Make your own medicinal herb garden

I don’t have much of a green thumb, so I won’t be giving you advice on how to plant these herbs, in what area of your garden or when to harvest. But I will be giving you some ideas on how you can make sure that your herb garden not only make your meals super testy, but you can use them for medicinal purposes as well.

While many of these herbs mentioned below taste great, they also have strong healing properties in the different constituents that are contained within them. So head to your local nursery, grab some of these herbs and you will never be without some medicine in your back yard.

SAGE

Fantastic for reducing hot flushes. Sage is a great ‘drying’ herb. It helps to dry up excess moisture in the body, so if hot flushes are getting you down. Grab a few leaves, boil the kettle and let the leaves sit for approx. 10 minutes. You can also make up a large batch of tea and then chill it, because who wants a hot drink when you’re sweating?

PARSLEY

A great digestive herb, perfect for reducing bloating and can also help to manage bad breath. It is a gentle cleanser, cleansing the blood to help and reduce inflammation within the body.

You can make a tea or consume the leaves fresh in salads and over roast veggies.

PEPPERMINT

A great digestive tonic, helping to relieve an upset stomach, reduce bloating and relieve wind. It is also great for relating the nervous system, so great for anxiety, insomnia and general irritability.

Again you can consume the leaves fresh or in a tea.

CHAMOMILE

The beautiful chamomile flowers are packed full of medicinal actions. Chamomile is of course, very relaxing for the nervous sustem, great for anxiety, insomnia and high stress. But it is also a lovely digestive tonic, helping to relieve stomach pain and to help reduce bloating.

ROSEMARY

This potent tasting herb has so many different actions. it works on the liver, circulation, brain function and hormones.

Rosemary is a potent antioxidant and haas a strong protective action on the liver through it’s antioxidant activity. It also influences hormones through it’s action on the liver, by promoting oestrogen clearance through the liver pathways. It also has strong antibacterial properties, making it a great mouthwash when made into a tea.

Consume fresh in cooking or in tea form.

ALOE VERA

Everyone is very familiar with the actions of this well known plant. The fresh sap from the aloe vera leaf is fantastic for sunburn, applying topically to the effected area. Avoid consuming this plant internally from your garden. You can purchase aloe vera juice and the like, but I would be buying this from a reputable brand to ensure safety.

LAVENDER

A fantastic anxiety remedy, the flowers of the lavender plant are extremely effective in relaxing the nervous system and displays anti-anxiety properties. Great to be consumed before bed to promote good sleep quality. Consume it in tea form, again steeping the flowers for 10minutes at least and consume 2-3 cups a day.

ECHINACEA

This stunning flower looks beautiful in the garden, but helps to boost your immune system like no tomorrow! If you feel a cold coming on then make a super strong tea from the echinacea flowers and drink 3+ cups a day to help ward it off.

Echinacea also helps to reduce inflammation and even has an antiviral property. Meaning that it doesn't matter if the infection you have is bacterial based or viral based then echinacea will have some impact in overcoming it.

CALENDULA

The beautiful flowers of the calendula plant are very versatile. They can be made into creams and oils and applied topically to aid wound healing, soothing burns or can be made into a tea to reduce inflammation within the body, soothe the digestive tract and promote lymphatic drainage within the body.