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Herbs that are used for health and wellness have a time-honored tradition on the homestead where self-sufficiency is a default setting. In this section I cover herbs that are grown primarily for medici-nal uses. While many culinary herbs such as thyme and rosemary also have healthful benefits, this section focuses on herbs that aren’t typically used in the kitchen.

See Chapter 20 for information on creating herbal preparations from home-grown plant materials.

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While herbs can impart benefits for most people, there is a time to seek professional medical advice. This section is the barest introduction to herbal medicine and is in no way intended as medical advice, only a discussion of historical uses and current research.

Calendula (Calendula officinalis)

This beautiful and cheerful plant has the common name pot marigold because of the marigoldlike flowers. Easy to start from seeds, you can direct sow at the last frost date or start indoors before transplanting. Calendula thrives with plenty of sunshine but appreciates a touch of shade in the heat of the afternoon. It will not tolerate high heat, so harvest flowers early in the summer if your region is prone to extreme summers.

Calendula is a hardy annual that self-seeds with ease. This habit to produce volunteer seedlings makes it well suited to a prairie grass plot, cottage garden, or other informal growing area. Almost any soil will do as long as it drains well.

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hardy annuals are plants that will often return the following year from self-sown seeds. It isn’t the parent plant that survives, as with perennials, but rather new plants that appear from seeds that were produced from the first plant and survived over the winter.

If overcrowded, calendula can be susceptible to powdery mildew. Slugs and aphids can pester tender young plants but are rarely a serious bother.

While the flowers are edible and can be added to summer salads, the herb is most often used for wellness as a poultice. It is effective for treating skin irritations of all kinds, and that is one of calendula’s primary uses.

Beginning in late spring when the flowers appear, you can begin harvesting the blooms. Calendula flower heads can be used fresh, or preserved through drying, freezing, or infusing in oil.

Chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile)

Chamomile is one of the most common herbal teas and is an easy herb to grow in the home garden. Informal growth habits make it a perfect plant for cottage garden border or kitchen herb container. Both the leaves and the flowers are used in herbal preparations and potpourri.

Chamomile is a hardy annual so it reseeds itself and usually comes back each year. The flowers are small and daisylike in form while the leaves are fine-cut and fernlike. Chamomile can be grown easily from seed and will also spread from rooted runners. In fact, in some areas it is considered a weed but homesteaders know better because we have a good use for the plant.

Harvest chamomile flowers by cutting the stems and drying them. Dry the flowers in a well-ventilated area out of the sun or hang the stems upside down to dry. The flowers are used to make a soothing tea that is designed to help calm nervousness and soothe stomach unease.

Comfrey (Symphytum officinalis)

Comfrey is an herbaceous perennial with coarse leaves that is hardy in zones 4 through 9. It grows 4 to 5 feet tall and 2 feet wide. The large root system of comfrey is extensive and makes the plant not only tolerant of drought situations, but also hard to eliminate from a garden area after it is well-established.

Comfrey is usually propagated not through seeds, but through root cuttings and divisions. They are easy to propagate and live a long time in many conditions. Many gardeners will grow comfrey in raised beds or containers, and it’s often best suited to the back or middle of the perennial border.

Historically, comfrey was used both externally and internally; however, new research indicates liver toxicity when ingested. It has anti-inflammatory properties that are used in poultices for sprains, strains, and bruises of all kinds. Comfrey infused oils are also used in beauty treatments like eye creams and burn creams.

Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea)

Echinacea is a beautiful daisylike flower that is similar to black-eyed Susan and can be substituted for them in the landscape. Echinacea is hardy in zones 3 through 8. After it is established, you’ll have flowers in two to three years.

Growing echinacea is relatively easy, as it is drought tolerant, low maintenance, and adaptable.

Echinacea grows best in full sun but will grow even in part shade. The only kind of soil that may cause problems for echinacea plants would be heavy clay or overly fertile soil that holds too much moisture.

If you are growing echinacea from seeds, it will usually germinate better with a chilling period of two weeks. You can direct sow seeds shallowly in moist soil and allow them to grow right where you want them. Echinacea will naturalize readily and can be divided every three years. Use the roots from the divisions for medicinal purposes and always replant enough of the plants to keep your stand healthy and growing.

Over the Garden Fence

The best time to harvest the roots is when the plant is dormant in the fall. Dig deeply to harvest as much of the deep roots as possible, because echinacea plants grow very deep roots. Most gardeners try to leave some of the smaller roots from the outside edges of the plant to allow the plants to reestablish themselves.

Echinacea extract has been shown to have immune-boosting properties in several studies, but appears to be more effective in higher doses. While echinacea grows wild through much of the United States, commercial harvesting is a threat to wild populations. Growing your own is a way to preserve the herb, and is another way to increase your self-sufficiency.

Echinacea purpurea is the most readily cultivated and is one of the three species used in herbal preparations. It is most often used in a tincture or decoction form and it is the root or leafy tops of the echinacea that is used for medicinal purposes.

Lavender (Lavendula)

One of my all-time favorite herbs, lavender was the only one of my newly planted perennial herbs to survive the drought in summer 2011. Lavender’s tolerance for drought and poor soil is legendary for a reason, and this makes it an excellent choice for container plantings.

The main thing to remember with lavender is that it cannot tolerate wet, soggy roots, so make sure to provide good drainage. Lavender grows best in zones 5 through 8 and has a classic fragrance with purple flowers and silvery green, needlelike leaves. See Chapter 25 for an herbal craft using lavender flowers.

One of my favorite herbs, lavender is most often purchased as a started plant.

(Photo courtesy of Brannan Sirratt)

In edible landscaping you can use lavender as an attractive herb hedge or container urn. The herb combines nicely with other plants and flowers making it a rock star in the mixed border. Prune back woody growth every year or every other year to keep the plant bushy and flowering as prolifi-cally as possible.

You can harvest the lavender blooms when they are supple, brightly colored, and fresh. It’s best to harvest during a cool, dry time of the day because heat will cause the plant to release more of the essential oils. You can dry the herbs by hanging them in a dry place, or spreading the lavender flowers on a screen and placing it out of direct sunlight.

While lavender is used in both calming teas, and in gourmet dishes, it isn’t a common kitchen spice.

The main use of lavender is in potpourri and herbal crafts, as well as medicinal uses. Lavender is very cooling and the essential oil has been used to treat heat stroke, migraines, and muscle spasms of all kinds. Lavender also has a calming effect and is good for helping to relieve sleeplessness.