Tag Archives: medicinal herb

Salad Burnet Graces the Garden

Posted on March 18, 2026 | Leave a comment

Salad burnet (Sanguisorba minor) is a beautiful perennial plant that also serves as both a medicinal and culinary herb. This relatively small plant grows to about 6-8 inches tall and a foot wide. It stays green above ground for quite a long time, dies back in the winter, and re-appears in the spring. The plant grows in a clump or rosette formation. The small summer flowers are very small on wiry stems — barely noticeable.

As a medicinal herb, salad burnet has astringent qualities and is used to staunch bleeding. As a culinary herb, the leaves can be added to a green salad, egg salad, herbal vinegar, butter, cheese spread, or as “lettuce” with sandwiches. The foliage can be added to lemonade and is a popular garnish for gin and tonic cocktails. It has a clean green flavor, much like cucumbers.

The foliage has a delicate, lacy appearance. When my daughter and I made a charcuterie board for Thanksgiving, we decorated the board with salad burnet. We also used the green lacy leaves as a contrast to red cranberries and white mashed potatoes.charcuterie board

I have been growing salad burnet for years, but not necessarily the same one. It does self-seed a little, just enough for volunteers to show up in odd places. I dig them up and put them where I know they will thrive. Over the years, I have learned that salad burnet prefers moist areas, in full or partial sun, depending on the amount of soil moisture. I now have a plant growing next to my cutting celery and lovage, all of which are moisture lovers.

You are not likely to find the plant in local nurseries, but you can purchase seed from online seed companies. Start seed indoors in the spring, under lights, much like starting tomato seeds. You can direct sow in the summer, but my birds always steal my seed before they germinate. Or if you have a friend who has salad burnet growing in the garden, ask for a division in the spring. Try growing salad burnet for its many uses but also as a pretty plant in the garden.

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Native Plants: American Pokeweed

Posted on September 13, 2025 | 1 comment

mature pokeweed berries

A common sight in Virginia now are the purple berries hanging from green shrubs along the roadside. American pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) is an herbaceous perennial, considered a weed by most gardeners. Pokeweed is easy to find on roadsides, fields, and ditches. From summer to fall, pokeweed blooms small white flowers on peduncles (stems) making them stick out.

In the fall, the berries appear first as flatten green balls with a dimple in the center on hot pink racemes. Later, they inflate to deep purple, ¼-inch balls on red racemes. The contrast of purple and red or green and pink is so pretty that pokeweed is often used for fall floral arrangements.

immature pokeweed berries

The plant itself lends to a small tree shape. It could be shaped into a striking, well-branched miniature “tree.” There are variegated varieties which are especially ornamental. I discovered ‘Silverstein’ at the outdoor gardens of the U.S. Botanic Garden in DC.

Pokeweed berries are attractive but it is important to know that all parts of the mature plant are poisonous. Some people even get rashes from touching the plant. If you have children or see pokeweed in areas where children frequent such as school playgrounds, you should remove the plants so they are not tempted to eat the purple berries. Pull the thick stems after a rain when the soil is loose and when the plants are young. Mature plants develop taproots, making them difficult to remove completely.

Native Americans used the plant for medicinal purposes such as a cardiac stimulant, for cancer treatment, and for rheumatism, epilepsy, and neurological disorders. The young green shoots and leaves can be cooked and eaten like spinach or asparagus (only the young part, not the mature parts). The ink from the fruit was used as writing ink or clothes dye. The plant is an excellent source of food for birds, which is why it “pokes” up in so many places. This native plant has a fascinating history in our American culture.

When pokeberry appears in your garden, consider its many uses. You can treat it like a weed and remove it or keep it as a native plant and let the birds enjoy the berries.

A variegated form called “Silverstein’ at the U.S. Botanic Garden

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Comfrey: The Garden’s Swiss Army Knife

Posted on August 21, 2025 | 2 comments

Comfrey in shady site in my garden

Recently I have been exploring “natural ways” in which to help the garden, especially the vegetables that I grow every summer. At risk for pests and diseases, tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers need all the help they can get. I have always heard how comfrey is used in permaculture so last year I purchased two plants of Bocking 14 (Symphytum x uplandicum). Hardy to zone 4, this herbaceous perennial is a hybrid of S. asperum and S. officinale.

I put one plant in a shady, moist area and one in a sunny, dry location. This summer, the one in the shady, moist area is much larger, about 2 feet tall and wide. The plants have large green leaves, up to a foot long, arising from a central crown. The foliage is bristly, making gloves necessary. The other one in the sun is not doing well. In fact during a long dry spell I had to hand water it and I am not sure it is going to make it.

Comfrey has many uses: pollinator/beneficial insect plant, medicinal herb, animal feed, fertilizer, compost green, and mulch. The plant blooms small, bell-shaped blue flowers that fade to pink. The shape of the inflorescence reminds me of fiddlehead ferns. It starts flowering in the beginning of summer and can continue in the fall. Because it is sterile, Bocking 14 will flower and produce nectar and pollen but not viable seed. The flowers attract predatory wasps, lacewings, and bees.

Comfrey Flowers, Organic Vegetable Garden, Potomac Overlook Regional Park, VA

As a medicinal herb, the leaves are a source of a cell-proliferating molecule called allantoin which is needed for the healing process. Also known as “knitbone,” comfrey leaves can be used to create a poultice for bruises, inflammations, swellings, cuts, and burns. The leaves can be dried to make a powder, used to make a salve, or infused to make an external tea. This plant should not be taken orally.

Comfrey is commonly used in permaculture as a companion plant to fruit trees. It is used as a living mulch and a weed suppressor. It is also used as feed for pigs and poultry.

One of its claims to fame is that its deep roots bring up nutrients from the subsoil, re-locating them throughout the plant. Comfrey has potassium, phosphorus, calcium, copper, iron, and magnesium. Because it is an excellent source of potassium (the letter “K” in NPK), it is very beneficial to tomato, pepper, and cucumber plants. By cutting the leaves and placing them under another plant, nutrients are brought to that plant. After harvesting leaves, the crown sends up new foliage quickly so the plant can be harvested 3 to 5 times per growing season. Alternatively, a nutrient rich compost tea can be made with leaves and water.  Comfrey also can be added to compost piles as the “green.” It breaks down quickly and helps to activate the compost pile.

There are so many uses for comfrey that I am looking forward to experimenting in my garden.

Comfrey at Ladew Topiary Gardens in MD

 

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Aloe Vera: Your First Aid Kit

Posted on September 6, 2024 | 1 comment

Every May, I put my aloe plant (Aloe vera) outside on the deck to enjoy the summer sun and warmth. This succulent plant thrives and by autumn, she has produced many “pups.” The pups, small aloe vera offsets, crowd inside the small pot. When the nights cool down, I upturn the pot and gently pull apart each pup. I plant each one in its own small container of soil.  I then replant the mother and move her in to my house while I box up the pups to bring to the office. Within hours of placing the box in the office kitchen, colleagues have helped themselves to a new plant, armed with growing instructions that I have printed on strips of paper. My colleagues love free plants — it is like leaving cookies in the kitchen.

Aloe vera is a medicinal herb well known for healing burns. If you snap a leaf in two you will see a gel-like liquid. You can apply the gel to a burn on your skin, which will offer pain relief and a faster healing process. The leaves actually have three sections: a thick outer rind, a thin slimy layer of cells, and the inner gel. Just beneath the rind is a bitter yellow substance called aloin. This can cause intestinal irritation creating a laxative effect.  It is the inner gel that is used for burns, sunburns, or as a skin moisturizer. Diluted with water, this gel can be ingested to sooth intestinal irritation. Although aloe’s beneficial effects have been documented for thousands of years, it was not until U.S. researchers discovered that aloe gel could quickly heal burns caused by x-rays and ultraviolet rays in the mid-1930s that interest soared. Today, most people use aloe as an first aid kit for burns, disinfecting minor cuts, and insect stings. Researchers are still studying the plant. So far they have identified more than 75 nutrients and 200 compounds in the gel.

It is easy to grow an aloe vera plant. Give it warmth, sun, and good drainage. You can grow it indoors as a houseplant provided it gets enough light. Place it in a southern exposure window or a sun room. Or you can grow it outside in the summer. When I grow it outside, I just let the rain water it. Remember to bring it back inside before night time temperatures dip into the 40s.

This plant is easy to find at local garden centers. Or if you have a friend who has it, ask for a pup. Try growing aloe for your own personal first aid kit.

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Mexican Mint Marigold

Posted on October 27, 2023 | 2 comments

Almost Halloween and my Mexican Mint Marigold (Tagetes lucida) plants are blooming profusely. The orange flowers are perfect for the season. My plants are not very tall and bushy but I know they can grow to several feet tall and wide. Native to Mexico and Central America, this marigold is a useful herb and a pretty garden plant. The foliage can be used as a tea for treating colds, fevers, intestinal gas, and diarrhea. The foliage also is used in an Aztec hot cocoa drink called chocolatl or xocolatl, along with vanilla, chiles, and ground cacao bean. And the foliage can be used as a tarragon substitute. The leaves have that anise/tarragon flavor, and the plant is much easier to grow than tarragon. The edible flowers can add interest and flavor to meals and garnish desserts. The petals can be sprinkled like confetti on green beans for contrast or a plate of mushroom stuffed appetizers.

This may be hard to find as a plant at the local nursery, but Mexican Mint Marigold is easy to grow from seed. Just make sure you are getting the correct species. I have seen some seed companies sell Tagetes tenuifolia as the Mexican Mint Marigold but that is a different type of marigold. Also, this plant has many common names so make sure you are purchasing Tagetes lucida.

I started mine plants from Botanical Interests seed packets in June. Later in the summer, I transplanted many plants (they germinated easily) to several areas in the garden. It was touch and go when we did not have rain for a long time, but I kept them well watered. They are in full sun and are not particular about soil except that it should be well-drained. These are fall bloomers so do not expect flowers until late September and October. Pollinators, beneficial insects, and butterflies love them.

Unfortunately, these herbaceous plants are tender perennials, hardy to zone 8. I don’t expect them to come back next year in my Zone 7 garden, but I like them so much I will start them again from seed. Next year though I may start them earlier in May after the last frost.

The flowers can be cut for floral arrangements. Recently, I learned how to make small arrangements in carved out pumpkins at my garden club. After growing Mexican Mint Marigold, I can see how these small orange flowers would be perfect for the desktop pumpkins. Try growing this next year, you will be pleasantly surprised!

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Salad Burnet: Lovely Medicinal, Culinary, and Decorative Herb

Posted on October 9, 2023 | Leave a comment

Salad burnet (Sanguisorba minor) is a medicinal and culinary herb and a beautiful ornamental plant. It is one of those pretty yet useful herbs in the garden. An herbaceous perennial, this relatively small plant grows to about a foot wide and one-half foot tall. It stays green above ground for quite a long time, dies back in the winter, and re-appears in the spring. The plant grows in a clump, in a rosette formation. The small summer flowers are very small on wiry stems — barely noticeable.

As a medicinal herb, salad burnet has astringent qualities and staunches bleeding. As a culinary herb, the young foliage is tastiest so pick from the center of the rosette and use leaves in a green salad, egg salad, herbal vinegar, butter, cheese spread, or as “lettuce” with sandwiches. The foliage can be added to lemonade and is a popular garnish for gin and tonic cocktails. It has a clean green flavor, much like cucumbers.

The foliage has a delicate, lacy appearance which makes it a great garnish. When my daughter and I made a charcuterie board for Thanksgiving, we decorated the board with stems. We also used the green lacy leaves as a contrast to red cranberries and white mashed potatoes.charcuterie board

I have been growing salad burnet for years, but not necessarily the same one. It does self-seed a little, just enough for babies to show up in odd places. I dig them up and put them where I know they will thrive. Over the years, I have learned that salad burnet prefers moist areas, in full or partial sun, depending on the amount of soil moisture. I now have a plant growing next to my cutting celery and lovage, all of which are moisture lovers.

You are not likely to find the plant in local nurseries, but you can purchase seed from online seed companies. Start seed indoors in the spring, under lights, much like starting tomato seeds. You can direct sow in the summer, but my birds always steal my seed before they germinate. Or if you have a friend who has salad burnet growing in the garden, ask for a division in the spring. Try growing salad burnet in your garden or in a container.

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