The Spring Herb Walk: What to Look for Right Now

The first days of March bring a particular excitement for anyone who pays attention to plants. The light is changing. Something shifts in the hedgerows. The very first green appears, tentative and tender but making its declaration. Spring’s first herbs are among...

Starting Seeds for the Medicinal Herb Garden

There is a particular pleasure in starting seeds: part anticipation, part faith. You are planting something in a small amount of compost and trusting that several weeks later it will have become a plant. For the medicinal herb grower, this act carries additional...

Getting Your Medicinal Garden Ready: April Tasks

April is the pivot month for the medicinal herb garden. Everything that was dormant is waking up, the ground is becoming workable in most temperate climates, and the decisions you make in the next few weeks will determine the abundance and quality of your harvest...

Companion Planting for the Medicinal Herb Garden

Companion planting is the practice of designing plant combinations that benefit each other in various ways: deterring pests, attracting beneficial insects, improving soil health, or supporting growth through physical means. In the medicinal herb garden, the...

St. John’s Wort: Harvesting the Midsummer Herb

Hypericum perforatum flowers around the feast of St. John (June 24) in the Northern European tradition, and this timing is not a coincidence: the plant is genuinely at its peak at midsummer, when the flowers are just opening and the red oil-producing glands in the...