Women’s Care Garden Plan
Parsley, pennyroyal and a number of other herbs can help remedy common ailments in this Women’s Care Garden.
By Marietta Marshall Marcin
Teas to soothe, teas to relieve, teas to rejuvenate—Herbal Tea Gardens (Storey Publishing, 1999) contains everything you need to know to grow, blend and brew healthful and delicious herbal teas. You’ll find more than 100 tea recipes, as well as 22 illustrated garden plans. The herbs in this Women’s Care Garden can help treat a variety of common maladies. Find more herbal tea garden plans in 3 Herbal Tea Gardens for Health and Well-Being.
You can purchase this book from the Mother Earth Living store: Herbal Tea Gardens.
This garden contains herbs that can be used to treat many women’s ailments, ranging from irregular menstruation to menopausal symptoms.
These two triangular gardens will grow and look best when bordered with fencing on two sides for the roses and raspberries to climb on. The planting pattern is repeated from one side to the other, albeit with different plants. Plant lovage in the back corner, then black cohosh in front of it. Two rows of alternating plants—comfrey, ginger, comfrey, and parsley, pennyroyal, parsley—widen out the garden. Finish it off with a long, straight border of chamomile.
In the other garden, plant the lovage first, then follow with the chamomile and borage. After that, alternate nettle and mugwort, and plant a row of borage and anise. Strawberry plants make a colorful and tasty border. When you’re done with your planting, place a sundial or other outdoor sculpture between the two gardens.
Black cohosh and comfrey can be invasive. Try planting them in pots to keeps the roots contained. Ginger, a tropical plant, should be started anew each spring. Alternatively, you can pot the ginger and take it indoors when the weather grows cold.
Women’s Care Garden Plants
• Anise 1
• Black cohosh 2
• Borage 3
• Chamomile 10 to 20
• Comfrey 2
• Ginger 1
• Lovage 2
• Mugwort 1
• Nettle 2
• Parsley 3
• Pennyroyal 4
• Raspberry 8
• Rose 6 to 8
• Strawberry 10 to 20
* Number indicates quantity of plants needed
Women’s Relaxing Tonic
The herbs in this blend are all “women’s herbs” that are helpful to tone and relax.
• 2 teaspoons dried black cohosh root
• 1 teaspoon dried dong quai root
• 1 teaspoon dried red raspberry leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried nettle leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried chamomile flowers
1. Simmer the black cohosh and dong quai roots in 5 to 6 cups water for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add the remaining herbs. Steep another 5 to 8 minutes.
Excerpted from Herbal Tea Gardens © Marietta Marshall Marcin, illustrations © Laura Tedeschi used with permission from Storey Publishing. Buy this book from our store: Herbal Tea Gardens.
