hey Reader!

The days are getting longer, and my garden is coming alive. I love welcoming my plant friends back after a bare winter when I see them sprouting up.

Let’s get a few things out of the way. Because I’m a professional herbalist, you may be thinking that:

• I’m a master gardener (I’m not).
• I have an immaculate garden (I definitely don’t).
• I live on a large property (nope, it’s just under 6,000 sq ft).

I think it would be more accurate to say that I’m a laissez-faire, trial-and-error gardener.

And that works for me because, with pretty minimal effort, I’m able to grow over 30 different medicinal plants in my teeny yard!

If you’re curious, here’s a list of the medicinal plants found in my garden:

• Marshmallow
• Skullcap
• Peppermint
• Rosemary
• Oregano
• Garlic
• Elecampane
• Mullein
• Hops
• Wild Rose
• Oregon Grape
• Honeysuckle
• Comfrey
• Echinacea
• Valerian
• Motherwort
• Calendula
• Onion
• Lemon balm
• Sweet Annie
• Lovage
• Elderberry
• Ladies Mantle
• Self Heal
• Plantain
• Dandelion
• Yellow Dock
• Horseradish
• Lavender
• Chamomile

Now, I don’t always harvest my plants for medicinal use but I do love to know that they are there for me if I need them.

It’s empowering to be able to run out to my garden and pick some fresh herbs when I need them. Like when I've got a sore throat and I harvest some marshmallow leaves for their demulcent properties or when I'm congested I can easily make a quick rosemary peppermint steam.

It doesn't have to be hard or complicated, my friends!

The key to being able to easily grow medicinal herbs is to pick plants that are suited for the zone you are in and plant them in the appropriate spot, matching the plant with the amount of shade/sun they prefer.

Throw in a little weeding, pruning, and harvesting, and you can have a powerful medicinal herb garden at your fingertips.

So if you want to get started building a medicinal herb garden, here are a few tips:

• Start with culinary herbs like peppermint, rosemary, sage, and thyme. These herbs are generally pretty easy to grow. Then you can branch out from there!
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• Start with some perennial herbs that come back every year, maximizing your time, effort, and dollars! My favorite perennial herbs are echinacea, marshmallow, hops, and lavender.
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• ​Embrace what zone you are in. I've found that when I try to grow plants that aren't suited for my zone, I've had mixed results. And even plants that "say" they can be grown in my zone if I've tried to grow them without success, then I stop fighting my yard and accept that that particular plant might not work (Passionflower is a great example for me. I've tried to grow it multiple times and I just can't keep it alive.

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• Get help from your local garden nursery! If you have a local gardening store, use them as a resource. Tell them what's going on with your plants and/or what herb you'd like to grow. They often have lots of free advice and they know your local climate well!
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• See if your community has a seed swap or a seed exchange program where you can get seeds for free and try growing them with a little less pressure.
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• Find someone with a garden and see if they would share some starts with you. Lots of medicinal herbs are prolific with their babies and most gardeners are willing to share (especially if you help!)
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• Even if you live in an apartment or somewhere with no yard, many of the medicinal herbs that I mentioned above can be grown in pots on a patio or balcony!

Growing medicinal herbs is empowering because you have access to herbs whenever you need them! It’s a great way to become familiar with the taste, sight, and smell of herbs. And it’ll make you smile when you look at your yard.

So, I’d love to know, Reader, do you have a medicinal herb garden? What is your favorite herb to grow? What is one herb you’d like to try growing this spring?

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With love and Chamomile,

ps: Want to meet 1-1 to talk about your home garden and apothecary? I offer a 90 minute intensive where we’ll go over the best herbs to have in your home apothecary and we can cover which herbs can be easily grown in your garden.