I try not to foster any regrets in life. But I must confess that I waited too many years to plant hibiscus, thinking the temperate climate unsuitable for its success, and for that, I am sorry. It is, in fact, easy to grow and harvest if you have the right variety and get a head start on the season.
Calendula officinalis is one of the easiest-to-grow medicinal herbs and so versatile in its healing properties that it invariably finds its way into the hearts and gardens of all herb lovers. It is typically grown as an annual, but can be cultivated as a short-lived perennial in warmer climes (Zone 8-10).
Passionflower is ecologically intriguing, drop-dead gorgeous, and an incredibly useful herbal medicine and wild edible. So I introduce this passionflower materia medica with some ecological, botanical, and cultivation snippets specific to this amazingly charismatic native vine, and hope that you wont skip this juiciness for the medicinal information.
Joe Hollis and Mountain Gardens just celebrated forty years of partnership. Mountain Gardens is a botanical sanctuary in a small sheltered cove bordered by National Forest and nestled under the massive Black Mountains, including the largest mountain in the East, Mount Mitchell. The sanctuary boasts four acres of medicinal herbs and edible plants from all […]
Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata, Passifloraceae) is a short-lived perennial native vine to the southeastern US, with gorgeous flowers and interesting foliage. It is weedy in much of its native range; and fairly easy to grow elsewhere, especially if its given a wall or trellis to climb up. The leaves and flowers are an important nervine sedative and […]
Division is the easiest form of vegetative propagation. It involves digging up and severing a portion of the root system of a plant, and replanting it. Depending on the plant species and age, one to twenty divisions may be made from one plant. In running plants, such as the mints, partridgeberry, gotu kola, jiaogulan (Gynostemma […]
Growing our own medicine creates an intimate connection with healing plants as we watch them emerge from the ground, and grow leaves, flowers, and fruits. I tend to be more curious about the plants around me, as I see, smell and feel them throughout the seasons. My curiosity inspires research, experimentation, medicine making, and therapeutic […]
