Six Herbs You Should Consider Adding to Your Medicinal Herb Garden

I am enjoying this spring weather, and have been busy planning my garden for the upcoming season. One of the areas that I have really been focusing on is my herb garden. Did you know that herbs can be grown for more than just spicing up your food, they can also be used for medicinal purposes? Here are six herbs that you might want to consider adding to your herb garden for medicinal use.

Aloe Vera

One of the most popular plants that is grown for medicinal purposes is the Aloe Vera Plant. Aloe Vera has antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory compounds that help make it perfect for use when it comes to wound healing. Simply break off one of the Aloe Vera plant's stems and rub the gel found inside directly onto your wound, burn, or sunburn to take advantage of its natural healing properties.

Echinacea

Well known for its immune system building properties Echinacea is often used in the treatment of colds, flu, ear aches, and yeast infections. All parts of the Echinacea plant can be used, and it is most often used as a tea.

Lemon Balm

As a member of the mint family Lemon Balm is used for the treatment of headaches, skin infections, and digestive problems. Lemon Balm can be made into a tea, and has a distinct lemony scent.

Peppermint

Another member of the mint family Peppermint is often used in the treatment of digestive disorders or for calming an upset stomach. Peppermint can be used as a tea or added to dishes for peppermint flavoring.

Burdock

As a plant that grows naturally in the wild Burdock can also easily be incorporated into an herb garden. The leaves of the Burdock plant can be cooked up like spinach, while being used as a liver treatment, to stimulate the digestive system, and for soothing a cold or sore throat.

Plantain

While it is often considered a lawn weed plantain is actually a useful herb to grow in your garden. Plantain is excellent when it comes to relieving the pain of beestings or poison ivy. While some might not be able to get past how plantain is used in the treatment of beestings or poison ivy it is actually quite easy to use. You simply chew up the plantain leaves while keeping the saliva and the leaves in the front of your mouth. Once you have chewed up the leaves, place the chewed up leaves along with the saliva directly onto the affected area.