There's a wonderful movement toward growing things more like our great-grandmothers did, establishing kitchen gardens just outside the kitchen door, and carving out space for medicinal gardens.
As a homestead writer, I commonly get asked for advice about what to include in a garden like this. My favorite way to answer this, is to give a run-down of what plants were traditionally cherished for inclusion in a well-supplied home medicinal garden.
Here's a list of 21 treasured plants that have historically been grown with the goal of supporting health. Some of these were included in herbal texts dating back as far as the 1500's, so you know they have a long history! Any of these can easily be grown by the home gardener with a little care.
1. Echinacea
Echinacea purpurea, also known as purple coneflower, has long been a beautiful staple in backyard medicinal gardens. Traditionally, it's been often used with the goal of shortening cold symptoms, but studies suggest it may also have other benefits, including a positive effect on anxiety.
This lovely perennial is hardy to zone 3, so it's easy to grow just about anywhere. It loves full sun, and well-drained soil, and with a little care will come back year after year with those beautiful blossoms.
2. Lavender
In his 1652 book of herbal medicine, The English Physitian, Nicholas Culpeper described lavender this way: "Being an inhabitant almost in every garden, it is so well known, that it needs no description." Truly, lavender has long had a well-earned place in medicinal gardens.
Most lavenders can grow and thrive in areas as cold as zone 5, but do be prepared for some losses after particularly tough winters. A good layer of mulch is always helpful for wintering over these sun-loving plants.
3. Horehound
I just love this wooly-leaved little member of the mint family. It's really such a cheery and precocious plant. Long treasured for its use as an expectorant, this is a plant I keep in the garden just so I can make these tasty little cough lozenges every year.
Like all members of the mint family, this little cutie is quite hardy and likes to spread, so choose where you put it carefully. It thrives in containers and raised beds, so while it doesn't spread as aggressively as peppermint or spearmint, containing it in some way makes it easy to keep it in check.
4. Elderberries
This long-treasured plant is loved not just for the beautiful blue berries which are used to make elderberry syrup and gummies, which are sold for immune boosting benefits, but also for the flowers, called elderflowers. Those ethereal little clouds of blossoms are made into cordials, wine, and even refreshing lemonade.
Elderberry is a hardy plant that thrives in damp areas, and is easy to propagate from cuttings. Plant more than you need, because birds adore the blossoms and berries as much as we do!
5. Chamomile
Chamomile has been treasured as a healing tea for centuries, and definitely earns a place in any medicinal or tea garden.
Just last night I was reading Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" to my kids, and smiled at one of the final lines:
“Peter was not very well during the evening. His mother put him to bed, and made some chamomile tea: "One table-spoonful to be taken at bedtime.”
6. Catnip
While we think of catnip as being something we grow for the pleasure of our cats, anyone who's enjoyed a bedtime cup of catnip tea will appreciate why this valuable herb has long had a place in medicinal gardens.
Peaceful and soothing, you can make a nice cup of catnip tea by steeping fresh or dried leaves in hot water for 10 minutes.
Grow this herb just like you would any other member of the mint family. It's hardy and likes to wander, so choose your location well.
7. Lemon Balm
There are very few herbs that can boast a scent more fresh and invigorating that that of lemon balm.
Long grown in backyard medicinal gardens, a 2004 study found that taking lemon balm had a calming effect, reducing the impact of stress. It's definitely an interesting read.
I love using this lovely herb for culinary uses as well, and my kids just adore these homemade lollipops that are made with elderberry, lavender, and lemon balm.
8. Elecampane
Elecampane is not shy flower, towering over most other occupants of the traditional medicinal garden. The roots are the part of this plant that have long been valued as a support for lung health.
The blossoms make this plant a valuable addition to any pollinator garden as well. Native pollinators of all kinds just flock to those cheerful yellow blossoms, and they're a real favorite with monarch butterflies.
This is a hardy plant that reliably withstands even our cold Maine winters.
9. Raspberry
Red raspberry leaf tea is valued for its high levels of antioxidants, and anyone who's worked with an old fashioned midwife has probably found themselves encouraged to drink red raspberry leaf tea for pregnancy support, one of its primary historical uses.
The tea has a pleasant, earthy taste, and many enjoy drinking it year-round, regardless of life stage. I enjoy drying a supply of young leaves for my tea shelf every year, where it joins other home-grown teas like catnip and chamomile.
10. Feverfew
Feverfew is a lush little plant with the sweetest, small flowers. Long used by those who suffer from headaches and migraines, it's a really pretty addition the medicinal garden.
This is a perennial plant, but it's one that's considered a tender perennial. In zone 5, there are some winters that it can survive just fine, but others that will leave you wishing you'd brought it indoors for the winter.
Thankfully, it's fairly easy to start from seed, if you do have one of those winters, and it thrives cheerfully in full sun.
11. Peppermint
Peppermint is such a familiar food flavor, it's easy to forget that it's had a long history as a jack-of-all-trades in the medicinal garden.
Do be sure to put this calming plant somewhere you don't mind it spreading (and spreading!), or consider growing it in a raised bed or container garden. It's super hardy, so survives even the most intimidating winters.
12. Blackberries
While we think of blackberries as a delicious summer treat, and it's dearly loved for both fresh eating and baking, blackberries have long been considered healing. In her 1832 housekeeping book, The American Frugal Housewife, Lydia Child wrote:
"Blackberries are extremely useful in cases of dysentery. To eat the berries is very healthy; tea made of the roots and leaves is beneficial; and syrup made of the berries is still better. Blackberries have sometimes effected a cure when physicians despaired."
Blackberries are hardy and easy to grow, like most bramble fruits. They do tend to spread, and they offer their best crops with vigorous pruning, so keep those pruning shears handy.
13. Rosemary
Rosemary has an especially long history of being used for health and skincare. The 1525 British medicinal volume, An Herbal , tells readers to put rosemary under the pillow for sweet dreams, or to boil down the blossoms with water and drink it, "for it is much worth against all evils in the body."
Rosemary can be a little finicky to grow, and can only survive as a perennial in zones 7 and warmer. Many gardeners in northern climates simply bring their rosemary plants indoors to overwinter, but do be careful not to overwater--rosemary likes to dry out a bit between waterings.
14. Yarrow
Yarrow is a flowering perennial that likely as not, may show up as a wildflower in your garden, no special cultivation needed.
It has a long history across many cultures, of being used medicinally, and in these modern times when fields of wildflowers are less accessible to many, it earns a place in many a medicinal garden.
It's hardy, pollinators love it, and it's truly a pleasant "easy keeper" of a plant.
15. Plantain
Plantain leaves are found in two varieties, narrow leaf, and broad leaf. Like many kids of previous generations, I grew up having squished wads of plantain applied to my scrapes, bruises, and stings, and those green leaves always felt so soothing.
Want to be absolutely blown away by what one plant can be used for? Read this scientific review, that references multiple studies that have been done on this remarkable plant. It's pretty amazing.
For my own kids, homemade "boo boo cream" salve is what they ask for on those scrapes and bruises, and the key ingredient is, you guessed it--plantain.
16. Mullein
If you were to ask for a list of the ten plants most commonly grown in medicinal gardens over the last 200 years, I'd bet mullein would make the cut. Mullein is quite a mucilaginous plant, and if you've ever torn a leaf or stem from one, you've probably come away with slightly sticky fingers. It's that mucilage that made it valued for cough-soothing properties, while also having an expectorant effect, making coughs more productive.
This tall wooly plant is also known as Jacob's Staff. It's hardy down to zone 3, and easy to grow, but it's pretty tall so you may want to place it where it won't shade shorter plants.
17. Basil
While basil is more commonly found as a kitchen herb, that kitchen garden often did double duty as the medicinal garden, which makes sense, since so many culinary herbs have historically been used medicinally as well.
In John Gerard's 1579 volume, The Herball, he praises basil as being useful for everything from digestive issues to "melancholy".
Basil is a tender plant, so it's grown as an annual. Thankfully it's quick and easy to start from seed, and is such a lovely herb to grow.
18. Stinging Nettle
If you've ever brushed against a stinging nettle, it may come as a surprise that such a miserable plant could ever be considered soothing. It's long been used both internally and externally though, and people have valued having a reliable supply of it nearby (but not too close!)
It's often found these days in skin care, and I especially enjoy using the dried leaves to create a soothing soap.
Much like mint, it tends to wander, and you want this one somewhere you're not accidentally going to stumble into it, so choose your planting location carefully.
19. Calendula
Much like plantain, calendula has traditionally been cherished as a treatment for topical ailments, like burns, cuts, rashes, and bee stings. If you love a deep dive into these things, this study has some great information about the chemical makeup of this beautiful little flower, and what makes it so valuable.
Calendula doesn't like cold weather, so this is grown as an annual in most places. If you want to grow lots of it, starting from seed is the way to go.
20. Violets and Johnny Jump- Ups
Violets, pansies, and Johnny jump-ups are all members of the viola family, and historically they've all been considered quite the medicinal "jacks of all trades". Along with the name "Johnny jump-up", viola tricolor also has traditionally been called "heartsease", so it's not surprising to hear that these flowers were used for cardiac support.
If you're interested in the traditional uses of these lovely blossoms, and the ways that science is diving into their modern potential, the Wikipedia page for viola tricolor actually has very well footnoted section on traditional and medicinal uses, and it's a good jumping off point.
21. Bee Balm
Bee balm is such a show-off of a plant, but we just can't help loving it. Traditionally used for ailments as diverse as headache, toothache, and digestive distress, it's been a go-to in medicinal gardens for generations.
I love growing this showy plant because the native pollinators adore it so. Few blossoms in my gardens attract such a wide variety of native species, including some that are becoming endangered, under pressure from growing honeybee populations.
It's a very hardy plant that can thrive down to zone 3, but do be sure to plant it in a well-drained area with good air flow. This is a plant that doesn't like to be soggy or stifled.
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Anna Chesley
Anna Chesley is a freelance writer living a homestead lifestyle, with a special love for family travel, old books, vintage skills, and seaside living. In addition to founding Salt In My Coffee, she runs the website, New England Family Life, as well as The 1800's Housewife, a website devoted to re-creating authentic 1800's recipes.
Christine says
Thank you! What a beautiful selection of medicinal plants! I love the links to studies on the various plants and their properties! I also really appreciated that toward the end, you made mention of native pollinators becoming endangered, under pressure from growing honeybee populations. — Until a couple of years ago, I was totally unaware of this. I thought it was all about “ protecting our honeybees,” and then came to understand that the honeybees raised by beekeepers are not native honeybees, and they actually endanger the survival of our native pollinators.