AGRIMONY    Common Agrimonia Eupatoria
 
  

A native perennial common on roadsides, hedgerows and waste l Land. Faintly aromatic with downy leaves. Small yellow flowers grow up the erect spike at the end of the stem. Up to 24ins high. Hard to cultivate. An infusion of the leaves and flowers can be taken as a tonic or diuretic. Also good externally for bathing wounds or problematic skin. Historically an important medicinal herb.

 AGRIMONY    Hemp Eupatorium cannabinum
      A common native perennial found in damp places. Grows upto   4 foot high.   Pinky-purplish flowers   August, September. Historically used as a wound and skin healing herb. An infusion will relieve catarrh, colds and fevers.


 ALOE VERA    Aloe Barbadensis
     Native to the island of Socotra in the Indian Ocean, this useful plant can be grown in Britain on a window sill. It likes a gritty soil and is very intolerant of frost. Long tapering pale green leaves inside which is a glutinous sap or gel that has immediate healing properties for chapped skin, eczema and burns. Add to shampoo for itchy dry scalp and to suntan lotions. Apparently also heals radiation burns

 ANGELICA    Angelica Archangelica umbelliferae Bi
 
 Aromatic large leaved plant with umbels of yellow green flowers in early summer. Can grow to 6 foot. Hollow stems can be candied. A biennial that will return year after year if you cut all but one flower.
Give some shade.
Uses. Use the stems for flavouring stewed fruit. Seeds flavour liqueurs. Medicinally all the parts act as a digestive tonic and a circulatory stimulant. It is a warming plant, suitable for people who feel the cold in winter. Creates a distaste for alcohol.

     
     


 BASIL    Ocimum Basilicum
     Tender annuals. There are now many varieties available of basil. Basil can grow indoors in  pot or outside after all threat of frost is over. Water in the morning, evening watering may result in the basil becoming cold over night. Pinch out flowers to encourage bushy leaf growth. Preserve in oil or by freezing.
Uses . The oils from the leaves are antiseptic, stimulant and good for the digestion.Thai basil and Green Ruffles lower cholestrol.

 Sweet Basil    Ocimum basilicum dark opal
     

     
     

     
     

     
     

     
     

     
     

     
     

 BISTORT     Polygonum bistorta
     

 BITTERSWEET or woody nightshade    Lathyrus montanus
     Perennial native to upland areas of the U.K. Has pink/blue flowers.
Uses The root nodules have a liquorice like flavour and were once used as a tonic and to allay hunger. They can also be added to drinks.

 BLACK HOREHOUND    Ballota nigra
     Hairy strong smelling wild perennial. Grows to a meter high. Rough toothed green leaves with grey hairs. Dull purple flowers. It is a stimulant and antispasmodic and can help with morning sickness.

 BORAGE    Borage officinalis
     Hardy annual that grows to 1m. Rather a rough plant that has lovely blue flowers very attractive to bees. Sometimes known as star flower.
Uses The young leaves and flowers in salads and the flowers in drinks. Historically it was considered a plant that would raise the spirits and drive away melancholy. An infusion of the leaves will aid kidney function and will help with feverish catarrh. It is diuretic, demulcent and emollient. Externally it can be used as a poultice to reduce inflammation.

 WHITE BORAGE    Borage officinalis alba;
     As above with white flowers

 BOX    Bu Borago officinalis alba xus semperviren fiesta
Buxus elegance variegate balls
     Useful as an ornamental addition to the herb garden and as a hedging plant. Plant 8 inchs apart and trim in late spring to promote new growth. Trim for shape and topiary in summer.
A strong smelling narcotic herb that lowers fever and may have anti-rheumatic effects. Should only be used for this purpose by a professional.
Was in the past equated with quinine for the treatment of
malaria, but is now rarely used medicinally due to its toxicity.
It has been used externally as a decoction to promote hair growth but it could cause irritation. There has been an interest in using an extract of box in the treatment of AIDS. All parts of box are highly toxic if eaten and could cause death.

 BUGLE    Ajuga reptans
     Native perennial found in damp woods and grassy pastures. A low growing plant with stems up to 12 inchs. Purplish-blue flowers from May to July. A decoction is helps with irritant cough.

 BUGLE (white)    White Ajuga Reptans Alba
     

 BUGLE (bronze)    Bronze Ajuga Reptans 
     

 BURDOCK    Arctium Lappa Compositae
    Large leaved hardy biennial that grows to I meter. Common native plant with small purple flowers and hooks burrs that are said to be the inspiration for Velcro. Likes some sun and rich soil.
Uses: A decoction of the roots/leaves is a powerful blood purifier and helpful for skin problems. Burdock lowers blood sugar levels. It will help with constipation with liver problems and to balance the helpful bacteria in the bowel. It enhances immunity, reduces fluid retention and is anti-imflammatory.
Roots should be harvested in the autumn.

 CHAMOMILE    Wild or GermanMatricaria recutita
     A hardy annual with profuse white flower with yellow centres. Easy to grow and the more you pick the more the flowers will come. The most common and useful of the chamomiles. It is an annual but self-seeds prolifically.
Makes an excellent calming tea it will help with stress and insomnia. Has a soothing effect on the digestion. Is a good herb to give to hyperactive children or children with colic. It willhelp relieve the pain of arthritis and gout, and with period pain PMT and thrush. It also helps with colds catarrh, hay fever and asthma.
Used as an oil chamomile is anti inflammatory, cooling and calming. It is good for allergies, inflamed itchy skin conditions.

 CLARY SAGE    Salvia Sclaria
     Hardy bienniale with large strong smelling leaves. Grows to 60cm or 1 m. Cream and lilac flowers in spring and summer.
Uses. Clary oil is used as a fixer in perfumery.
Clary Sage is a relaxant and tonic when taken internally and helps with stress-related problems such as headaches, insomnia and indigestion. It will relieve pain caused by spasm in the gut and uterus and can help with period pain and with contractions in childbirth. Clary sage is strengthening and is good to take after childbirth. Clary will also help with heavy perspiration during the menopause. It should not be used in pregnancy.
Externally a decoction of the seeds can be used to remove foreign bodies from the eye or skin. There is no need to boil the seeds, just soak them in the water for a few minutes and they will form a thick mucilage which can be applied to the eye. Culpepper suggests putting a seed directly into the eye until it falls out, as it will “cleanse the eye of all filth and putrid matter.”

 COLTSFOOT    
     

 COMMON CHIVES    Allium schoenoprasum
     Will multiply rapidly and form clumps. Keep well watered. Pink flower heads and fine long hollow leaves that are good in salads soups and sauces. Can infuse in white wine vinegar for fine tasting pink vinegar.
Uses Not formally used as a medicine chives are none the less efficacious in fighting infection and anaemia. They have a warming and stimulating effect on the digestion. Chives provide antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal actions.

 CORIANDER    Coriandrum sativum
     Usually grown from seed as a delicious addition to a salad. Likes a well drained sunny position.
Uses Coriander is a digestive stimulant and will help with the absorption of the nutrients. It has a cooling effect on the body good fevers and hot inflammatory problems

 COWSLIP    Primula veris
     Usually grown from seed as a delicious addition to a salad. Likes a well drained sunny position.
Uses Coriander is a digestive stimulant and will help with the absorption of the nutrients. It has a cooling effect on the body good fevers and hot inflammatory problems

 CREEPING JENNY    Lysimachia nummularia
      Ground cover with numerous yellow flowers.
The whole bruised herb helps to heal cuts and relieve muscular and rheumatic conditions.

 DYER'S CHAMOMILE    Anthemis Tinctoria
     A decorative herbaceous plant the bright yellow flowers produce an orange-brown dye

 ECHINACEA    Echinacea Purpurea
     Otherwise known as purple cone flower echinacea is an attractive addition to a flower border with its daisy like purple pink flowers. Echinacea prefers a rich well drained soil in full sun or dappled shade.
Uses A recent addition to our medicine cabinets in Britain, echinacea tincture made from the roots of the plant has been found to be an excellent preventative tonic for colds and flu. Historically echinacea was one of the most valued medicinal plants used by the North American Indians primarily for snake bites. Taken internally as a tincture echinacea will fight off infections including measles and mumps and boils and abscesses. Echinacea has anti inflammatory properties and will bring relief to arthritis and gout sufferers. Taken as a tonic it is especially helpful for those of us who suffer from sluggish lymphatics and pimples and boils and who fall ill easily when over exhausted. The roots should be harvest four years after planting but meanwhile you can enjoy the attractive flower.

 ELDER    Sambucu niger

 
     A small native deciduous tree of which nearly all the parts are useful. The leaves are good in ointments, the flowers make a tea that induces sweating, they are diuretic anti-rheumatic andlaxtive Berries used in wines and puddings. Common in the wild and grows easily in gardens. We also have a variegated variety.

 ELECAMPINE    Inula helenium

 
     A handsome perennial that can grows as high as 5 feet. Large leaves and yellow flowers. Will look well at the back of a border.
Uses Use the root for a warming expectorant excellent for colds and catarrh and other chest infections. It is will bring down fevers and increase the circulation. Externally makes an antiseptic wash.

EVENING PRIMROSE    Oenothera biennis

 
     An attractive biennial that grows up to four feet in its second year. The first year it produces a rosette of leaves close to the ground. The pale yellow flowers are produced from July to September.
Uses The fresh young leaves are good in salads. Medicinally the oil from the seeds has been subject to much research in recent years. It has a balancing effect on the hormones and is used for PMT and menopausal symptoms. It has also been shown to be beneficial in treating high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels. It has helped with allergies and arthritis

 FENNEL    Foeniculum vulgare
     Grow from seeds. Fennel likes a warm sheltered place.
Uses The seeds are a very good digestive aid and are well known to help with babies colic. As a diuretic fennel seeds are detoxifying and have been used to reduce cellulit

 FEVERFEW    Tanacetum parthenium
     Feverfew has an attractive white flower not unlike chamomile, that is a useful addition to an ornamental bed as it flowers profusely in late summer when many other flowers have died back. It likes full sun.
Uses Today feverfew is well known as a remedy for headache and migraine. Up to 4 leaves eaten daily sandwiched in bread (the bitter leaves can otherwise hurt the mouth) is known to have a preventative effect on migraine. Likewise a few drops of a tincture made from the leaves and flowers. Do not mix with warfarin as feverfew also thins the blood.ss
Taken hot feverfew will bring down fevers and act as a decongestant for coughs and catarrh. It has an antihistamine action, offering allergy relief to hay fever and asthma sufferer

 FOXGLOVE    Digitalis purpurea
     Tall biennial with purple bell-shaped flower. Contains a heart stimulant, digitalin, that is poisonous

 GOLDEN ROD    Solidago Virginea
     Bright yellow powdery flower. Prefers light well drained soil and sunny position with some shade.
Uses Externally stops bleeding. Taken for diarrhea and urinary infections. Detoxicant. Taken as a tea will bring down fevers and relieve nausea and period pains.

 GOTU KOLA    Centella asiatica
     Important ayurvedic herb. Moist sheltered site. Leaves can be put in salads or used as a tonic or antirheumatic

 CROMWELL    ithospernum officinalis
     Creamy white flowered native rich in calcium. Mild contraceptive.

 GUELDER ROSE    Virburnum opulus
     Deciduous shrub with white flower, rich autumn colour and red berries (edible if cooked)Traditional antispasmodic

 HOUSE LEEK    Sempervivum Tectorium
     Hardy perennial native to mountains in Europe but now often found in gardens. Appears on walls and roofs. Succulent multiple rosette of leaves with occasional pink flower in spring.
Uses The bruised or pulped leaves will cool and soothe burns and wounds in similar way to aloe vera

 HOP    Hyssopus Officinalis
     Hardy evergreen perennial with pretty blue flowers. Likes full sun. Makes a good low (2 foot) hedging plant or a companion plant in the vegetable patch luring away the cabbage white butterfly from brassicas.
Uses Historically used as a cleansing herb, mentioned in the Old Testament as a symbol of purity. Helps fight infection, particularly in the respiratory tract and so helps with colds, catarrh and chest infections. Increases circulation causing sweating and lowering fevers.

 LADY'S MANTLE    Alchemilla vulgaris Alchemilla mollis
     Hardy perennial about 12ins. Distinctive rounded, lobed leaves
with yellow-green flowers late spring. Vulgaris is trationally the one used medicinally. Almost identical to mollis the leaves are more deeply toothed.
UsesHighly astringent. A tea made from the leaves or a decoction of the roots will helpcontrol excessive menstral bleeding or diarrhea. Use it externally on wounds and boils.

 LAVENDER    Lavendula Officinalis

   A bushy evergreen garden herb with beautifully fragranced mauve flowers. Like light, poor soil and sunshine. Good hedging plantor in the border.
Uses In the past lavender was used as a strewing herb in houses for its fragrance, antiseptic properties and because it is an insect repellent. More recently lavender bags put in clothes deter the clothes moth as well as scenting the clothes. Added to a pillow a lavender bag promotes a good nights sleep. The oil is one of the most common used in aromatherapy as it is wonderfully relaxing to the mind and body. It relieves stress induced symptoms such as headache and palpitations. Taken internally it will relieve wind, colic and stress induced bowel conditions. Taken hot lavender tea will bring down fevers, and detoxify. Externally it is an excellent skin healer and is one of the best for burns. Applied immediately after the burn it will reduce the chance of scarring.

 
Lavender angustifoliaGrosso
Lavender angustifoliaVera
Lavender angustifolia Hidcote
Lavender angustifolia Hidcote Pink
Lavender angustifolia Folgate


 LEMON BALM     Melissa officinalis
     Lemon Balm is easy to grow and can become invasive. Grows in clumps up to 3 foot high and like fertile soil,sun or light shade.
If you cut back the leaves mid-summer they will grow back.
Uses Lemon Balm can be used in salads and summer drinks and makes one of the best herbal teas. It lifts one’s spirits and is generally recognised as being good for the memory. It is calming, relaxing and releases tension and any stress related digestive disorder. Good for PMS sufferers and beneficial to take before childbirth. Is helpful in a range of allergies such as hay fever and eczema
Variegated Lemon Balm

Golden Lemon Balm