9 Medicinal Plants and Their Uses


Many herbs (and vegetables, and fruits, and even some decorative plants) that are commonly grown in kitchen gardens have useful medicinal properties. They can cure stomachaches and stress and everything in between, and you’ve probably got them growing already.

1. Make tea from your fresh thyme to reduce coughing. As with other teas, add lemon and honey to taste.

2. Basil can relieve all manner of upset stomachs. Just steep a few cuttings in boiling water for 20 minutes, then down the hatch it goes.

3. Lamb’s ears, the sweet, soft perennials often used as borders around gardens, (deer hate them!), can alleviate the pain of bug bites and stings and scratches.

4. Peppermint can provide mild pain relief, whether it’s a headache, a stomachache, or a muscle ache. To apply externally, make an essential oil and apply it to the skin. (Try rubbing it on your temples to help relieve tension headaches.) Otherwise, use it as a base for a tea.

5. Keep a small bottle of chamomile essential oil in the house – it’s a good antiseptic. And there’s a reason chamomile tea is so popular as a nightcap. It really does have sedative properties.

6. Lavender oil like chamomile is an excellent antiseptic…and a good sedative. The two can be used interchangeably.

7. Consume garlic chives on a regular basis to increase your energy levels. The leaves can be rubbed on bug bites to reduce the itch.

8. A mixture of onion juice and honey is an excellent remedy for colds.

9. Blueberries are just amazing in every way. Eat them. Eat them like they’ll stop growing tomorrow. They contain tons of antioxidants. Which are hard to explain, but the short story is: those little purple jewels are great for you.

Remember, this isn’t official medical advice: go to your doctor if something is seriously wrong!

(image via kevindooley)