Name: Yarrow, Dog Daisy, Dog Fennel, Milfoil, Soldier’s Woundwort, Thousandleaf
Latin Name: Achillea millefolium
Yarrow has many tiny flowers that grow in bunches, and feathery grayish leaves. It's a very pretty plant for your garden. Besides, the parts that grow above ground (leaves, stems, flowers) have medicinal purposes and have been used for thousands of years.
Yarrow is a vulnerary (skin healing), hemostatic herb (styptic, clotting). Besides helping with healing and clotting of wounds, yarrow is good for helping reduce fevers, for hay fever, and fighting colds. As a fever reducer, it is important to note that yarrow induces sweating, so if the person already has a hot fever, yarrow is probably not the best choice to use. It’s better for those types of fevers that are low grade, uncomfortable, and not breaking.
It’s also a great helper for stimulating stagnant blood, as in menstrual irregularities. Pregnant women should avoid taking yarrow for this reason.
You can find out more in these articles: Herbs & Natural Remedies for Symptoms of Colds and Flu (fever, sore throat, congestion, and cough). And if you are interested in finding out How to Stop Bleeding Fast with Herbs, you'll also find out more about how to use yarrow in that article.
Growing Yarrow:
Yarrow has become hybridized in the gardening world, so you’ll find it in all kinds of colors of flowers: white, pink, purple, red, yellow.
As an herbalist, I always get asked if it matters which to use for making plant medicine?
Well, being a bit of a purist, I always suggest that most likely the white and pink varieties will likely be the best. If you can forage and harvest from clean wild areas, that’s the best choice. You can find out more about foraging here.
Yarrow is a wonderful pollinator and also happens to be deer resistant. It’s a hardy plant and does well in Northern climates. The flower heads are composite with many tightly packed flowers that rise in clusters above leaves that are feathery. In fact, “millefolium” means “thousand leaves.” If you’re into cutting and drying flowers, yarrow makes a great everlasting!
You can usually purchase the plants from a local nursery, or you can purchase seeds for the medicinal varieties from Bakers or other herb seed producers like Strictly Medicinal. Normally I start my yarrow indoors if I want more plants because it’s a nice easy seed start.
Plant out the seedlings or plants about a foot apart. In decent soil, yarrow grows to about 2 feet tall.
It’s a drought tolerant plant, but if you have dry summers, it’s a good idea to plan to give them some water. Propagate through division or seed starting.
Known as the Battlefield Flower during the Civil War times, Yarrow is useful for helping clot wounds and healing injuries, among many other things.
Final Thoughts on the Best 20 Herbs You Should Grow in Your Medicinal Herb Garden
There are so many great herbs to choose from when you are deciding what to plant in your herb garden, especially when it comes to medicinal herbs. How to choose?
Well, think about your own family's needs. Then understand your planting zone and what grows well and what doesn't. Do you need a greenhouse or a special micro-climate for any of these herbs? If you're not sure, that's ok! You may have to do some experimenting, but you will figure it out---I promise.
The 20 medicinal herbs I listed here are generally easy to grow, extremely useful, and also beautiful to look at! Get those seeds started soon! Or see if you can order seedlings already started, as many nurseries carry a decent selection of herbs that double between medicinal and culinary (like lemon thyme, oregano, rosemary, cayenne, and lots more).
If you’re ready to learn herbalism and/or aromatherapy (use of essential oils for medicinal purposes), take a look at our School of Botanical Arts & Sciences (SOBAS) by Healing Harvest Homestead!
Have fun with your gardening this year! Do you plant herbs? What are your choices? If you have a favorite that's not here, please leave a comment in the comments section! And….for videos of my herbal gardens and vegetable garden, check out my YouTube channel! (and please subscribe!)
Hugs, Health, and Self-Reliance,
Heidi
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DISCLAIMER: I am not a medical doctor, and in no manner, stated or implied, is any statement made in this article meant to treat, cure, diagnose, or prevent any illness. Please seek medical advice from a professional before using herbs or essential oils. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA.
Resources:
Gladstar, Rosemary. Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner's Guide.
Ellis, Cat. The Prepper's Guide to Natural Medicine
https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-933-feverfew.aspx?activeingredientid=933&activeingredientname=feverfew
https://draxe.com/yarrow/
Lots of experience!
Grow a healing medicinal garden this year! Which herbs are best to grow for your own herbal apothecary? Find out how to start your own medicinal herb garden even if you are just beginning to garden. You can garden in containers too! Click to find out which herbs you should plant now for your own medical kit and healing garden. #gardening #beginners #healing #medicinal #herb #howtogrow #ideas #healingharvesthomestead #herbalism