Doc's Blog!
Landscaping is Silly! Do this instead!
There’s nothing more wonderful than a property that’s beautifully adorned with gorgeous flowers, attractive shrubs and majestic trees. People spend a fortune on landscaping and with good cause; beautiful plants really do feed our souls. But what if they could do more than that? What if the plants in our yard could not only feed our souls but also heal our bodies?
On our property we grow over 150 species of medicinal plants. Virtually every tree, every shrub and flower was chosen, not just because it looked pretty at the nursery, but also because of their wonderful healing properties. Imagine having a remedy for a sore throat or an upset stomach just steps from your front door! I call the concept Herbscaping – a way to create a landscape that’s not just pretty, but also packed with healing potential.
Beyond Ornamental: The Power of Medicinal Plants
I’ve always found it a bit sad that we spend so much time and energy on landscaping with plants that, while beautiful, serve no practical purpose. Some of them are even dangerous. Yew (Taxus spp.) is a perfect example. It’s a beautiful little shrub with dark green foliage and pretty red berries, but it’s deadly poison! Will your yew bush ever pay for itself by saving you the cost of a doctor visit? Nope. But it might earn you a trip to the vet or the E.R. if your dog or child eats the pretty berries. Why not use a better alternative? Kinnikkinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) is just as cute with its little evergreen leaves and red berries but the berries are edible and the leaves are a great medicine for bladder infections and other ills. It’s a much better choice.
Choosing Your Medicinal Plants
Nurseries and garden centers have lots of great medicinal species but often those plants have been significantly changed through selective breeding and that may not be a good thing. Think about it. Color is chemistry. Aroma is chemistry. Structure is chemistry. And, medicine is also chemistry. If we monkey too much with colors, aromas, and structures we may also be changing the medicinal potency of the plant. I’ve found that while cultivars offer lovely and unique colors or shapes, they often lack the medicinal properties of the original plant. So, when choosing plants, always look for the original rather than fancy hybrids.
Some Favorite Medicinal Plants for Every Part of the Garden
Let me share some of my go-to plants for herbscaping:
Trees
- Black Walnut: It’s a great antifungal, plus you get nuts!
- Wild Cherry: The bark makes an excellent cough suppressant.
- Ginkgo: I love this for brain health and circulation.
- Hawthorn: This one’s a powerhouse for heart health.
- Elder: A wonderful cold and flu remedy.
Shrubs
- Oregon Grape: It’s fantastic for liver health and fighting infections.
- Cramp Bark: As the name suggests, it’s excellent for muscle spasms, asthma and menstrual cramps.
- Russian Sage: I use this for digestive issues and to support memory.
- Uva Ursi: This is my go-to for urinary tract health.
Flowers
- Bergamot: It’s great for soothing digestive issues and supporting immune health.
- Black-Eyed Susan: I use this to boost immunity and aid wound healing.
- California Poppy: This beautiful flower eases pain and anxiety.
- Valerian: The flowers smell heavenly, and the roots promote relaxation and better sleep.
- Calendula: A great antibiotic, antiviral and a half dozen other things.
Vines and Climbers
- Grape: The leaf has powerful anti-inflammatory properties.
- Hops: Not just for beer! It aids sleep and digestion, and I’ve found it’s great for pain relief when applied topically.
- Passion Flower: This exotic-looking plant eases anxiety and certain types of pain.
- Japanese Honeysuckle: This lovely climber is great for immune stimulation and respiratory ills.
Creating Your Own Living Pharmacy
By thoughtfully selecting and arranging these medicinal plants, you can create a beautiful, functional landscape that serves as your personal apothecary. In my garden, if I need parsley for a stomachache or elm seeds for a sore throat, I can just step outside and harvest what I needed.
Herbscaping not only enhances the beauty of your surroundings but also connects you more deeply with nature’s healing powers. It’s a perfect blend of aesthetics and practicality, turning your outdoor space into a sanctuary for both body and mind.
Remember, while many of these plants are safe for general use, I always advise consulting with a healthcare professional before using any herb medicinally, especially if you have existing health conditions, are taking medications or are pregnant or nursing.
So, why settle for a yard that’s just pretty to look at when you can have one that nurtures and heals? I encourage you to embrace herbscaping and transform your landscape into a living, breathing pharmacy – beautiful, beneficial, and right at your fingertips. Trust me, your plants will love taking care of you as much as you love taking care of them!
If you’d like to learn more about great plants to choose, what they do medicinally and exactly what they need to grow and be happy, have a look at the HomeGrown Herbalist School of Botanical Medicine. I just put up a lesson with mountains of good information on all sorts of medicinal beauties for your new herbscaping project.
Doc Jones
This was awesome, I have been thinking about how to incorporate some of these.
Hello Doc Jones,
Where can all these Medicinal herbs and plants be purchased. Is there a website that sells them. Also supply’s to make tinctures, salves, capsules etc., such as brown bottles, eye droppers, & spray bottles.
Thanks for all you do to share the knowledge you have about Gods natural medicines. I look forward to hearing from you.
https://homegrownherbalist.net sells many of the herbs to make your own tinctures as well as bottles, etc. They also sell the tinctures if you don’t want to make your own. Most of the plants can be purchased at nurseries or online. The good thing about Doc Jones herbs is that they can all (mostly) be “homegrown”.
I love dr Jones. You are awesome. You
Hello Doc J,
I just wanted to thank you for all that you do. Some of which includes spreading the Truth, Wisdom and Love that we all need. God has created and given us all that we need to stay alive and thrive. Including people like you, who are willing to share and teach safe healing techniques using Gods beautiful creation.
Thank you 😊
Thanks for posting this! I’ve been thinking about incorporating more herbs into my new yard, I just didn’t realize there were so many varieties of trees and shrubs to choose from.
I am a student already and will never be able to convey what this knowledge has meant to me and my family.
Doc, you are forever loving us. Thank you so much for this support. Life throws its curve balls, but you just keep us in the game. On the timing of this release of new info from your brain and desk, I was just asking my Father about which plants to use today! Bless you, Mr. Doc!
Thank you, Doc! I have been saying for the last couple years what wasted space lawns are in town front lawns when everyone could be growing medicinal gardens out front. This should become mainstream.
Thank you for a very interesting video on the value of medicinal plants.
Hi there! Thank you so much for all the education. It has made a huge empowering difference to my life. Especially since the health service in the UK is tanking.
I bought the medicinal plants book and am having immense fun making salves and lotions. Please can you tell me, how long a shelf life do they have? Do they have to be refrigerated? Thanks again! Lydia.
Very timely Doc Jones!
Moving from CA to OK and planning to create a food/herb forest on one acre. I have been making a list of things to grow but your list just made my decision task so much easier!
Thank you so much for everything you do to keep people and animals healthy and make our gardens beautiful. God Bless you!!!