Medicinal Herb/Incense Garden
 

I'm planning to make a medicinal garden which I will also use to grow incense ingredients. I was wondering if anyone knew of some good plants to include. Nothing illegal please. My current list is as follows:

Echinacea (Purple Coneflower)

Silene Capensis (African Dream Root)

Tea

Valerian

White Sage

St. John's Wort

If you want something a little more poky you could try Mugwort. Scott Cunninghams book of Incense, oils and brews, despite it's unfortunate wiccan basis, does have a large list of incense blends containing plants you could grow.

Comfrey is a good.

Better to do a google search for what will grow in your area.

The soil is the key to a healthy garden. Plant what you would use. Start small. ;)

I'm actually planning to build a greenhouse out of pvc pipes so I can grow year-round.

I'm not going to add comfrey for the same reason that Kava Kava isn't on my list. I'm avoiding things that are infamous for liver damage. I did add Mugwort though, and now lemon balm.

I recommend garlic, rosemary and regular sage... one of the nice things about sage and rosemary is that they are perennial and will come back every year.

Sage is also very good with both chicken and beef. Rosemary is delicious and has a place in many delicious Italian dishes.

I've tried to grow garlic... it just wouldn't take off for me, but if you can get it to grow, the benefits of garlic in the diet are many.

You don't have to ingest Comfrey. It's best use is externally for bruises and swellings.

I've used russian comfrey myself on an EXTREMELY huge and painful swelling I had on my shin, when I tripped and fell full force onto the solid steel step of a ladder. I thought I'd broken it. But I applied the comfrey after crushing the leaves to a pulp and bandaging that over the area. I seriously had only the very faintest of bruises where I would ordinarily have had a multicoloured dermal kaliedascope.

Seriously, don't leave it out. It's also good along with common nettles to throw into the water butt to rot in the water. You then use that water and muck to "feed" your plants. It's an excellent nutrient and contains a lot of nitrates, and we use that on our allotment.

Chamomile
Calendula
Lavender
Catnip
Peppermint or spearmint, depending on your preference. Put this one in a planter!!!

I third the comfrey recommendation.

Ooh yeah Chamomile is really good for making relaxing teas... I totally spaced that.

Lavender smells so good, and if you're into spellcraft, it can prove to be incredibly useful for cleansing rituals... if you're not, it smells really good and you can make some great smelling incense with it.

wiches arent real. just gett asprin .

Silly boy, no one said you could come in here and talk with us big girls.. out. I'm sure some one will come by and read you a bed time story later.

shut up bot i dont need to listen 2 yo n00b

Don't make me get the broom, little boy....

make me a sand wich

If you have pets I would stay away from comfrey and be careful what you plant, as you know, they can eat it, no matter how careful you are to keep them away.

So true, that's why my MIL plants her catnip in a planter and hangs it waaaay out on a limb of a tree in her yard... the cats still tend to get to it.

resisting urge to hex jinx or otherwise bless this youngling with adversity to force growth. Suffer in ignorance you missed abortion appointment.

sassafrass and star anise are good for flavoring. Salvia divinorum is good for smoking and is still not a controlled substance. Not exactly like pot but it is a member of the canabis genus.

Depending on where you live, yes, it is. It's completely illegal in Kentucky, legal in Indiana, and only the extracts are illegal in Virginia. Other states/countries, you'd have to look it up.

I've tried garlic too and didn't have ,much luck. I usually have sage and rosemary growing already. Now I'm adding herbs that are less about flavor and more about benefits.

Like I said above, I plan to make a greenhouse, and my cat isn't allowed outside so I won't have to worry.

I have an entire project planned out for Sally. I want to increase there fertility by actually making them seed and breeding the seed grown plants together.

It's legal in Maine if you're 18 or older.

So, do you make your own essential oils and such?

I will be. I need to get some equipment. The first thing on my list is a mortar and pestal for grinding ingredient, then I'll get everything else.

Don't smoke salvia, make a tea with the actual plant. Smoking salvia extract is a modern twist. The original tribal spiritual users made the tea, as the effects are not as radical, as with smoked salvia, and last longer, thus aiding in the vision quest.

On the same note you could get a peyote cactus, another plant that makes wonderful tea.

Hmmm perhaps add a small cedar bush? At the moment I'm burning a lot of cedar wood incense, and it's quite pleasant and soothing.