• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

• Lady’s Mantle (Alchemilla vulgaris) (Likes shade!)

• Lavender (Lavandula vera)

• Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis)

• Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca)

• Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris)

• Mullein (Verbascum spp.)

• Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium) (Loves wet areas)

• Peppermint (Mentha piperita) (It spreads in all directions!)

• Sage (Salvia officinalis)

• Wood Betony (Stachys officinalis)

• Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Plants that require a relatively large area to yield an adequate harvest

• Angelica (Angelica archangelica)

• Burdock (Arctium lappa)

• Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla)

• Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)

• Globe Artichoke (Cynara scolymus)

• Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum)

• Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)

• Scullcap (Scutellaria spp.)

• St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum)

• Vitex (Vitex agnus-castus)

• Wild Oat (Avena fatua, A. sativa)

Plants that do well in pots and boxes

• Basil (Ocimum basilicum) (requires hot sun!)

• Calendula (Calendula officinalis)

• Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium)

• Lavender (Lavandula spp.)

• Mints (Mentha spp.)

• Parsley (Petroselinum spp.)

• Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)

• Sage (Salvia spp.)

• Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)

Wild plants to encourage in your garden and around the house

• Blackberry (Rubus fructicosus) (Keep an eye on this one and maintain control!)

• Burdock (Arctium lappa)

• California poppy (Eschscholzia californica)

• Chickweed (Stellaria media)

• Cleaver (Galium aperine)

• Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

• Gumweed (Grindelia spp.)

• Horsetail (Equisetum arvense)

• Oregon Grape (Mahonia spp.)

• Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum)

• Miner’s Lettuce (Claytonia spp.)

• Plantain (Plantago lanceolata, P. major)

• Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris)

• Shepherd’s Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris)

• Sorrel (Rumex spp.)

• Stinging Nettle (Urtica spp.)

• Teasel (Dipsacus spp.)

• Violet (Viola spp.)

• Wild Oat (Avena spp.)

• Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

• Yellow Dock (Rumex crispus)

• Yerba Mansa (Anemopsis californica)

• Yerba Santa (Eriodictyon californicum)

Plants that require digging roots (although other parts of the plant are often used as well)

Divide the roots’ crowns and replant whenever possible.

• Angelica (Angelica spp.)

• Burdock (Arctium lappa)

• Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

• Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea)

• Elecampane (Inula helenium)

• Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) (an eastern woodland plant that requires shade and damp soil—can be grown in West Coast shade gardens)

• Horseradish (Cochlearia armoracia)

• Poke (Phytolacca decandra)

• Stinging Nettle root (Urtica spp.) (rhizomes are excellent reproductive organ tonics)

• Yellow Dock (Rumex crispus)

•Valerian (Valeriana officinalis) (Likes it wet!)

Medicinal trees

• Crampbark (Viburnum opulus) (actually a large bush)

• Elder (Sambucus spp.)

• Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus)

• Fremontia “California Slippery Elm” (Fremontodendron californicum)

• Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)

• Hawthorn (Crataegus spp.)

• Vitex (Vitex agnus-castus)

• Willow (Salix alba) (Likes a wet area!)

Plants for the medicine of their beauty

• California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica)

• Clary Sage (Salvia sclarea)

• Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) (all parts are toxic taken internally—see Chapter Twenty-Four, “Poultices”)

• Mullein (Verbascum spp.)

• Nasturtium (Nasturtium officinale)

• Poke (Phytolacca decandra) (toxic)

• Oriental Poppy (Papaver spp.)

• Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)

Note: Herbs love good soil and water. In the most part, it is an erroneous myth that they do better without.

Fertilizer

• Aged animal manure

• Kitchen and garden compost

• Urine (diluted with water 1:5); do not put on leaves.

Pest control

• Healthy plants

• Safer soap

• Garlic-Cayenne spray

• Beneficial insects (i.e., ladybug, praying mantis)

• Picking snails and slugs off plants every morning throughout the season. This will drastically reduce their population the following years.

• Gophers are highly territorial, so remove one and your garden is free until another moves in.

• Moles