And it being one of my pride and joys around the farm, I decided to put a picture of it (complete with an out-of-place tomato plant, which has since been uprooted) on here with the uses of the various herbs, which I hope to experiment with as time goes by.- Salad Burnet, which thrilled me at first by growing very vigorously, but now is one of the smallest (for wounds, sunburn, and other skin troubles).
- Hyssop (for congestion, sore throat, cuts, and bruises).
- Marshmallow (for respiratory irritations, dry skin, cuts, and scrapes).
- Catnip, very large and healthy (for digestive ailments, cramps, fevers, and colds).
We also planted a Rosemary plant, which is an antiseptic, antioxidant, and antispasmodic, and Stevia, which is supposed to be a sweetener. If you chew on a raw leaf, it overwhelms you with a stiflingly sweet (and in my opinion slightly unpleasant) flavor.
Some kind customers brought us a couple of comfrey plants, in exchange for some blueberries, which have since grown very large and healthy and threaten to take over the herb garden in the future. Comfrey is good for bruises and burns. My sister and I have tried putting it on our skin in poultice form, and it really does have a cooling effect.
I tried to transplant a large Jewelweed, (good for poison ivy) but since then it died, so I guess I’ll have to try it again sometime.
And I can’t forget Plantain, the common yard weed, which is for bites, stings, cuts, wounds, etc.–planted at the risk of being thought crazy by people who don’t know its illustrious herbal qualities!
As you can see, I have probably slightly overcrowded the small space I tilled up earlier this summer (see illustration below). We may have to move some of the plants that aren’t doing so well anyway…or the extra large ones which would look rather odd in our front yard. We’ll see which plants survive the coming cold for next year’s use!
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