Medicinal and culinary herbs: your faves

[widemouthedfrog]

Hi folks,
I'm a novice gardener with a teeny weeny townhouse plot of land in Vancouver, Canada. Not too cold, not too hot, not super sunny, not super shady, but the soil is good.

I'm planting a herb garden. I'd like to get into medicinal, culinary, and companion herbs. So far, I have: feverfew, sage, oregano, milk thistle, borage, mint (in a pot). These are mostly leftovers from our old place. Other suggestions? Essentials for the kitchen or the medicine cabinet? I'd like things that are easy to grow.

Thanks!
Tricia

[BabyBumblebee]

well, if I was on the W.Coast instead of here I would be growing:

Rosemary (you should be able to get it through the winter!)
Chamomile - lovely and easy to grow from seed
Thyme - there are so many lovely different varieties...great ground cover too!
Purple Fennel
Basil - again, purple is my fav. - soo pretty!
Lavender - english or french

If you grow some of them like the rosemary and lavender in pots you will have the option of moving them around to find the best position for them!

[rainbow dancer]

culinary:
- summer savory (annual) or winter savory (perennial)
great for green beans and in salads
- dill - a must for cucumber salads, fish etc etc
- lovage - for stews, roasts and soups
medicinal:
- comfrey
- calendula
.....

[widemouthedfrog]

Thanks for the ideas...I've stocked up on a few of those. Hopefully they grow!

[Lazyhead]

We grow:
sage
lavendar
rosemary
thyme
oregano
parsely cilantro
calendula
chamomile
evening primrose
borage

I love herbs and want to start learning more about medicinal uses. I guess I gotta get a book or somethin'...

[greenmagick]

Chamomile is easy to grown and is very pretty as well

[spiderdust]

Originally Posted by BabyBumblebee

Lavender - english or french

How are the 2 different?

[lilylove]

Originally Posted by rainbow dancer

culinary:
- summer savory (annual) or winter savory (perennial)
great for green beans and in salads
- dill - a must for cucumber salads, fish etc etc
- lovage - for stews, roasts and soups
medicinal:
- comfrey
- calendula
.....

I second the comfrey and calendula!!!
They are great for making your own tinctures and salves. I also use fresh comfrey leaves, crushed, for poulitices.

[Owen'nZoe]

I use a lot of Lovage in place of celery in soups and other cooking.

[widemouthedfrog]

I've got some lovage...hopefully it comes up. I'm also trying epazote...Mexican herb. Apparently it's good for those - ahem - beany disturbances...

[CryPixie83]

Plantain! It's always overlooked as a weed Plantain is awesome for cuts scrapes and bee stings!

[Lazyhead]

Originally Posted by CryPixie83

Plantain! It's always overlooked as a weed Plantain is awesome for cuts scrapes and bee stings!

ITA. I wouldn't say we "cultivate" it but it sure grows aplenty in our yard and garden. Frends are often stunned when we just grab some plaintain, chew it up and slap it on a bee sting!

[CryPixie83]

I got upset with my neighbor when he offered to spray herbicide on my prolific plantain What is it with people spraying that crap everywhere, anyway?

[Lazyhead]

I hate all that toxic crap. I see our neighbor outside all the time with his little squirt bottle of poison. I've made comments to them before about it leaching into the groundwater and poisoning their pets and children but they think I'm a total hippie crackpot.

Sorry to hijack the thread!!

[mattemma04]

My dd loves chives. I grow chamomile even though it makes me sneeze now.Also, lemon balm and dill.Good for you,but I mostly just like to pinch a bit and smell,aroma therapy lol. Yesterday I was out pulling weeds and started collecting the roots of dandelions.I read the health benefits are many,and the cost of dandelion drinks is outrageous.

[widemouthedfrog]

Oh, I'm a weirdo hippie too. Dd was outside the other day eating leaves so I pointed her towards the dandelions. And the other day in a park a little boy fell down, and I was so tempted to offer plantain. But I resisted.

[artemis33]

I grow a variety but the ones I use the most for cooking are thyme, rosemary, chives,parsley, cilantro, basil (genovese and thai) and mint. I use my sage and oregano a fair amount too, but not every week like the others.

I also have a comfry patch and some echinacea, though I end up just buying the echinacea because I love the plant and don't want to dig mine up! I'd like to find a spot for nettle because I use that a lot!!!

I love the french lavender - it is very fragrant and good for drying. I only have a couple plants and want to plant more! Both french and english are more fragrant than the spanish lavenders.

OH there are always a ton I'd love to add but when space is an issue these are my favs.


Oh yeah, I hate the poison freaks too - I mentioned to one of my neighbors that he should eat his dandelions instead of poisoning them (and the groundwater!) and he thought I was nuts!

[Livi's Mama]

I grow lemon balm for making tea. Purple basil, cilantro, parsley, chives for cooking. I always have cilantro & parsley going in a pot indoors or out depending on the season.

I'd like to find a spot for nettle because I use that a lot!!!

So my mom & I were just talking about nettle today. I have stinging nettle in my yard. In areas we don't mow it can get 2-3' tall. Do you think that's the same nettle that used in teas etc? What do you use it for?

[widemouthedfrog]

Oooh, for my birthday my dad is going to dig up some cicely and comfrey and a whole lot of other herbs. Yay!

[Jennisee]

My favorite culinary herbs
chives--My absolute favorite. I've thought about growing an entire border of chives.
thyme--"Regular" and creeping lemon
rosemary
parsley
cilantro
basil--As many kinds as I can fit in the garden
dill
bronze fennel--I mostly grow this for the butterfly caterpillers.
mint--All different kinds. Watch out, though. It takes over!
lemon balm

I haven't grown herbs specifically for medicinal purposes yet, but I've thought about growing chamomile for tea.