Easy Medicinal Seeds & Plants to Grow in Your Garden
- Comfrey is one medicinal plant you can easily grow in your own garden.comfrey plants image by Paula Gent from Fotolia.com
Since Hippocrates advised, "Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food," humans have grown medicinal plants alongside, or overlapping with, food crops. Without an intensive training in herbalism or medicine, although you should consult a doctor or herbalist before using herbs internally, you can begin to turn your own garden into an all-natural apothecary. Begin by familiarizing yourself with some of the more common and easy-to-grow plants, which you can purchase in seed form from nurseries and seed companies. - The name "comfrey" comes from the Latin for "to grow together"; the plant has long been used to stop bleeding and heal wounds. Comfrey (Symphytum) is a perennial that reaches heights of over 3 feet with a shallow, thick tuberous root system. It resists frost and drought, growing best with direct sunlight and moist soil. You can plant comfrey by seed at any time of year, though it flowers in late May or early June, making an early spring planting especially advantageous. Comfrey's high levels of allantoin, a compound also found in mother's milk and in fetuses, aids in healing and may increase white blood cell counts. It also soothes and moisturizes skin. Comfrey also has a high amino acid content, roughly equal to that of most legumes, and a large amount of vitamin B12.
- Calendula (Calendula officinalis), also known as the "Pot marigold," offers cheery golden blossoms and a number of health benefits when used medicinally. Plant calendula seeds in full or partial sun and keep soil well watered. The plant will produce large yellow, red and golden flowers in mid- to late summer and through the fall. It reaches heights of between 1 and 2 feet. The flowers can be added to ointments and tinctures for external application for ailments such as burns, cuts, bruises and ear infections. Calendula has long been used to heal these lesions, to reduce hemorrhoids and to soothe sunburn. Calendula has also been shown to decrease the incidence of dermatitis among breast cancer patients, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center.
- Well known as an ingredient in herbal teas or infusions, chamomile is a flowering plant with blossoms resembling daisies. There are two common kinds of chamomile: German chamomile (Matricaria recutita) and Roman, or English, chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile). Generally, only the German variety is used for herbal remedies. It reaches up to 3 feet tall and frequently grows wild. The plant's flowers are small, less than 1 inch in diameter, with white petals and yellow centers. The flower head itself is the ingredient used in medicinal tinctures and teas. Chamomile may be used to relieve anxiety or insomnia, quicken healing, aid digestion, reduce mouth sores or gingivitis and soothe skin problems such as eczema. When planting chamomile seeds, expect 1 to 2 weeks for germination. Sow them directly in the ground in the spring or the fall.
