45 Of The Best Plants For A Medicinal Garden
My gardening plans went down the drain this year after the accident and the rough weather we had this spring. I find myself planning my garden for next year fully expecting to be up for the challenge.
For now, we have some indoor plants and potted plants out on the porch where the constant rain doesn’t bother them as much. Oh, how I love having live plants around the house. I use a lot of herbs for medicine and prefer to keep medicinal herbs growing in the house and yard to help provide my family with the best.
If you want to provide your family with fresh medicinal herbs you may be wondering what are the best plants for a medicinal garden?
What are the best plants for a medicinal garden?
When planning your medicinal garden for your family you need to look at what health concerns your family faces. If all you really deal with is cuts and scrapes and mild cold and fevers you won’t need an extensive medicinal herb garden.
If your family often falls ill, suffers from health conditions you treat herbally, or you are working to grow, dry, and store herbs for future medicinal use you will want a larger medicinal garden.
Peppermint
When it comes to handy herbs you can’t go wrong with peppermint. Peppermint is great for using in your kitchen for flavoring everything from sweet to savory dishes, repelling flies, mice, and mosquitoes, and calming nausea. Seep dried peppermint leaves in hot water to make a tummy-soothing, sleep-inducing, nerve settling peppermint tea that can make you feel better.
Peppermint is a powerful herb for fighting the effects of seasonal allergies. When it comes to herbs in the garden it is easy to grow mint rather hands-off. One plant will spread quickly making it a frugal addition to any garden or landscape..
Lavender
Lavender is one of my go-to herbs for the home and garden. With hundreds of uses, lavender is one of the best plants for a medicinal garden. We use lavender to help calm anxiety and stress along with improving the children’s sleep, and just making the house smell nice. Lavender makes a great addition to moon milk to help you sleep, bath bombs, and coping with allergies.
Aloe vera
We grow aloe vera around the house in the bathrooms and kitchen. This plant thrives in a humid room and won’t need to be watered to survive if planted in one of these rooms. The Aloe plants in the living room take a little more work and a few may have died over the years from being forgotten or overwatered by a helpful child.
For the most part, this hardy plant can survive pretty much everything while being one of the most useful medicinal plants. From homemade face wash to sunburns, and general cuts and scrapes the soothing and healing powers of Aloe vera make it a plant well worth growing. Aloe vera is one of the best air-filtering plants making aloe a great plant for growing indoors.
Oregano
Oregano is a powerful antibiotic and antiviral. Stocking oregano in your medicinal herb collection is a great way to be ready for boosting immune systems when someone falls ill or for preventing illness altogether.
Oregano is a great addition to homemade chunky chicken soup for a simple immune boost. Oregano can also be used for helping to protect your family and animals from parasites.
Onion
Onions are known for being a powerful healer and immune system booster. We use a lot of fresh onions when cooking for our family meals. From the rich and savory flavor along with the health benefits. The benefits of onions rage from antibacterial properties to possible heart and bone health while being packed with plenty of powerful antioxidants.
Garlic
We all know the powerful immune boosting qualities of Garlic. Garlic is amazing for adding flavor to food while being a powerful antibiotic making it a great addition to your medicinal garden. Growing your own garlic is easy and can keep you a steady supply of garlic you can trust over imports from China.
Turmeric
When it comes to antiinflammatories turmeric is my secret weapon. We add it to the pepper grinder, mix it in food as a yellow food dye, and add it to as many savory dishes as we can. This helps to reduce my grandmother’s pain and help my husband’s knee he injured in the Army.
Ginger
Ginger is great for settling an upset stomach. We love caddied ginger slices hear and it makes an amazing addition to hot drinks, spicy cookies, and fun sweet treats while helping to aid the digestive system.
Feverfew
These tiny wildflowers are great for growing in your yard and can be used for pain relief and to reduce fevers. Dry flowers in the summer to store away for cold and flu season.
Passionflower
When we lived in FL we were lucky enough that one of the neighbors passionflower plants sprouted up a volunteer in our yard. These flowers are great for calming nerves and anxiety while helping you sleep. For anyone with emotional struggles or insomnia, this plant is one of the best plants for a medicinal herb garden.
Calendula
Calendula is a powerful healing herb. You can make your own calendula oil to add to lotions, salves, and ointments for the whole family.
Dandelion
While dandelion is known as a weed you may be surprised to discover that dandelions are a valuable plant for your medicinal garden. The entire plant can be used in everything from detoxing to healing damaged skin. The leaves make a great addition to your salads and the roots can be used as a coffee substitute.
Chamomile
Chamomile tea is known for its nerve-soothing and sleep-inducing properties. Chamomile is the perfect addition to your medicinal tea collection.
Chickweed
Chickweed makes a great ground cover option and is often used for treating skin conditions and inflammation. Try this herb for mild skin irritation and bug bites. Don’t have room to grow chickweed? this is a great herb for foraging.
lemon balm
Lemon balm is an easy to grow herb that can be used for a stoothing tea. While great for adding a light lemon flavor to your food lemon balm. Lemon balm can be used to calm anxiety and calm heartburn, and indigestion.
Plantain
Plantain is known as a weed but many overlook this plant that grows int he cracks of the sidewalk. Plantain can be used to soothe the skin, heal rashes and treat bug bites and poison ivy making it a great addition to your medicinal garden. Use it as an edging plant.
Elderberry
Elderberry is one of the most powerful immune boosting herbs. Even the CDC has admitted that elderberry is one of the most effective ways to fight the flu and common cold. Growing your own elderberries is a great way to have a sustainable source for your family. Elderberry can be enjoyed in syrups, jam, gummies, and even tea for its healing properties.
While elder is best known for its powerful berries the elderflower is just as useful. Snag some elderflower off your elder plants to make this Elderflower Lemonade on a hot summer day.
St Johns Wart
St. Johns wart is a valuable herb for fighting depression and anxiety. Plant St. John’s Wort in your garden to dry or make a homemade tincture for winter if you suffer from seasonal depression.
Enchancia
Enchanica is one of my favorite natural antibiotics to stocking the house with. Not only can it be used for boosting the immune system we have successfully used enchancia to treat bacterial infections without chemical-based antibiotics that greatly throw the body off. When searching for seeds this plant is also known as Purple Coneflower.
Sage
Sage has commonly been used by Native Americans for generations. Most often used for ceremonies sage makes a great addition to your favorite savory recipes.
Sage is an easy to grow herb that attracts bees and butterflies to your garden while being paced with powerful antioxidants. Sage can help lower cholesterol, reduce blood sugar, and improve memory and brain function.
Dill
I am not a huge fan of the smell of dill but despite that fact, I can not ignore the medicinal value of growing fresh dill in my garden.
Dill is packed with antioxidants and vitamins that help with everything from bone growth to kidney function making it a great addition to your medicinal herb garden. This herb can be used in canning pickles and cooking savory soups.
Motherwort
When it comes to handy herbs mother wart is one of the best plants for your medicinal garden. Motherwort is used to treat heart conditions, including heart failure, irregular heartbeat, fast heartbeat, and heart symptoms due to anxiety.
Meadowsweet
Meadowsweet can be used for colds, bronchitis, upset stomach, heartburn, and treat urinary tract infections. Meadowsweet is a great natural diuretic.
Wild bergamot
Wild bergamot is a great addition to your medicinal herb garden. This beautiful flowering herb will help attract pollinators to your garden while providing you with a great treatment for stress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia.
Catnip
Catnip is not only great for keeping your cats happy it also makes a great mosquito repellent. Catnip can be used to help fight insomnia, boost your mood, and fight anxiety.
Valerian
Valerian is a beautiful flowering herb used for insomnia, sleep disorders, ADHD, anxiety disorders, depression, epilepsy, menopausal symptoms, menstrual cramps, restlessness, and chronic fatigue syndrome.
Ginseng
Ginseng is used to boost energy levels, reduce stress. Ginseng is used to improve thinking, concentration, memory, lessen symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, and increase physical stamina.
Nettles
Nettles can be used to reduce inflammation, hay fever symptoms, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels.
Anise Hyssop
Anise Hyssop is used for treating colds, burns, and to strengthen a weak heart.
Wood Betony
While wood betony makes a great plant for your butterfly garden it has earned it’s place in your herbal remedies as well. Wood Betony is used for heartburn, diarrhea, and intestinal gas; for breathing problems including bronchitis and asthma.
Other uses include headache, and for urinary tract conditions including bladder and kidney stones. It is also used to treat stress and tension, and nervousness
Winter savory
Winter savory can be used for cramps, indigestion, diarrhea, nausea, and intestinal gas. Other uses include treating cough and sore throat, reduce sex drive, and as a tonic.
Basil
Basil is one of my secret weapons when it comes to caring for my family. Like oregano, basil can go into nearly anything savory I cook, makes a great addition to homemade chicken soup, and can boost the immune system helping keep my family healthy and fight off illnesses they may pick up.
Cloves
Cloves are a great antibacterial herb and can be used for boosting the immune system, fighting bacterial infections, and relieving toothaches.
Rue
Rue is a great herb to grow in your medicinal garden. Rue is used for its anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties. Rue can be used to jumpstart a period and should be avoided during pregnancy.
Licorice
If you find yourself suffering from food poisoning, stomach ulcers, and heartburn, licorice root extract can speed the repair of the stomach lining. Licorice holds anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting properties making it a great addition to your medicinal herb garden.
Thyme
Thyme is a cooking favorite to many but along with all of that amazing flavor, thyme can help improve your immune system, settle stomach issues, and calm arthritis pain.
Rosemary
Rosemary is a powerful her for helping with focus and cognitive function. Adding rosemary to your diet can help with overall brain health and even help control your risk of dementia and alztimers.
We use rosemary oil and the fresh herb around the house to help encourage positive brain function with both children and a dementia patient in the house. Rosemary can be used to kill bacteria, boost the immune system, and help with muscle pain.
Parsley
Parsley has been used for generations to regulate the female reporductive system making it a great option for women looking to become more regular do to hormonal issues like PCOS. Parsley can be used to treat UTIs, kidney stones, gastrointestinal disorders, constipation, diabetes, cough, asthma, and high blood pressure.
Lemongrass
Lemongrass is a great addition to your garden for repelling mosquitoes. This grassy perennial makes a lovely tea and can hold many health benefits from relieving pain to helping prevent dental health issues.
Safflower
Safflower is packed with uses for your medicinal garden. From calming coughs to fighting diabetes. Women can use safflower to help calm and regulate painful periods.
Hibiscus
Hibiscus is a beautiful tropical plant perfect for your garden that is known for its ability to lower blood pressure, settle stomachs, fight fever and combat bacterial infections.
Wheatgrass
Wheatgrass is great for the digestive system as well as being a powerful and useful natural immune booster and antibiotic. Adding wheatgrass to your diet is a great way to improve your overall health with the high vitamin and antioxidant levels.
Chives
Chives are great for flavoring food and can be used to stimulate the digestive system, and blood circulation while improving the appetite in those with a suppressed appetite.
Arrowroot
Arrowroot is used to settle the stomach and intestinal issues. Arrowroot is a great alternative to common starches in your home cooking as well as making crackers to use later when someone gets sick.
Marjoram
Marjoram is a great herb for cooking with that aids stomach cramps and digestive disorders, depression, dizziness, migraines, and calms the nerves.