Oregano in the front, Wormwood (strong anti-parasite medicinal) in the back. That Oregano is totally unruly, it's growing out into the grass now too! I mow it, it laughs at me and comes back within a few days. There's also one of my stands of Goldenrod just behind them too, which is also medicinal, and difficult to see right now. It’s not very tall yet, and only just starting to produce it's flowers, but it will be! It grows wild everywhere here, so I usually let it choose where it wants to be. Goldenrod is a bitter medicine too, but tinctured and taken in winter, it's a lovely reminder of the summer sun. Or you can drink a tea of it’s flowers. It's got a very distinctive taste like no other:
This is Lemon Balm. She smells absolutely wonderful. I mostly use it fresh as a tea, mixed with catnip on summer evenings to uplift spirits and to help me sleep:
Lovely, lovely Lambs Ears. I don't use these for anything really. I just clip a few leaves and stroke them against my cheek because they are soooo amazingly soft. (Children especially like them too.) They last a long time dried, so in winter I keep a jar in my apothecary cabinet to remind me of the summer:
My beautiful hardy Hyssop. I dry this for a frequent medicinal tea, as I love the flavor and it’s one of those all-round traditional herbs with many, many uses. It’s very good for the digestion, and is commonly used for a lingering cough. I like it so much I planted three more of them - it helps that they are very well-behaved plants too, and establish themselves in a spot. Also my bees are all over the flowers, all day, every day. Bees appear to especially adore the hyssop, the oregano, and the catnip, so the more the better:
Elecampane in it's second year, getting ready to BLOOM! This is the first time I have grown this herb (the root is used for medicine) - but mostly right now I am excited to see the flowers. They will look a bit like small sunflowers. I will post them again when they fully bloom:
One of my Comfrey plants. These guys are SO strong, and they shoot up giant stalks with flowers that the bees love. It's mid-July here, and it's already grown four feet tall once, I cut it back a couple of weeks ago and it's starting all over again. I have to cut them back 2-3 times every summer or they will take over the garden. The leaves make an excellent poultice, traditionally used for bruises and broken bones, and it reduces pain and swelling. This photo has no context, but the leaves here are around 15 inches long:
My Catnip, late in the blooming. The bees go crazy over this one, and I harvest jars and jars of it for my kitty who also goes crazy over it. Plus I use it for a sleepy-time tea that works well for us humans too. 😊 That's a milkweed growing up in the middle of it. I let those come up in places for the Monarch butterflies we get every year:
One of my several Basil plants growing in some old tires. Last year I tried growing potatoes in those tires (I don't know why, I don't even like potatoes), but a woodchuck ate them anyway. This year’s woodchuck decided to select some Phlox to eat instead:
One of our lovely bird houses. We have many, all over our property, and other birds nesting in rafters also. We have so many different kinds of birds now - when we moved in it was all tall pines and crows and owls. Now it's everything: still plenty of crows and owls, but also blue birds, finches, warblers, wrens, several kinds of woodpeckers, blue jays, cardinals, chickadees, mourning doves, robins, and many others we are always trying to identify. We keep binoculars near the window! This one is inside my fenced herb garden:
And my Eidelweiss! Being of partial-Swiss heritage I’ve always loved these high-mountain flowers, and I was taken with the idea a couple of summers ago and planted some. They've done quite well, much better than I thought they would:
And lastly, watching me take photos, one of my chickens checking to see if I’m actually bringing her some treats:
That’s all for now, I hope you have a beautiful day too. ❤️
A few more photos of my garden
Beautiful! I love herbs! ❤️