50 Medicinal Herbs You Can Grow in Your Own Garden

Do you want to grow your own medicinal herbs? Herbs are used for many things these days and in addition to being great flavoring for foods, there are also herbs that can be used for medicinal purposes.

Modern medicine certainly works wonders, but there’s something to be said for alternative medicine. Herbs and plants have been used to cure ailments for centuries. These 50 miracle plants may look like weeds, but they are plants you’ll want to keep around if you prefer alternative medicinal sources.

1. Ginseng – This wonder working plant come in two forms American ginseng and Chinese ginseng. Chinese ginseng is used to improve circulation, while its American counterpart reduces fever and respiratory tract disorders. Ginseng is also used to increase energy through supplements or powders. This perennial plant grows best in cool climates.
2. Dong quai - This simple herb can help with high blood pressure, allergies, and even menopause. The herb grows best in summer or autumn, and is best grown in trays.
3. Wild Yam Roots - These yams make for a great natural treatment of nausea, rheumatoid arthritis, and menstrual cramps. Natively from China, these roots grow best in temperate climates. Read more
   

Grow Your Own Drugs

Did you know you can have a medicine cabinet in your garden? Botanist James Wong tells how to use plant-based remedies to cure everyday ailments from coughs to eczema.

On one bitterly cold day recently James Wong found himself walking home in a light coat. He's an optimist, he explains. But just to make sure he didn't get a cold, when he got home he made his granny's chicken soup, using echinacea root, goji berries and extreme quantities of ginger, chillies and garlic.

“Well, I didn't get a cold,” he says. “It's something I make all the time. In Asia you don't have a big thick dividing line between food and medicine. That soup would be eaten as dinner even if you weren't feeling under the weather.”

Wong's recipe for his Immune System Booster is in his book, Grow Your Own Drugs, a set of instructions for plant-based remedies and beauty products that accompanies the eponymous BBC Two series starting tonight. Read more