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Agastache/Apricot Sprite (Agastache aurantiaca”apricot sprite”)
Incredible long lasting tubular orange flowers. Hummingbirds and butterflies love them. Flowers all summer. Leaves are very aromatic. Makes an excellent tea. Hardy to Zone 7.
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Agrimony (Agrimonia eupatoria)
Traditionally used as a wash for healing wounds and skin eruptions. Internally used for liver, kidney, and bladder problems. Also a good dye plant for green, yellow, and gold dye. Perennial zone 5-9.
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Alfalfa (Medicago sativa)
This lush green legume, which can reach 3 feet in height with pretty lavender/blue flowers is often grown as a cover crop and a hay crop for livestock. It's deep taproots draw minerals from the earth and Alfalfa makes an excellent under-story planting beneath trees and shrubs. Alfalfa has been used medicinally for centuries. Native to Medea which predates Spain, alfalfa was also cultivated in Persia and Europe and eventually brought to the Americas. The plant is loaded with nutrients and has been used traditionally for reviving weak and debilitated patients after long illness. Alfalfa is also known as a diuretic, promotes peristalsis, stimulates milk production and eases morning sickness. It has also been used as a remedy for gout, ulcers, and blood sugar regulation. Chinese medicine has used Alfalfa to treat kidney stones. Many herbalists recommend it as a mineral rich blood cleanser to be taken as a daily tonic. It has an alkalinizing effect on the bloodstream and has shown some potential as an ally for cancer in recent studies. Historically, Alfalfa was revered as an herb that brings abundance to the home and garden where it is grown. Prefers full sun and well drained, alkaline soil. Alfalfa makes a great border planting and several cuttings can be taken over the summer to dry for tea. Quite drought tolerant once established. Hardy pernnial to zone 3.
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All Heal (Prunella vulgaris)
Sweet, low growing perennial with a creeping habit and upright flowering stems with compact purple flowers all summer. Prefers part shade and ample moisture. These plants can handle severe neglect and survive. Traditionally, this herb has been used for healing a variety of wounds and skin problems. The aerial parts of the plant are astingent and antiseptic. It has also been used internally for sore throats, bleeding gums, and hemorrhoids. In Chinese medicine the cooling flowers stimulate the liver and gallbladder when these systems are out of balance. Easy to grow and great ground cover in a shadier garden. Hardy to zone 4.
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Angelica (Angelica archangelica)
An impressive plant for the herb garden. Angelica is a bitter herb which aids digestion, has anti microbial properties, increases perspiration and lowers fever. It also has an expectorant effect, is anti inflammatory and acts mainly on the bronchial, digestive, urinary and female reproductive systems. It is best known for its candied stems. It is biennial. Likes plenty of moisture and prefers part shade in hotter climates. Hardy to zone 4.
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Angelica, Korean (Angelica gigas)
A beautiful ornamental angelica with striking purple flower stems and dark burgundy umbels. Used in summer as an excellent focal plant. It flowers in the second year. The roots, seeds, and leaves treat colds, indigestion and rheumatism. The roots are also liver and uterine stimulants.
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Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)
The American Indians used this herb for respiratory problems. It has a strong anise flavor and it makes a good sun tea when mixed with mint and fennel. It is also a good bee plant. With showy purple spike flowers. Hardy to zone 4.
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Arnica Chamissonis (Meadow Arnica)
This variety of Arnica, which is an indigenous American species, is much easier and more productive to grow in the low elevation herb garden. It yields well from multiple flower stalks and spreads by rhizomes creating a productive patch in a short time. Prefers some moisture and full sun. Laboratory tests have shown this species of Arnica to be medicinally equivalent to Arnica Montana. The delicate yellow daisy-like flowers and leaves are harvested and used as a well respected remedy for any type of trauma to the body. This plant is extremely important to have in the herb garden for basic first aid. Hardy to zone 5.
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Arnica Montana (Mountain Arnica)
Used traditionally in Europe for treating a wide variety of ailments resulting from trauma to the body. This plant requires very acidic soil conditions and is slower growing and not as happy in a typical garden setting, but once established, forms a pretty rosette of leaves at the base and eventually sends up flower stalks with the small yellow daisy-like flowers used in most commonly found Arnica remedies. Hardy to zone 5.
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Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera)
This ginseng like tonic of the Ayurvedics has been used mainly in cases of physical and mental exhaustion. A very good strengthening tonic. Has been used in cases of sexual exhaustion, infertility, low sperm count, and impotence. Harvest the person-shaped roots after the plant's foliage has died back following the first frost. From the same plant family as the tomato, these plants like similar treatment, good soil, plenty of moisture and lots of hot sun. Have overwintered here in zone 8, but must be grown as an annual in most climates.
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Astragalus (Astragalus membranaceus)
Huang Qi (Yellow leader.) This plant is considered one of the most important Chinese medicinal herbs. Roots are marketable in 2 to 4 years. A blood building herb which has been used to boost and tonify chi, helps with anemia, liver disease, increases stamina, and contains immune enhancing polysaccharides. An excellent health building herb. Easy to grow with pretty vetch type foliage and very hardy to zone 4. Perennial.
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Aztec Sweet Herb (Lippia dulcis)
This Mexican herb has been used since the time of the Aztecs for coughs, colds, bronchitis, asthma and colic. The leaves contain the intensely sweet compound hernandulcin that is 1000 times sweeter than sugar. This tender perennial plant is a fast growing, low creeper, that looks good in hanging baskets.
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