I highly recommend Horehound. It is a very bitter medicinal herb, generally recognized as useful in bronchial conditions. It likes a very well-drained position, and grows best for me in above-ground pots. It needs protection from faster growing plants--it is OK near things like Thyme and the smaller forms of Sage, but definitely not the Mints. Valerian is useful for nervous conditions, and has a fragrant inflorescence. It grows fairly tall but is an attractive plant. Comfrey is pretty close to being a rank weed similar to Mullein but I like to use it in places that would otherwise attract true weeds. It is a bully and will grow straight up at first, then let its stalks fall down, shading out anything in a 3 to 4 foot diameter. It can be used externally for injuries. Skullcap is also a rather attractive plant with interesting flower stalks...it has grown well for me and even reseeded itself lightly. Feverfew is good for migraine headaches, and is a small and rather attractive fern-like leaved little daisy-type plant that grows in attractive clumps. It works by doing something irreversible to smooth muscle, so should be used with caution. There are many medicinal herbs that treat similar conditions, so it's really more practical to try to discover the ones that do best in your area, for the conditions you want, and try to grow those. If you ask in the forums for your area, posters can tell you what has done well for them in that zone. Also, some really good medicinal herbs are either so large that you wouldn't want them to share a bed with the others, or so tiny that they really do better with the protection of their own pot.

Thank You Stephanie!!!! I was *this* close to starting yet another swap last night. As I am going thru my ever growing mound of seed packs, I'm looking forward to sharing the bounty with others! I would love to participate in this, plmk addy and I'll have my sasbe mailed by tomorrow!

Clay-lady, I received your package. Thank you. Uptreasa is the last package that I am waiting for. It should be here Tue or Wed, and then I will start packaging up everyone's seeds! There are 6 of you that I never heard from and have not received packages from, so I'm going to have to sort without you, my apologies. 1) zabecc (RECEIVED) 2) ncgardengirl (RECEIVED) 3) fcoffill (RECEIVED) 4) drippy (RECEIVED) 5) greenthumbgrow (RECEIVED) 6) jaynine (RECEIVED) 7) patti1957 (RECEIVED) 8) uptreasa (in the mail) 9) grolikecrazy (RECEIVED) 10) clay_lady (RECEIVED) 11) nicolita (RECEIVED) 12) sleepyconsultant 13) cjcjmass (RECEIVED) 14) gardenmom2 (RECEIVED) 15) thehills2 (RECEIVED) 16) novelist 17) ladylavender 18) gardenfairy04 19) leira (RECEIVED) 20) phantom_white (RECEIVED) 21) misskimmie 22) highalttransplant (RECEIVED) 23) grovespirit (RECEIVED) 24) sjkentucky 25) suecirish (RECEIVED)

Hi Tom! I see you have a page and a wish list started. Good job. Now if I sound bossy or start to sound like an IRS agent spitting out rules--that's not what I'm trying to do. Can you do a couple things? 1. Set up your messaging. When you click on our usernames (such as canyonwind (9) above, it will take you to her page. In the top right corner is a rectangle marked "Message". You can email her directly, ask her a question, propose a seed trade, give the other person your address to send you seeds--and it's not on the public thread with the weirdos and stalkers. As long as you're setting things up go to your username and add a number behind your name. Once again using canyonwind (9) as an example. That means she lives in USDA hardiness zone 9. I live in zone 4/5. That makes it easier for us to know if the seeds we have will do well in your area. The larger the number the warmer the climate. You can google your USDA hardiness zone. Now that you know your zone...you can work on your wishlist. If you are in zone 4/5 like myself you will know that anything tropical dies in the fall. If I want tropical seeds I know I'll have to grow it indoors or plant it as an annual. What kind of Want List? There's no right or wrong. Why make a Wish List? Because it gives the rest of us information. If you have 3 kinds of marigolds on your list we might offer you another variety. If you have annuals on your list we might offer you some of those. Also include what you DON'T want. Example: No prairie grasses or daylilies, please. Now...FOTESS is a group. It stands for Friends of the Earth Simple Swaps. We swap just about every month. If you are back here at this place find 2018 January Fotess thread. Usually next month's post will be put up the end of the earlier month. We love new people...but as with everything there's a process. You can post on the thread that you're interested in this month's swap or you can click on sandlapper or sjc's username and email them through Houzz. We just don't want someone who says they will swap, but doesn't follow through so we make sure there's a back up plan so nobody's left out. Just like second grade--everybody wins. Keep asking questions! Heidi