Featured Plant: Jewelweed

Jewelweed Growing Along a Creek

Jewelweed, Impatiens capensis, is a useful plant to have growing nearby this time of year. Though misnamed originally as coming from the Cape of Good Hope, Jewelweed is native to North America and found almost everywhere. It is sometimes called Touch-Me-Not. It can be found during the summer along stream beds and in other low-lying areas, blooming with brilliant orange flowers.

The plants are not considered ornamental, being rather tall and leggy looking, so they are seldom planted in beds. Some people find the flowers attractive enough to cultivate the plants. If you have a small creek running through your property or even a ditch, they propagate easily from seed. They grow to 3 to 5 feet tall under good conditions.

Brilliant Orange Flowers

Jewelweed has been used in native cultures to treat skin rashes and irritation; it can clear up poison ivy quickly. Crush the leaves and stems and apply the gelatinous mess to the affected area as soon as possible after exposure. If the skin has already broken out, a poultice made from the crushed plant may be beneficial. It can also made into a tea and used to bathe the inflamed areas. Its antifungal properties have also led to it being used to treat athlete’s foot

The bright orange flowers are attractive to hummingbirds and bees. Be careful, a small planting can grow quickly from widespread seeds. The name Touch-Me-Not comes from the way the seed pods explode, shooting seed everywhere if touched. If you are prone to poison ivy issues, you might want to keep an eye out for some Jewelweed growing nearby.

Your Garden-It’s a Question of Scale

Starting Small

An herb garden can be any size, from a few pots on a kitchen windowsill to an extensive and complex layout. The choice is yours, dictated only by the amount of space available to plant and the time you can devote to it. Future posts will cover each possibility in more depth with recommended plants for different styles of garden.

Many herbs grow well in pots, so for many people that is a low impact way to start growing herbs. In fact, invasive herbs like mint are frequently better grown in the confined area a pot or planter provides. Rectangular planters offer space to plant several herbs together and can be set on your deck, porch steps or on a stand. Be sure to choose plants that will not overrun each other; anything in the mint family should be planted by itself.

If you have more space and would like something larger but still low-maintenance, think about a raised bed. These containers can be purchased ready-made, built from kits or from plans available online or in books. Beds can be set at ground level with framed sides or made taller for easier access. Older people like myself can continue to garden without the pain of kneeling or stooping if the bed is built high enough for them to tend easily. One thing that is often overlooked is the width of the raised bed, particularly if a vegetable planting is planned. The bed should be no wider than you can comfortably reach across unless you can access it from both sides.

The most famous herb gardens are always in-ground plantings and if you have the land available and are able to tend one, you will have the opportunity for a greater variety of plants. Larger herb gardens can be arranged by plant family, use, color or theme depending on your preference. They can range from a small kitchen garden with frequently used herbs to a complex knot garden or even a production garden for resale. If you have the space and the sun, a field of lavender is a gorgeous sight in full bloom.

Whatever your choice, having your own herb garden is accessible to anyone and can offer hours of enjoyment with delicious and practical results.

Featured Herb: Sage

Common Sage (Salvia Officinalis) has many more uses than just flavoring your turkey stuffing. Since ancient times this versatile herb has been used for multiple medicinal purposes as well as a purification tool. Today there are a multitude of cultivars to choose from with colorful or variegated leaves and blossoms of more than just purple. It should be easy to find a place for it in your garden.

Traditionally, sage has been used to disinfect wounds and stop bleeding, improve fertility and as a diuretic. A tea made from sage and mullein is known to be effective for loosening chest congestion. In modern times it is considered a strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. Some research indicates it may be helpful against Alzheimers.

Sage is widely used in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean dishes; it is frequently part of ravioli filling and often added to gnocchi. It is used to flavor sausages and in many kinds of stuffing, including the ubiquitous Thanksgiving turkey variety. Sage butter makes a delicious sauce for any poultry as well as lamb and pork. If making stuffing is too complicated, a few leaves placed in the cavity of a chicken or duck will add flavor.

Bundles of sage are used in Native American and pagan rituals to clear the air and dispel evil. Smudges of bundled sage are burned and the smoke is wafted about to prepare sacred spaces or refresh the air in sick rooms. Feng Shui practitioners burn sage and other herbs to remove negative energies.

In the garden, sage wants a lot of sun and well-drained soil; it is hardy from zones 4 through 7. It grows extremely well in pots so even the smallest herb garden can have sage since it generally reaches only about 24 inches in height with the same spread. Although it can be tricky to grow sage from seed, many people purchase small plants to start their garden and then root cuttings to get additional plants. Although perennial, sage will lose vigor over time and new plants should be started every few years if you want to have a constant supply.

If you choose to grow any of the colorful cultivars, they can be grouped together to make an attractive planting. Sage is now available in several purple leaved varieties and lovely variegated ones with green and gold or green and white leaves. There are even multicolored cultivars out now like Rainbow and Tricolor. Your herb garden will not be complete without some form of sage in it.

Featured Herb: Lemon Balm

Lemon Balm

Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is a member of the mint family and shares its ability to be invasive. When choosing a location, do not plant any member of the mint family where it can overrun other plantings.

This plant has multiple uses and has been grown for centuries for its scent, its attraction for bees and its medicinal properties. There are still patent medicines available that utilize lemon balm as a primary ingredient.

As a culinary herb, Lemon Balm is used to flavor poultry and fish; it can be added to sauces of all kinds for light lemony flavor. The leaves can be added to green and fruit salads to give a bright pickup. It makes a delicate addition to tea breads and sugar cookie recipes. Use it in place of lemon peel for salad dressings.

Bees love the small yellow blossoms; they have traditionally been planted near bee hives. The botanical name: Melissa Officinalis is taken from the Greek or possibly Minoan name of the nymph who taught the population about bees and honey. The Greek words mélissa (bee) and meli (honey) have the same derivation.

Medicinally, Lemon Balm has been used to treat stomach disorders, colic in infants, insomnia and cold sores. Recent research has found it may be effective in treating dementia and anxiety. Treatment usually involves teas or tisanes of lemon balm and other herbs or topical application of oils. Products utilizing Lemon Balm are available from most herb product suppliers (see my Sources Page).

In the garden, Lemon Balm needs a sunny location where it can be confined easily. I prefer to grow mine in pots, but beds work as well. You can cut it back quite severely and it will grow back. If you let some of your plants bloom, the bees nearby will be happy. As a perennial, it will die back in winter but regrow the next spring. Walking past a planting and gently rubbing the leaves releases a pleasant light lemon fragrance.

Welcome to A Mountain Herbal

I created this blog as reference for others interested in growing and using herbs and native plants. Herbs have many possible uses besides the obvious culinary ones; they can be used for supplemental or medicinal use, for dying yarn or fabric or simply for ornamentation. 

I do not intend to offer any treatment advice; you need to discuss that with your medical professional. Herbal products are currently not regulated by the FDA the same way pharmaceutical products are. But I will describe historic and current uses of herbs and native plants and offer lists of reference guides and sources. 

Visit my Sources page for links to online suppliers and my Library page for books and online reference pages.

Let's explore all the ways these plants can be used to enhance our lives.