By Tango Pang

Herbs: Understanding the Different Kinds of Herbs and What

These Herbs are Good for

Herbs can be considered one of the most important products in

the world today, and for many different reasons. Herbs can be

used for many different purposes, and for most of the part, they

are plants that are grown for culinary, medicinal, or in some

cases, even spiritual value. Basically, what happens is that the

green and leafy part of the medicinal plant is typically used

for all of these purposes.

Culinary herbs are basically distinguished from vegetables in

that they are used in smaller quantity, and they also provide

flavor, rather than substance, in our food.

With regards to the actual history of herbs, they have truly

played an important part in man’s life for thousands of years,

and some herbs were actually given magical properties in some

traditional rituals, and this was probably in part due to the

fact that herbs are considered as having medicinal purposes; in

fact, in France during the Middle Ages period, babies were

actually rubbed with Artemisia juices in order to protect them

from the cold (which can be deadly then).

Mint is one of the most popular herbs of today, and Greek

athletes actually used to use bruised mint leaves as an

after-bath lotion, and as well, in the Middle Ages, mint was

considered as being extremely important as it was used as a

cleansing agent. Mint was later even used to purify water that

had turned stale on long voyages.

More About Types of Herbs

There is truly a multitude of herbs that are out there, some

discovered and some still lying inside some jungles. Some of

the herbs includes the following: Ajwain, Allspice, Aloe Vera,

Ambrosia herbs, Anise, Apple mint, Arrowroot, Annatto, Avens,

Balmony, Basil, Bison grass, Bistort, Bitters, Blue Cohosh,

Boldo, Bush tomato, Caper, Caraway, Cinnamon, Chickweed,

Centaury, Cayenne pepper, and many more.

If you are interested in growing your own herbs for consuming,

then you can easily do so in your own garden. However if you

wish, you can also just go to your local grocery store to pick

up these same herbs easily, however they will taste much better

if you grow them yourself, or at least buy them when fresh.

It is overall easy to see how important herbs are, as well as

how many uses that they have; herbs are used for so many things,

not only in the olden days but in the present time as well, and

so it is incredibly important to recognize and realize this. It

is through preservation of our forest that we can continue to

discover more herbs.

About the Author: Tangopang is a Herbalist and Nutritionist. He

owns www.naturalhealthherbalremedies.com Please visit

Natural Health and Home and Home Remedy

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By Mary Hanna

Herb gardening has been around for centuries and the joys of an

herbal garden is well know to many gardeners. Even beginner

gardeners can have a high quality of success by starting with

the basics and working their way up to a more complicated herbal

garden. You can plant a container herb garden or an indoor herb

garden. There are three categories of herbs that can be grown in

you herbal gardens, culinary herbs, ornamental herbs, or

medicinal herbs.

Culinary herb gardening’s purpose is to add spice and flavor to

your cooking. Culinary herbs are the herbs that use fresh or

dried leaves in cooking. Some of the classic culinary herbs are

parsley, oregano, rosemary and basil. You may even want to plant

some sage and thyme. There is a difference between herbs and

spices. Spices are seeds, roots, fruits, flowers, and bark

while, as mentioned above, culinary herbs are fresh or dried

leaves.

When considering your culinary herb garden your most important

decision is the location. You will need a sunny spot with at

least six hours of sun. The more sun the herb garden gets the

more flavor will develop in the herbs. Try to place your

culinary herb garden as close to the kitchen door as possible.

This will ensure that the herbs will be used daily.

A simple and delicious way to use basil is to slice some juicy

ripe tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. Overlap them on a plate,

sprinkle on some extra virgin olive oil and chopped basil. It is

also good with a squeeze of fresh lemon. Anyone that has grown a

culinary herb garden and used the fresh herbs will tell you that

the fresh herbs are superior over the dried herbs.

Ornamental herb gardening can make your gardens not only

practical but beautiful too. By “ornamental” we mean that the

primary current usage is purely decorative. Some of these

ornamental herbs have a long history of medicinal or culinary

usage. Pots of ornamental herbs add color and texture to

balconies or patios. They are perfect for lining your flower

beds.

A good example of an ornamental herb is Dittany of Crete, a

favorite oregano herb of many herb gardeners. It will form a low

mound and produce leaves with fine silvery hairs. You would

never want to use this in cooking, it is strictly for show.

Rue is another good choice for garden borders. Its unusual blue

green color offers contrast to bright showy blooms. The rue

leaves can be used as a garnish but because of its bitter flavor

does not work in cooking.

Ornamental herbs are just what they say, ornaments for your

gardens. Ornamental herb gardening will add texture and interest

to your flower beds.

Now we come to medicinal herbs. Before the 1900’s medicinal

herbs were used widely in the United States. Somewhere in the

1960’s herbs used as medicine dwindled. Now, many doctors are

prescribing medicinal herbs as well as mainstream medicine.

There are three ways that the medicinal herbs work on the body.

Medicinal herbs have been known to strengthen an organ so that

it can heal itself. Some medicinal herbs purge the body of

toxins and illness, while others build up the immune system

which will help in retarding illness.

There are many ways to use medicinal herbs. A few are

infusions, herb vinegars, ointments, teas and tinctures. For

example, to make a healing herbal tea, boil water and pour over

the fresh herbs in a cup. Let it steep for 5 minutes but no

longer then 10 for it will get bitter.

The medicinal herb stevia can be used as a natural sweetener

and is easy to grow in an herbal garden. It also decrease tooth

decay and gum disease if used as a mouth wash.

Before starting any course of medicinal herbs, be sure to

notify your Doctor to see if they will interact with any

medicines you are currently taking.

These are some of the basics of the three herb groups. Plan

your herb garden, pick a bright sunny place and plant your

herbs. Remember you can plant an herb garden in the ground, as a

container garden or an indoor herb garden.

Happy Gardening!

Copyright © Mary Hanna, All Rights Reserved.

This article may be distributed freely on your website and in

your ezines, as long as this entire article, copyright notice,

links and the resource box are unchanged.

About the Author: Mary Hanna is an aspiring herbalist who lives

in Central Florida. This allows her to grow gardens inside and

outside year round. She has published other articles on

Cruising, Gardening and Cooking. Visit her websites at

http://www.GardeningHerb.com

http://www.CruiseTravelDirectory.com and

http://www.ContainerGardeningSecrets.com

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By George Hapgood

Herbs have been around since time immemorial. Ever since, herbs

have served different kinds of purposes. Herbs have been used to

treat illness and also in cooking. They were even believed to

have magical charms. Do you want to have your own herb garden?

Here are a few ideas on how to establish an herb garden.

Plan you garden.

Consider the herbs you want to plant. Think about their types.

Would you like annuals, biennials or perennials?

How much space will they occupy in your garden? If you want,

you can purchase a book that can give you the right information

on what specific plants you are planning to grow.

List or draw your garden on paper first. Separate the annuals

from the perennials so when the time comes that you have to pull

out the annuals, you won’t be disturbing the perennials.

Perennials can be planted on the edge of your garden so when it

is time to till your garden; you won’t have a hard time.

Another thing to remember is that you have to plant the tall

ones at the back and the shorter ones in front. Also, provide

your plants with enough space to grow. Proper position shall

help you in this area.

Some Design Ideas

You can consider having a square herb bed. You can have your

square bed divided into four by two paths crossing at mid point

measuring 3 feet. You can border it with stone or brick. A

wooden ladder may also do the trick. You can lay it down on your

garden and plant your herbs between its rungs. You can also

choose to have a wagon wheel bed. Planting here is like planting

with the wooden ladders. Plant your herbs in between the wagon

wheel’s wedges.

Get Your Plants Growing

Of course, different plants have different needs. This is the

reason why you have to determine the herbs you want to plant in

the planning stage. This can more or less help you find out how

you should care for your plants. With starting seeds, remember

its germination and soil temperature rules. If you see the

seedlings sprouting, check the plants’ air circulation, humidity

and sunlight. When you see some leaves appear, allow proper

spacing.

One of the plants that are easy to grow are herbs. You just

have to provide them with an effective drainage, sunlight,

enough humidity or moisture and fertile soil. Even with just

minimally meeting these requirements they will be bound produce

a good harvest.

About the Author: You Too can have a green thumb. Visit Georges

Blog here

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