Planting a Medicinal Herb Garden: Grow Your Own Remedies from the Ground Up
my own little garden
I didn’t come to natural medicine through a trendy book or an online course. I came to it barefoot, bug-bitten, and usually trailing the scent of pine and wildflowers. Both of my grandmothers were rooted in the old ways—healing with what the earth gave us. They believed in the quiet power of herbs long before herbalism became a buzzword. Their kitchens smelled of drying chamomile and simmering syrups. Their garden paths led to jars of salve for chigger bites, poultices for scraped knees, and the ever-ready peppermint tea for bellyaches. They didn’t call it a “home apothecary,” but that’s exactly what it was—a simple, powerful way to grow your own medicine and make herbal remedies from scratch.
Summers at my grandparents’ house meant traipsing through fields and streams with my brothers and cousins and coming home with bug bites and sometimes scraped knees.
When I started my own little garden—even if only in pots by the back door—I wasn’t just growing herbs. I was growing memory, legacy, and self-reliance. This is my story of how planting a medicinal herb garden became a way to tend my health, my heart, and my home.
Why Grow Your Own Medicinal Herbs?
Purity: You control the growing conditions—no pesticides, no synthetic fertilizers.
Affordability: A packet of seeds can produce years of healing.
Knowledge: Growing and preparing your own remedies deepens your understanding of your body and its needs.
Tradition: It connects you to centuries of herbal wisdom.
How to Make Herbal Remedies at Home
Once harvested, medicinal herbs can be prepared in many forms:
1. Herbal Teas (Infusions & Decoctions)
Infusion: Steep delicate parts like leaves and flowers in hot water (e.g., chamomile tea).
Decoction: Simmer roots, bark, or seeds longer (e.g., ginger root tea).
2. Syrups
Combine strong tea or decoction with honey to create a soothing, shelf-stable syrup.
3. Herbal Oils
Infuse herbs like calendula or arnica in a carrier oil over low heat or in the sun.
4. Salves
Melt beeswax into infused oil to create a healing ointment.
5. Tinctures
Soak herbs in alcohol (vodka or brandy) for 4–6 weeks; strain and store in dropper bottles.
6. Herbal Baths
Bundle herbs in muslin or cheesecloth and steep in bathwater like tea.
7. Poultices
Mash fresh or dried herbs with water and apply directly to skin under a cloth.
8. Compresses
Soak a cloth in a strong herbal tea and apply to the affected area.
Herbal Remedies for Headaches, Aches, Colds, and Coughs
Headaches
Peppermint tea or oil applied to temples
Lavender compress
Feverfew tincture
Headaches
Arnica salve
Epsom salt bath with rosemary and lavender
Ginger tea
Colds & Coughs
Thyme and honey syrup
Elderberry tincture or syrup
Steam inhalation with eucalyptus or mint
Licorice root tea
Top 15 Healing Herbs for Your Home Apothecary
Calendula — Soothes skin and speeds healing.
Remedy: Calendula Salve — Infuse 1 cup dried calendula flowers in 1 cup olive oil for 2 weeks. Strain and mix with 1 oz beeswax. Pour into tins and cool.
Chamomile — Calms nerves, aids digestion.
Remedy: Chamomile Sleep Tea — Steep 2 tsp dried chamomile flowers in 1 cup boiling water for 10 minutes. Sweeten with honey.
Echinacea — Immune booster, best taken at first signs of illness.
Remedy: Echinacea Tincture — Fill a jar with chopped root, cover with vodka, shake daily for 4 weeks. Strain and store.
Elder — Powerful antiviral properties.
Remedy: Elderberry Syrup — Simmer 1 cup dried berries with 3 cups water, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 1 tsp ginger for 45 min. Strain and mix with 1 cup honey.
Lavender — Calming, antiseptic, and lovely in baths.
Remedy: Lavender Bath Soak — Mix 1 cup Epsom salts, 1/2 cup dried lavender, and 10 drops lavender oil.
Peppermint — Eases digestion and headaches.
Remedy: Peppermint Headache Oil — Mix 10 drops peppermint oil with 2 tbsp carrier oil and apply to temples.
Thyme — Antibacterial and wonderful for coughs.
Remedy: Thyme Cough Syrup — Simmer 1/2 cup fresh thyme in 2 cups water for 15 min. Strain and mix with 1 cup honey.
Yarrow — Stops bleeding, supports fevers.
Remedy: Yarrow Poultice — Mash fresh leaves with warm water to make a paste. Apply to wound.
Lemon Balm — Soothes anxiety and cold sores.
Remedy: Lemon Balm Calming Tea — Steep 1 tbsp dried herb in 1 cup hot water for 10 minutes.
Comfrey — Speeds tissue healing. External use only.
Remedy: Comfrey Healing Salve — Infuse leaves in oil, strain, mix with beeswax.
Plantain — Draws toxins from bites and stings.
Remedy: Plantain Bite Poultice — Crush fresh leaves and apply directly. Cover with bandage.
Ginger — Warming, reduces inflammation.
Remedy: Ginger Tea — Simmer 1 tbsp grated ginger in 2 cups water for 10 minutes. Strain and sweeten.
Licorice Root — Soothes sore throats.
Remedy: Licorice Throat Tea — Simmer 1 tbsp dried root in 2 cups water for 15 minutes.
St. John's Wort — Uplifts mood and eases nerve pain.
Remedy: St. John’s Wort Oil — Infuse blossoms in oil for 4 weeks in sun. Use topically.
Arnica — Relieves bruises and strains. External use only.
Remedy: Arnica Pain Oil — Infuse dried flowers in oil for 2 weeks. Strain and use topically.
Final Thoughts
I grow these herbs because they work. But more than that, I grow them because they remind me of where I come from and what kind of home I want to build. A home where healing comes from the garden. A home where my children and grandchildren will always find comfort waiting on the shelf.
My favorite herbal book