Introduction to my Medicinal Gardening Guide

March 2007 Herb of the Month

Many nights in early spring I awaken at 3 or 4 am and cannot wait to get outside and begin working in the garden.  I am infected with Spring Fever.  In Texas, where I live, I am also afflicted with Fall Fever, as that is our best gardening season.  I love to garden.  I love being outside with the plants, listening to the birds, smelling sweet, fresh air and communing with the quiet, the stillness and the activities of nature.  Working the soil and feeling how it has changed and improved since last season feels like a blessing.  Planning new garden beds, planting seeds and small transplants and even weeding the garden is work that gives me such pleasure and serenity; I want to share some of that with you.

I am in the garden everyday, even on the days I do not touch the soil, I walk through the garden checking plants, perhaps watering a bit and maybe stooping down to pick off some yellowed leaves.  Gardening is a practice of mindfulness.  If you listen with your heart, the plants communicate their needs.  You instinctively know whom to water, whom to transplant, whom to prune and when to just walk by, heart full of joy, and smile.  Gardening is learning and practicing nurturance.  I am a mother of two grown children and have realized I am a woman who is meant to nurture and care for others.  Those others are not only people, but also dogs, cats, fish, chickens and my all of my dear, green friends.  I have a 4000 square foot garden and care for it myself.  My sweet husband helps at times when the occasional hard, manual labor is needed to build and maintain a garden space.

Gardening employs many health benefits to both the gardener and the recipients of the harvest.  The health benefits derived from planting an herb garden include physical, nutritional, and medicinal benefits.  The therapeutic benefits include the feeling of thankfulness and appreciation for the sheer beauty of the plants, the excitement felt as a new seedling emerges, to be part of creation, continuous new beginnings and to feel a sense of community and connectedness to Nature.

Throughout this guide you will learn about garden design, conditions of the environment that need consideration and how to maintain your garden by employing organic gardening techniques. You will also discover how to research and acquire appropriate herbs from your local environment, and how to harvest and store herbs. My thoughts regarding the deeper and intrinsic nature of the plants and their relationship to us are included as well.

As you progress through this guide, you will follow the life cycle of one very popular herb, Echinacea purpurea and enjoy learning when and how to seed it, maintain this important herb, and when and how to tincture it.

Welcome to my world of gardening! My hopes are that by the end of this guide you will be eager to go outside, get your hands in the soil and begin a garden of your own.

Ellen Zimmermann
Sharing the Wisdom of the Plants
www.ezherbs.net
512-301-5838