The healing garden: medicinal plants to brighten up your garden

By Simone Augustin Sep 22, 2011, 3:06 GMT

Berlin - Among the most popular plant remedies on the market are those that contain gingko, nettle and St John's wort.

They're made from the flowers, fruits, leaves, seeds, bark and roots of trees and plants. But, aside from their healing powers, these plants also have a decorative value in the household garden.

For small gardens, Isabelle Van Groeningen recommends planting decorative medicinal plants among herb plants. She is head of the gardening school at Berlin's Koeniglichen Gartenakademie.

'You should take special care when deciding where to put your plants,' she advises. Only by selecting the correct spot will your medicinal plants stay healthy and develop to their full potential.

Van Groeningen's advice for getting a plant bed right is as follows: 'Tall plants such as mullein or wolfsbane direct the eye skywards.' By combining tall plants with smaller ones the eye's gaze is returned to earth.

'That helps create a peaceful atmosphere in the garden,' she says. Small plants such as yarrow or fennel serve as a kind of 'landing strip' for the eyes. Insects are also very fond of them.

Plants with large, single-coloured petals can also contribute to a garden's harmony. The spherical flowers produced by leek and coneflowers can play an important role in giving a garden structure and shape.

But Van Groeningen says a bed made solely of healing plants is quite okay.

'The simplest way to organize them is by planting them according to their medicinal use,' says Joachim Roeschenbleck, a researcher at the Botanical Gardens in Munster in northern Germany.

One set of plants that can be grouped together are true flax, castor oil and fennel, which are all used to treat stomach and intestinal ailments.

True flax is one of the oldest medicinal plants and is often used to treat constipation. Its flowers bloom between June and August and are a pleasure for the eye in the garden. True flax is an annual plant and can grow to between 30 and 150 centimetres.

Another attractive plant in the garden is the biennial fennel.

'It's a magnet for many insects and, thanks to its tall size, it serves perfectly as a plant to have in the background,' explains Roeschenbleck. Fennel loves sunshine and well-drained soil. As a medicine, it can be drunk as a tea to combat bloating and respiratory ailments.

'Sage, thyme and true primrose are used to treat coughs,' says Roeschenbleck.

The perennial primrose blooms from mid-March with bright yellow flowers. Although it needs little care, primrose is becoming rare in the wild and, in some countries, it's even protected by law. Its roots and flowers are processed to make teas and tinctures for use as a decongestant and to treat cramps.

Van Groeningen has a tip for use in the barren areas of the garden: 'Marigold and cress flower bloom for a long time and attract useful insects.' These annual plants are very effective at decoratively filling an empty spot.

When growing medicinal plants you should always be aware that some can be very toxic and therefore must not be accessible to children. That applies in particular to the seeds of the castor oil plant.

Castor oil plants are decorative and their seeds can be crushed to make oil which is used as a laxative.