( *native )

• Elderberry cuttings*

• Motherwort

• Cutleaf coneflower aka sochan*

• Milk thistle

• Meadowsweet

• Tulsi basil and several other basils

• Spilanthes aka toothache plant aka buzz buttons

• Skullcap (several species)*

• Bee balm (several species)*

• St. John's Wort

• Sage

Pickup in Berea; large orders I am willing to deliver to you in Berea, Richmond, Lexington, Louisville

To assist with your planting, here’s the link to my spreadsheet of medicinal herb growing info - includes everything from seed-starting to where to plant in your garden.

Here are a few more quick tips for some of the easiest to grow perennial herbs, along with pictures of the plants at the stage I’m selling them:

Note: all of these plants that handle heavy/clay soil well:

• Meadowsweet: full sun, can tolerate clay soil, likes wet areas, great for pollinators. Flowers make wonderful medicine for inflammation and gut healing (especially in tea) but they are so pretty and well loved by insects you may have trouble harvesting them (I certainly do!).

  

• Motherwort: full sun but can also handle part shade, widely soil tolerant, will spread by seed, good for garden edges, recommend not planting in cultivated garden beds, great for pollinators. When plants pop up in unwanted areas, just pull them and tincture the leaves for medicine - many uses related to its calming effect on the nervous system and bitter flavor that supports digestive system.

  

• Cutleaf coneflower/sochan: seems to do best in part shade, moist to wet soil, will spread mainly through rhizomes but also through seed. You will want a decent size patch for the edible greens.

  

• Elderberry: can handle wet mucky soils, easy to grow but make sure to keep watered until established. will grow in part shade but makes the best berries in full sun and soil with high organic matter. Makes a great planting next to a chicken coop.

  

• Valerian: widely soil tolerant, tends to blow its seeds all over the garden and so you may find it popping up in areas many feet away from the original plant, but it is not aggressive about it. Just pull up the plants where they aren’t wanted to and tincture the roots for use in pain, muscle spasm, and relaxation and sleep support.

  

• meadows of echinacea, butterfly weed, joe pye weed, boneset, lobelia, yarrow and native St. John’s wort

• forest habitats of mayapple, Solomon’s seal, wild yam, pipsissewa, wintergreen, and Monotropa

• shaded forest gardens of ginseng, goldenseal, spikenard, blue cohosh, black cohosh, wild ginger

Currently conservation projects:

• ongoing management/removal of invasive species, mostly through hand pulling and smothering

• planting small plots with black cohosh, goldenseal, and ginseng

• incorporation of lots of organic matter, cover cropping, and mindful mowing to build soil, conserve water, and encourage a variety of habitats for all life forms

Aster (Asteraceae) family plants

1. Chamomile – Matricaria recutita

• flowers must be harvested regularly in order for the plant to keep making more flowers

• It will self-seed and often grows best when allowed to do this

• Link to monograph 

2. Feverfew – Tanacetum parthenium

• Link to monograph and research summary

• Also makes a nice cut flower

• Flowers and leaves are used, but most of the research has been done using the leaf

• This one is bitter and better to eat fresh or tincture vs. use in tea 

Marshmallow (Malvaceae) family plants

1. Marshmallow – Althea officinalis

• link to monograph

• In the summer the leaf is harvested; in the fall the root can be dug up

• The leaf has a neutral taste, but provides an important nutritive and moistening quality, so its great to blend with almost any other herb in tea

2. Roselle hybiscus – Hibiscus sabdariffa

• link to monograph

• Calyces (the red part of the plant that is used in tea) need to be harvested regularly so they continue to produce

Mint (Lamiaceae) family herbs

1. Holy basil/tulsi – Ocimum africanum

• link to monograph

• annual but will self seed and can pop up in random places throughout your garden, but its very low key about it and not invasive

2. Anise hyssop – Agastache foeniculum

• link to monograph

• Note that this plant is a native perennial, which in my opinion means everyone should have it growing in their garden for pollinators!

3. Rose agastache – Agastache pallidiflora subsp. neomexicana

• Link with more info on where its native in the southwest

• I have had patches of this act as both perennials and annuals in our KY soil.

4. Catnip – Nepeta cataria

• link to monograph

• This will both act as a perennial in the spot its grow and self seed to other areas. Its an awesome plant for medicine and pollinators, so I let it spread! It is not invasive.

5. Bee balm – Monarda fistulosa

• Take care to harvest leaves early and watch out for downy mildew. It gradually works it way up the stem.

• link to monograph

6. Lemon Balm - Melissa officinalis

• Parts used: leaves and flowering tops

• Medicinal highlights: anti-viral, calming, mood lifting, good for your brain, antioxidant

• How to use: Delicious – can use as flavor garnish in cooking for lemon flavor – salads, smoothies, fruit

• Works well as a cold infusion or hot infusion – best fresh or carefully dried

All of these mint family plants make wonderful tea, tinctures, honey extracts, and more! To make a tea, you can make it as strong as you like – to taste. Experiment!

To harvest all of the above mint family plants, give them a good haircut once they start blooming and it will encourage them to bloom more. You can use both leaves and flowers.