Spilanthes, variegated lavender, rosemary, nepeta, lamb's ears, bronze fennel, all kinds of beautiful-leafed basil

OMG, granite...never before saw those pix of your garden estate. (only closeups) How very wide open and gorgeous are your surroundings! Love the use of those arbors/gates and the geometic design.

I only grow what I want to eat, or as companion plants (deterring disease, warding off insects, increasig vigor, etc.).

I am planning an herb bed just for those plants that I don't dig up - the perennial or biennial ones -- French tarragon, oregano, parsley, thyme, sage, chives, 'Kentucky Colonel' mint, and violas.

Rosemary lives all over my landscape as do garlic chives (which are well marked so as not to confuse them with ornamental alliums). For annuals I love dill -- next year I'll have 3x's as many plants -- in the veggie garden though. Borage is really lovely but not tasty to me, but I grow it within the strawberry beds. I love thyme but it always looks scruffy so I hide it (covers my lily beds). Basil is multi-purpose. The tasty ones go in the pepper plant rows and the annual ornamentals (but still somewhat edible) go in the landscape. I'm going to grow stevia next year, that is a very useful "herb". I have lots of reseeding Tagetes lucida - Mexican tarragon, and I will try one more time to get any of the three kinds of cilantro seeds I have to grow properly.

I am one of the weird ones who doesn't like the smell of lavender and do not consider it an herb, besides which it does not do well in NC. I have a friend who likes scented geraniums and infuses them in sorbet and cakes - yuk.

So many plants they sell as herbs are "medicinal" but I shy away from treating myself with stuff that may or may not be good for me in the long run - look what they say about chamomile and St. John's wort NOW for heaven's sake! I'm sticking to the flavor enhancers - the tried and true herbs, the ones I will eat a lot of.

Nancy the nancedar

Umm, yep, basil, rosemary, catmint, lavender, skullcap, passionflower, My Dear Sweet Beloved Echinacea, second only to melissa-lemon balm, and yarrow,too; soliago odora for a fall change... anise hyssop and pycnanthemum for robust scent,

Nancy dar, What could you possibly be hearing untowards about chamomile??? I'm curious, it's so very gentle... I do hate to hear you have trepidations toward medicinal herbs, because you know so much about plants, and their great beauty, and your Green Thumbiness! I've studied them for years, and know there's a lot of bad confusing info out there, but would encourage you to not dismiss how much herbs can help our health as well.I've had so much good experience learning it, always amazes me how well they work.

I'll leave it as a gentle "at that", but, it's a worthy exploration.

PHYLLA, I have to somewhat agree with nancy about many of these so-called "natural" medicines. Unlike vioxx and hrt's, they have NO tests to determine side-effects. At least with chemical drugs, we get to read their laundry list and fight off the MD's who insist on our taking them.

I understand that plant estrogen is still estrogen and may have some of the same dangerous effects as synthetic. Many people are lured in by the words "natural" or "plant" b/c they sound so benign and healthful. I know that echinacea and other plants have amazing properties, but it's still a grab bag just like it is with the Rx drugs.

I'm interested in planting some medicinal herbs along with culinary herbs. I love the herb section at the Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill.

Phylla - "Chamomile is not good for you if you take anti-anxiety drugs as it has a similar effect and it is also cumulative. You should not use it during pregnancy and you may get a reaction to it if you are allergic to ragweed." This is what I have been told but do correct me if she was wrong. I agree that there is a lot of misinformation out there and I really want to know from someone whom I can trust.

I know you, Phylla, have studied herbal medicines for a very long time and correctly identify plants for concoctions and potions. But, there are so many people out there who just don't know what the heck they are ingesting and think it is OK because it is "natural" and want to treat themselves without any true knowledge.

Take Pokeweed - Phyltolacca americana - for instance. I had a friend who nearly died after eating "poke salad" in 1970 (spurred by the song "Polk Salad Annie"), but this year a friend of my DD cured herself of a tumor by eating "poke salad" guided by an herbalist, and a Native American friend here who gathered some from my organic garden several times this spring for her tonic. I just pull it up for the compost bin and wash off my gloves when I am done.

Yes, there is a huge difference between chamomile and pokeweed, but I'll stick to what I know are herbs for flavor enhancements, not medicines, because I do not have enough knowledge to safely treat myself.

nancy-dear the nancedar

I have limited sunshine so I tend to grow a massive amount of Basil one year and freeze enough for three years worth of pesto (the reason God invented pasta). The next year it might be Dill (the reason God invented fish) or maybe oregano (the reason God invented pizza). I always grow a little of everything just in case I run out of the frozen supply but my mainstays are Parsley (the reason God invented Trout), Mint (the reason God invented Juleps), Rosemary (the reason God invented potatoes) and Thyme (God doesn't seem to like this herb much, it tends to rot out often so I grow it in pots instead).

I mix herbs in with everything else in the garden - they are great fillers and very bug resistant.

PS - I was kidding about the Juleps. Wouldn't know one if it sat down in front of me. But I do sometimes make home made mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Fresh mint is also delicious in tea, but not if you make it really sweet because then it tastes like a candy. (but maybe if you like mint candies...) I use oregano all the time! Especially in homemade spaghetti sauce which is SO much better than the jars, even the expensive jars. And my whole family loves spaghetti so we eat it a lot! You have to watch out because oregano spreads (it's in the mint family). I also grow sage, rosemary (I LOVE the scent), thyme (with frequent replacements), garlic chives, and basil. My problem is that I have nowhere in full sun to grow them so they are in part/light shade. With only about 3 hoours of full sun and lots of indirect sun they do get a little leggy but they are good enough to cook with. I also sometimes grow dill. I had one that lasted several years. Probably the shade provided some protection from the summer heat, which is what does them in. I haven't gotten any others since that one to make it through the summer though. I would love to get a bay laurel, but have gotten different information on overwintering outside in this area. It seems they may be too tender to leave out but I prefer to grow plants that I don't have to bring in. I hibernate in the winter and am bad about watering ;) -Ais.

The ones I use in cooking are rosemary, thyme and basil. But I love the dainty flowers that herbs make, so it wouldn't matter if I ate any of them at all. In fact, I often thank my mint for being so invasive...it's a refreshingly fragrant task to pull up all those spreading roots!

From what nancy-dear and phylla say, both very knowledgable about plants, it strikes me, the novice, that herbal remedies are no different from RX drugs. The caveat: just consider the credibility of your source. Many docs prescribe drugs b/c of what pharmaceutical salesmen tell them. Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft are a case in point. They hand that stuff out like candy canes without really understanding dosage or effects. Psychiatrists are so much more careful...much like herbal medicine gurus, I imagine. Of course, these are only generalizations that serve as a caveat before swallowing.

OK, this is my thread so I will feel free to speak up: this anti-doctor stuff is getting a little old, and sounding a lot uninformed. Here's a blanket statement for ya: go to a psychiatrist if you want to be put on 9 or 10 meds!

Love my herbs, including the medicinal ones, especially teas and some salves. ,... Yarrow; for cuts and scrapes while working in the garden or in the bath for helping the body flush toxins from a cold, dandelions and chickweed; good wild greens; very high in nutrients, plantain; for drawing 'minor' infections like splinters, boils or itchy bug bites, elderberry; 1st sign of colds/viruses, garlic and peppers, wonderful for colds, flu, etc. I love some fresh salsa when I take a cold or sinus mess. Jewelweed; usually found growing near poison ivy for a reason and has pretty little flowers, sage with honey is a delicious tea herb in the winter when you have the sniffles and it's been used by people in the Middle East since Bible times, slippery elm; too many uses to list, and so much more.

Most herbs have stood the 'test of time' being used for 100's or in some cases 1000's of years. There's a lot of testing going on too, but then you get into standardized herbs and I'd much rather grow my own. Someone I admire and respect taught me two things, much of what will work is in our own backyards (we don't need to import), and...
Let Thy Food Be Thy Medicine And Thy Medicine Be Thy Food -- Hippocrates, Father of Medicine 460-377 BC

Most drugs cause problems/side effect and we have to be aware of them. If you're going to use the tea or medicinal herbs you do need to understand what you're doing and always inform your Doc. There is a PDR (Physician's Desk Reference) for herbs for that reason. I keep one myself, just because simple things can cause problems with some meds. Even something as simple as a calcium supplement needs to be taken a certain time of day to be effective. It's not always what you take but sometimes how and when you take it.

Remember it's not just the term 'herbs' that are a problem with many of todays meds. Some of our favorite foods are on the no list when it comes to many drugs, like grapefruit,...big no no with many prescription meds, spinach, onions, garlic, careful if you're on blood thinners, cheese and sausage (some depression drugs don't mix well with this) tomatoes decrease the effectiveness of some antibiotics.

For anything serious or if you're on prescription meds you should always check with a doc or pharmacist or a very well qualified (which I'm NOT) Master Herblist/Naturopath, etc. We are our own best advocates (and our childrens) and staying informed about any meds we take, prescription or OTC, is the best and safest way to go.

Well, I agree that we should not knock either doctors or herbalists, but I do have a caution about herbs. Herbs and a lot of other supplements, like most vitamins, are not regulated by the FDA. The FDA can't be everywhere, even monitoring pharmaceuticals, prescriptions as well as over-the-counter. But at least there's some regulation and check on quality and safety - not so with "natural" supplements. You can buy a reputable (what does that mean?) brand and hope for the best. But consider this example:

Lemon verbena is listed as "In the digestive system, lemon verbena oil helps with cramps, indigestion and liver congestion and is helpful to restore the liver after a binge and when suffering from a hangover. The stimulant action on the digestive system helps to digest fats and the excellent action on the liver helps in cases of cirrhosis, as well as alcoholism. It soothes the respiratory tract and calms heart palpitations. The calming action of the oil helps in sexual matters. Lemon verbena oil helps to banish depression and relaxes as well as refreshes the body and mind, while uplifting the spirits and promoting stress control." - from http://www.essentialoils.co.za/essential-oils/lemon-verbena.htm. They recommend using it in a vaporizer, massage oil, bath oil, lotion. They list just ONE of the ingredients as BORNEAL.

Here's a HazMat sheet for BORNEAL: http://www.state.nj.us/health/eoh/rtkweb/0242.pdf#search='borneol' . Hazard summary includes irritant when exposed thru inhalation, throat, skin. Higher exposure can cause restlessness, difficulty concentrating, and seizures.

Please do not put this stuff in your lungs or on your skin. And that one we KNOW the ingredients for. Natural materials can be potent poisons. They can also be carcinogens we just haven't identified yet.

I'm all for using what you find works for you. Just keep in mind that a drug company will spend millions to investigate possible ill effects. They do this because if they don't, you could sue for damage done to you. They still make mistakes. You cannot sue a chamomile plant, so no one will protect you from it, unless enough people get ill to attract the governemnt's attention to investigate. Most ill effects will fly "under the radar" - people can get sick, but no clear link to substance. Some or even most may be harmless or even beneficial, but the point is that you just don't know.

Thalidomide was used widely in Europe and elsewhere for morning sickness in pregnant women in the 1950's. As a girl, I had a friend who was a thalidomide baby; you recall the characteristics: cleft palate, malformed internal organs, trunks lacking either arms or legs or both. It was a woman chemist at the FDA that stalled approval here - not enough testing she said. We need stringent testing on everything we put in, put on, or breathe into our bodies. This drug is also my argument for responsible and humanely administered animal research - the fetal abnormality effect is only seen in primates, so not only small animal testing, but monkey testing should have been done. Soap box over.

Once again, a light topic has turned serious. But that's OK! That's how we learn and exchange ideas in the spirit of lively debate. No one is judging anyone here...none of us are definitive experts on anything, including plants...like John says, the plants can't read. Yet, we learn a whole lot from each other. It's good if we can also respect each other.

Just the other day, I was speaking to the someone whose family personally knows a very illustrious botanist, whose name is well known to all of you. He told my friend and me a funny story about how dead wrong this much-published guy was about the viability of a certain plant in our area. It became a running joke in their family!! I applaud their sense of humor!

Who is to say who is right and wrong among our many opinions on anything? My gosh, even Darwin is now being questioned! JAMA prints updates every month and even there, nothing is definitive.

Forgot. Brenda,that was a darned sturdy soapbox you climbed up on (lots of good examples). Nothing wrong with soapboxes, as there is too much mindless compliance and good-little-girlishness out there to suit me when it comes to what we put in our own bodies. HRT's. Lots of cancer in my family.

Does anyone remember DES? That was another nightmare for birth defects. I so agree about the FDA...govment ain't perfect, but it's better than no testing at all...such as in the case of those plant estrogens in tablet and creams that are so widely advertised.

The problem is partly the blanket idea that anything "natural? herbal" is good for you. "herbal remedies" are not always good. But the new wave of capitalizing on herbal remedies without finding out if they are safe is alarming. It's one thing for grandma to give you a tea made of a tried and true tradition. It's another to capitalize on wives tales. The distinction may seem minor, but I think intentions are KEY here. Don't buy into the hype, do your own research. I frankly think Chamomile is pretty harmless. But you should never ingest anything without information. the information is out there. I will leave it at that. -Ais.

I am a firm believer in "watching your path." If you happen to find a large patch of a certain herb growing in your yard, it doesn't hurt to read up on it; you never know, it might turn out to be a blessing. Such was the case for me with passion flower. I use parsley often and really like the flavor it gives. I also grow rosemary, lavender together, it also likes the same growing environment besides complimenting each other's scent. But my favorite all around is basil. It has so much flavor, and so many different varities, its easy to grow, and even wards off mosquitos when you rub the leaves on the skin. It gives alot and asks for so little.

Well, I do believe there is right and wrong in many cases (is the world round and not flat?) and that there are more informed and less informed opinions.

I do agree some things can be dangerous, especially if you don't know what you're doing. Like with anything else when it comes to herbs as food/meds, to each his/her own and YMMV. Herbs aren't the bad guys, people's misunderstanding and misuse is the problem.

I run from standardized herbs. they're like the chicken nuggets, pieces and parts of the herbal world. I have an old world view and maybe that's my problem, but I believe that God made plants the way he did for a reason. It's up to us to learn and understand them. We do that thru personal study and mentors like Grandma or actual MH's that are willing to teach. I do believe that herbs and modern medicine can work hand in glove, most of the time. That's why it's so important to have a honest and open discussion with your Doc.

This last week I had a really bad muscle spasm. It would not let go and I was miserable. Not a good thing right before the holidays. Finally caved and took a muscle relaxer. One of the possible side effects was a headache. I got a doozy, along with the nausea. I tried everything. Lots of water, typical OTC headache meds, and nothing worked. I remembered an herb a chiro had suggested to me many years ago for a severe case of hives. The chiro suggested this herb due to its ability to clean the blood of toxins. Brewed up a cup and within 30 minutes the headache was easing, an hour later I felt human again. Next time I'll live with the spasm, the cure was worse.

There's a guy named James Duke that use to head up the Medicinal Plants dept for the USDA. It's my understnaing that when he retired they got rid of that department. The work he did was incredible and he created a Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Database that is respected and used world wide. He also did a lot of research on cancer fighting compounds found in plants.

Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases
http://www.ars-grin.gov/duke/plants.html

James Duke
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/historical_herbs/44912

Here is a link that might be useful: Dr. James Duke bio

There is something magical about home grown herbs. If you are out in the garden all day you develop a fondness for the smell of a tomato plant or the feel of perfect soil/compost mix. You can always spot a gardener when you walk inside with an armload of basil or rosemary or just about any herb - they'll be one's getting excited about the fragrance whereas the non gardeners will be complaining about the odor.

I forgot to mention that I also grow ginger (Zingiber officinale and Zingiber mioga). They like shade, which is what I have the most of. Z. mioga is the pickled ginger you eat at sushi bars along with your raw fish - it is cold hardy with some minor protection. Zingiber officinale is the tropical and classic ginger used in everything from pumpkin pie to medicinal concoctions - it isn't cold hardy but easy to grow as an annual. And crystalized ginger candy is easy to make and a Christmas classic.

I also have some garlic and chives though I must admit I cannot grow enough garlic - I would have to bulldoze all the other plants to make room for the amount of garlic I eat. Vampires be damned.

Haha, too funny John. We eat garlic too and can't grow enough. I want to grow pinecone gingers but I think they are also marginally hardy here. They like shade too and I've got that. I should say that growing my own herbs really got me more interested in cooking! I am constantly seeking recipes to take advantage of them and I love the satisfaction of cooking with something I grew. Now on to veggies, which will be even harder to grow in shade... -Ais.

Hmmm, I should grow herbs if only to get more interested in cooking. Baking bread and cookies I like, cooking not so much.... It seems that every time I walk into the kitchen I think, now how do I do this? How long should this chicken bake??? etc.

I'm not AGAINST herbs, sorry if anyone took my post negatively. I think it's great that medicine has started looking at health from a more holistic viewpoint, integrating nutrition and understanding that stress can be a monumental force in health. I think we will eventually come to healthcare that is a blend of new technolgy and comprehensively studied historical and "natural" concepts.

I just want to point out that herbs are made up of CHEMICALS. Because they were made by a plant does not make them any better or worse - they are simply CHEMICALS. Poisons and carcinogens are synthesized by man and by plants. There is absolutely, positively NO difference, and on this point I will stand, because frankly it is just a fact. When one injests, rubs on, or inhales a "natural" substance, it is still a mixture of chemicals. (And if herbalists ever want to be taken seriously by the scientific community, they should be trained in chemistry, don't you think?)

Certainly, there are plant-made substances of interest in medicine - historically most if not all drugs came from plants, and in recent years, a chemotherapeutic for breast cancer was isolated from yew. Synthesizing it was problematic for a while - those yew trees sure do know their way around chemical reactions! The only reason that pharmaceutical companies (most anyway) are not scrutinizing plant extracts is that they can synthesize literally tens of thousands of drug candidates from scratch and then screen them all for therapeutic activity and toxicity- 1536 of them at a time, if you can believe it. This strategy identifies new drugs at a speed so much faster than extracting plants and trying to find activity.

I think it is reasonable to look at herbs and such as something not comprehensively studied, and use it accordingly. As far as I know, no one has treated rats long-term with the active ingredients within lavender to see the effects on every organ system. No one has done this kind of testing on the mascara or lipstick I use either - they just look at short-term irritation of eyes/skin - it's not a drug. Still, I'm exposed. For all anyone knows, either my mascara or my chamomile tea could prolong my life 10 years or shorten it by 5. I don't think it's possible to know everything we use every day is safe, so maybe moderation is the answer. Herb tea, but not excessive amounts. Use what you think is effective, and maybe recommended by someone who specializes in anecdotal information about herbs, but use it sparingly and cautiously - it could well be effecting you in other ways that aren't positive or apparent right away.

Just to reiterate, neither am I against herbs, against meds or against MD's, herbalists, PHd's or shrinks. In all cases, we need to beware, advocate for ourselves, study up and speak up.

If it were as simple as the earth being flat or round, we'd be home free.

Where there is a profit motive, where there are lobbyists, where there is no testing, there is quite a bit of margin for error.

I guess that's true about lip gloss (I've eaten a truckload of that stuff), but I know hair colors have had independent studies throughout the years and the findings are very conflicting.

Let's just stick to a discussion of herbs then.

Alicia, there are a lot of great herbs for cooking.

Mints out the wazoo, but some will caution you against anything in the mint family unless you keep them contained in a pot. Even oregano (greek) with a square stem is from that family. I just control them by yanking after a good rain. Spearmint is my favorite mint. I also love the lemon balm from this family. Makes a wonderful cup of hot tea or can be used in iced tea. You can also use it when making chocolate leaves, for decorating a cake or whatever. It's one of those plants you just can't help but run your hands thru when you pass it by. It smells so good!

Some of our cooking herbs are biennial, like parsley. So you want to plant more every other year to keep a fresh bunch growing. It blooms and sets seed the 2nd year.

Dill, an annual but can reseed like crazy. My MIL swore if you planted it once you'd never need to plant it again. Add some dill and/or chives to a carton of sour cream and pack of cream cheese and you'll have a wondeful dip or spread. You can also use just the chives with sour cream and cream cheese as a potato topping.

Garlic can be planted now. Start with a little, and if you find that you enjoyed it you can always plant more next go round. I've grown just a few here and there in an herb or other full sun bed and last year made a special bed for it to grow more.

Cilantro (annual) is wonderful, but it does tend to bolt fast once it gets hot. The part used is actually the leaves of coriander and is related to parsley. You can seed it every few weeks if you're really into lots of salsa.

Chives, There are a couple different popular chives used. Onion chives and garlic chives. I keep them cut back, but if you want seed you can let them bloom in the fall. Harvest your seed once they turn papery, then cut them back to the ground for winter.

Basil is another annual that we grow a lot of and there are so many different kinds, the sweet Genovese is probably one of the most popular. There's also large leaf which is also sweet, Thai; which is more spicy, purple ruffle; clove and licorice scented, Baja which is cinnamon scented, and gobs more. Try different ones to see which ones you like.

Sage, Salvia officinalis is the common garden sage. Soft fuzzy texture and silvery white/green. There are other cultivars, but this is a good one to start with. It last 3 or 4 years, longer if you're a careful pruner. Just don't cut back into the woody part.

Thyme, if you ever go to 'that' place in Sanford they have an awesome collection of thymes. Most of them stay small and can be used in paths where they release their scent as you walk on them.

Those are probably the most popular and easiest to grow. For the not so common, I also grow stevia, it's not supposed to winter here, but mine has been in the ground for a few years now and comes back faithfully. Lemon grass, good if you're into Asian cooking, but has to be brought in over winter. You can sometimes find a nice piece which you can root from an Asian grocers. That's cheaper than buying the plant from a nursery. Rosemary can be a blessing or a curse for people. You just have to have the right growing conditions for it. Bronze fennel, not difficult but some don't like its strong anise flavor. Even if you don't like it the caterpillars adore it and the color and airiness of the plant look nice. Hope that helps.

I love thymes, as there is such a wide variety of forms and flower colors. I also grow many oreganoes, and germanders.
I grow both edible and ornamental varieties of each.
Salad Burnet is also very nice. It is beautiful in the winter garden, and has such an unusual habit compaired to other herbs, it's very ornamental. I'd say it tastes a bit like borrage with a more earthy taste. Salad Burnet is a short lived perennial in humid climates, but it is so easy to grow from seed that it isn't a problem.

GGG

Rootdigger, what a great post! Very informative.

I like the idea of using germander as a small hedge around the herb garden. I think I'll try it and see how it turns out.

John, thanks for the ginger info. I am a big ginger fan and did not know we could grow it here.

Also, could you share what varieties of garlic do best in the south? Like you, we cannot get enough garlic in our house. I planted some last year and the garlic was good but the cloves were very small and I didn't plant nearly enough. I don't even know what variety I had.

I'm sorry I haven't got backto post in this forum until now, but, of course so many great good minds have weighed in already here. And, not to weigh it down...

Plants have been so interwoven with our human life and development, as food, and, before human made chemicals, as medicine. We used to have to depend on what nature had to offer, and there are thousands of years worth of intelligent observations on plants that work best for human conditions, for food and healing our ails. I have always loved plants, since a kid, and was lucky to be born to biologists, and had a good education and understanding of the natural world from an early age, scientific names, method, and all.

When I started to explore plants with a medicinal use, I approached it thus, and was really amazed to find a huge gap in what you could learn in the US by official avenues as to how plants work in their own right, without synthesis. It's odd, that gap, and for what reason? Britain, Germany, and Japan, have lots of good scientific studies on herbs, but the US refuses to count them. On of the main reasons is that plants cannot be patented as medicine, so the research on a plant's medicinal components does not recoup money wise with current FDA requirements. It's a Catch 22 situation, not really the fault of pharmaceutical companies, but always a baseline in any dicussion on why herbs aren't better researched.

Herbs that we term as culinary always have traditional use as medicinals. The traditional Western herb garden, and pharmacopiea, was kept best in monasteries, where precious knowledge was stored. I think we now have become distanced from that knowledge, and are "afraid" of a lot of nature.

That's sad to me. There is so much good knowledge for thousands of years, how can we just dismiss it in one hundred?

It's an immense subject, and do know that I am not against Modern medicine, at all, have many MD friends. I'd like a synthesis , though

Here is one lucid explaination of the herbal conundrum, from a reputable source.

I hope I've not taken too much space here, but I really care about this issue.

Here is a link that might be useful: Debunking the debunkers

Herbal remedies are often discussed on the People's Pharmacy. Some of the dangers are discussed too -- most noteably a man who took too much kava kava and damaged his liver. Likewise, there was mention of a man who took Tylenol pain reliever AND Tylenol cold medicine above the recommended amounts and damaged his liver.

Medicine does usually follow the trend of scientific study, which is why it's constantly changing. Female replacement hormones are usually now only given short term to women who cannot tolerate the symptoms of menopause, and less children are getting tubes in their ears because the problems often clear up without them. As a caveat to that, individual scientific studies may not be all that reliable, especially when they are funded by drug companies -- doctors often take one particular study with a grain of salt, and have to look at the body of evidence rather than a particular study.

I think there are doctors wouldn't have a problem with herbal use if they could be more confident of the interactions between herbs and other medications that the patient may be on. Whatever helps. I don't know about the article's claim that there are few interactions between herbs and medicines -- there needs to be more studies.

gurley - I don't order the specific garlic bulbs from the specialty catalogs, but I would if I was gardening on a bigger plot of land. I usually just plant what I have on hand or what I find in the grocery store. Most often I have the tiny cloves left over from a whole bulb that I used when I cooked something. Mine don't do well in the garden unless I give them prime realestate with rich ammended soil. No matter, I still grow some - its always handy when I don't feel like running to the store. Which is kinda the way I feel about veggie/herb gardening. My produce doesn't always taste better than store bought, it doesn't always look as nice either but it sure is nice to just walk outside and harvest dinner. Now if the town would only allow me to have chickens.......

I don't know... picking my own herbs is enjoyable, but I am not sure I would feel the same about slaughtering and plucking a chicken. And I don't eat a lot of eggs. Now a goat that I could milk to make my own goat cheese would be nice. But it would undoubtedly eat all my plants, and that's no good so I guess I will keep going to the store for that too. To me fresh herbs taste SO much better than dried. And you really can't get a tomato that tastes as good as homegrown. Sure homegrown often looks rattier but I do like the idea of just walking out and harvesting dinner. My FIL grows huge garlic clumps but in my shadier yard they don't get as big. I am pretty sure his are just the storebought kind. I have a little clump of society garlic. I have never tried to harvest and eat it because it's such a small clump languishing in the shade. The tale goes that it is "society" garlic because it tastes like garlic but doen't give you the bad breath that regular garlic does. I don't know about that, but maybe someday I will have enough to find out. -Ais.

this will be my first season, upcoming, to grow herbs - culinary herbs. thanks to the great information posted here, i'm armed & ready! i can't wait to grow my own garlic!

pup, when santa drops that digital camera down your chimney, DO post a photo of your forever-blooming rosemary :) as far as culinary use of rosemary, i love to tuck long, whole stems of it under poultry skin before roasting. a neighbor ties large bunches of it together, like a bouquet, and thwacks his grilling poultry with it. literally, an herbal spanking. something he learned during his many sabbaticals in south america, and which spawns endless one-liners amongst those of us gathered on his patio.

john, this is an herb thread so i won't address your chicken comment by waxing wonderful about eggs & fertilizer :) ais, i DO NOT kill my girls! they all have names! and a home for life!

marsha

Yikes! Sorry Marsha, I didn't mean to imply that you did! I know if I had them they would be pets too. John is the one who mentioned going outside and "harvesting dinner" and then brought up chickens... Don't worry, I am sure your girls are safe from him too. Seriously though, my FIL is a chicken farmer for a living. When my husband was visiting him as a child once (parents split up) his father made him kill one for dinner. I know I couldn't do it. I caught a big fish once as a kid and my dad said he'd cook it if I killed it. I have no great love of fish, but after that I just threw them back even if they WERE big enough to eat.
I love the image of the "herbal spanking"! I also like to cut sprigs of Rosemary to bring in. I love the smell! I don't like stripping the leaves off though. They are slightly sticky. -Ais.

LOL ais - i harvest dinner frequently :)
omelettes, quiche ... an endless menu, really.

i can't kill anything. i'm a catch & release
type, myself. your poor hubby - what a task
to assign a kid.

LOL ais - i harvest dinner frequently :)
omelettes, quiche ... an endless menu, really.

i can't kill anything. i'm a catch & release
type, myself. your poor hubby - what a task
to assign a kid.

When I lived in the cabin in the woods I not only raised chickens and ducks but sheep, goats and llamas - even had a pet Emu named Elliot (should've called him Idiot, but thats another story). I am no fan of slaughter but its nice to know that if I have to, I know how, and can do it.

I also had show poultry and won some big honors with my fancy fowl - I'm a HUGE fan of chickens as pets. My best was Buster a Golden Campine cock, I made some money off that guy.

Folks visiting my garden often gush about the tomatoes til I tell them to pick one and eat it - hardly any flavor. My soil needs work and the yard needs sunshine. But thats ok, after the first few weeks of 'mater season I'm pretty much over them - cukes and cantaloupe are the two things I think I could eat everyday and never get sick of (can't grow a flavorful cantaloupe either!).

Very wonderful thread! I'll add a whole different slant on the herbs. I find that I add something different to the garden every year, and only partially because I love to use them in my cooking. I've been fascinated by how attractive most of them seem to be to a wide variety of pollinating insects. Those little flowers must contain an some mighty delicious nectar, or the promise of such.

The basils are a favorite of mine because of the hoards of busy and determined honey bees they attract. I let mine go to flower late in the season just for the pure pleasure of being surrounded by these happy and hardworking insects. I even like to sit in the garden near the basil plants while they are alive with friendly bees. It's great fun to show a child how to hold a bouquet of basil flowers in his hand so that he can watch the bees as close as he wants to.

John, I am jealous about your ginger! I've got nothing but harsh full sun, hard red clay so far. It will be a few years before new tree plantings can provide enough shade for some ginger.

Who was it who said that she liked baking but not cooking? I sure wish I had someone like you as a neighbor! We could swap talents! I HATE to bake. I'm not even sure where my measuring spoons and cups are.

If you haven't seen them - check out the new variegated Basils. Very showy and just as flavorful as the old standby. muy expensivo, being patented and all but loverly to look at. There seems to be two types - one the standard smaller leafed form with pale green and dark green streaks and the extra showy siam queen/african type with bold white edges on medium green leaves.

"That" place in Sanford sells them. But I see they are being promoted this next spring as the new "it" plant.

rhizo - if you're desperate you can grow ginger as a potted plant on your porch or as a houseplant. But for the amount of work involved it isn't really much of a money saver in small quantities.

I'm just going to stick to the original question here and say my favorite herbs are rosemary, sage and cilantro. I still haven't been able to grow cilantro successfully though. I also love lemon thyme, but I don't really use it in any cooking. I made a meatloaf with it once and it was wonderful, but I didn't write down what all I used and I haven't been able to recreate it since.
Dana

I have found that I can usually just take the herbs that I have growing at the time and make a small bundle and toss it in the chicken soup, it always makes the soup better, no matter which combination I use. Its always a pleasant surprise to use them that way too. Of course those bundles usually come from the same group of herbs; thyme,rosemary,parlsey,basil,and oregano. It always adds a lot to the flavor and I feel that I am benefitting in many ways. It also adds a lot of satisfaction for me to know that I grew the ingredients myself.

Thanks, Alicia, for being gracious about me sayin' a piece on medicinal herbs in your thread. From all I've seen in the herb world, we are heading for a greater understanding of medicinal plants, due to increasing intricacy of scientific understanding of the chemical components and body mechanisms. Good work is being done, mostly outside the US. but I'm positive that it will even out to the best for all.

On the culinary front; two herbs I love for similar flavor, but the traditionals don't grow well in the South; Tagetes lucida for French Tarragon. T. lucida is a marigold, with tinsy flowers, but great anise flavored leaves, used like tarragon, but can take the Southern heat. I'm seeing it as a tender perennial.

For cilantro, which has never done well for me (bolts on yond early), a great substitute is Vietnamese Coriander, an annual, but purty much a polygonatum-like weed in growth , great for leafy harvest, and spot on for cilantro taste.

I recommend that you allow cilantro to bolt and self-seed into your garden. It will spring up where it enjoys life and you will never moan for more cilantro again (I pull tons throughout the season, I swear I have not allowed more to go to seed but it pops up everywhere).

Cilantro seedlings are easy to pull. If you transplant them, you get a tiny scrawny plant that unhappily puts on 3 leaves and then bolts. If you leave it where it sprouts it will be 3.5' tall and luscious. I end up giving away all the cilantro I harvest because for some strange reason my variety is HOT AS JALEPENOS and I can't eat it. My Mexican, Korean, and Vietnamese friends go wild for this hot version though; also my sister and her husband who favor very very spicy foods.

I follow the same rule for parsley and dill: plant once, let it seed out, and then let it grow where it likes; remove it when it is not convenient.

I am happy to hear the self-seeding ways of those plants. Had them all in my gardens this season and allowed them all to go to seed. Can't wait for spring. Adele

Hi,

I love to grow herbs. I have grown lemon balm, mints, horehound, chamomile, yarrow, and feverfew. I make teas and facial toners from the lemon balm and chamomile. I have also used red clover tea and capsules. I truely believe that the red clover helped to keep my hormones ticking and helped to even out menopause. Yarrow leaves really do stop bleeding. I am careful about my use of herbs because I am on medications. I have discussed the use of herbs with my doctor, a neuro-psychatrist. He explained that amount/intensity "chemical" components is too variable in herbs and there is a high risk in using them to treat a "chemical imbalance". I respect his opinion.

P.S. Lemon balm tea is supposed to be good for all skin types and supposedly helps wrinkles. This is from Ortho's "All about Herbs" book. Please let me know if anyone has found info on the cosmetic properties of herbs. Thanks.

Alicia,
There are SO many herbs that I must have: Lavender, rosemary, basil, garlic, dill, thyme, oregano, calendula. The list is too long! I use them for cooking, for teas, and even medicinal things like oils (calendula is very good).
My two cents on herbal medicine: Everything in moderation. :)
I can take a turmeric capsule after a strenuous day of gardening and feel great the next day. There is a wonderful, local "Herb Lady" who makes them.

Granite,
Your gardens are making me drool! What I would give for that much FLAT land! Mine is so hilly that I must terrace everything. . .

TriangleJohn,
Your previous assortment of pets sounds very interesting! I love sheep and llamas, and have thought of one day having a few, but not sure I have the energy to keep up with them. Sounds like a full-time job! LOL Maybe just a few chickens, when I get a place built out there - but like Marsha and others said: They would have a home for life. :)

Happy herb gardening, all!
Rosemary

Granite, if you're still around, where did you get that gate/ trellis?

I have a few herbs now: a huge Rosemary and a couple of seedling lavenders up by the mailbox, as well as three seedling lavenders near the house. I love the fragrance of the foliage of both of those. I want to get more herbs started, for cooking, etc. I have a vegetable garden next to the driveway that I plan on putting a bunch of herbs in next year.

Rosemary, I have heard good things about tumeric, listening to the People's Pharmacy. Where are you, that your land is so hilly?

Alicia,
I'm in Hickory, and I garden on land that belonged to my great-aunt. It sits in a little valley of sorts, with a small creek on one side, small pine forest on one end and large bamboo stand on the other. Smack-dab in between is my garden, where my aunt origninally had hers, and it's on a bit of a slant. It's straight uphill to another area that is suitable for gardening but not cleared yet. Thinking about planting lots of lavender up there since it's full sun. . .

What a great post. Thank you rootdigger for the info.

Carla