7 Herbs and Their Uses

Herbs are beautiful, useful additions to any garden. They have countless benefits and uses ranging from potpourri to spices for food and infusions and teas for your health. 

This is a just a brief guide to 7 herbs that you can grow in your garden and just a few of their benefits and uses. The lists could go on and on. 

Lavender, Lavandula angustifolia

Common name, Botanical name

Characteristics 

Lavender is an aromatic perennial evergreen shrub. Its woody stems bear lavender or purple flowers from late spring to early autumn, although there are varieties with blossoms of white or pink. The leaves are long, spiky, and very narrow, and the stems branch out near the ground.

Uses & Benefits

• Lavender yields a highly effective essential oil with very sweet overtones, and is chiefly used in balms, salves, perfumes, cosmetics, and topical applications. 

• Lavender is used in the treatment of insomnia, nervous stomach, and anxiety as well as flatulence, colic, and depressive headaches. 

• Lavender, in the garden, attracts bees and other beneficial garden pollinators.

• Great for repelling fleas

Rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis

Common name, Botanical name

Characteristics 

Rosemary is a perennial evergreen shrub in the mint family. It has thin dark green leaves and blue flowers. It is a pungent and distinctive plant with a sweet, resinous flavor.

Uses & Benefits

• Rosemary is used as a seasoning for poultry, lamb, stews, and soups.

• The branches can be cut every year for wreaths or for ceremonial incense.

• It has a wonderful woodsy scent and is great in air fresheners and aromatherapy mixes.

• Rosemary infused oil is an intensive treatment for dandruff.

• Used externally, Rosemary Oil can help soothe the stomach and relieve pain from indigestion, menstrual cramps or other difficulties.
• Can be used in mosquito repellent

• Deters small pests such as mice

Sage, Salvia officinalis 

Common name, Botanical name

Characteristics 

Sage is a hardy perennial.  It takes the form of a low-growing shrub. The soft gray-green foliage is great in planters or the garden. Sage plants do best when well-hydrated through the hottest parts of summer if you want a steady supply of supple foliage.

Uses & Benefits

• Most commonly dried and used in cooking

• Sage has been found to be useful for treating depression, stress and anxiety, along with other health issues. (Webmd)

• Sage can also be used in cosmetics, perfumes, and soaps. 

• Burning sage removes unpleasant odors, such as lingering cigarette smoke or cooked fish smells. White sage is burned in Native American traditions for purification and protection purposes.

• Sage can be used as an insect repellent. 

• Great for repelling deer

Thyme, Thymus vulgaris

Common name, Botanical name

Characteristics 

Thyme is an aromatic herb in the mint family.  It can grow to a height of fifteen inches, with small rounded leaves and pink flowers on woody stems.  It prefers a sandy, dry soil and plenty of sun.

Uses & Benefits

• Thyme has many culinary uses and is often included in seasoning blends. 

• Oil of thyme is the main ingredient in the mouthwash Listerine. 

• Thyme is a strong antiseptic used externally for infected cuts and scrapes and internally for oral and respiratory infections.  

• Teas of thyme have been taken orally to treat allergies, asthma, colds, and coughs. 

• Inhaling essential oil of thyme placed in hot water as aromatherapy may encourage coughing up of phlegm and stop spasms of the bronchial passages.

• In the garden, pollinating bees are drawn to thyme, whilst harmful cabbage worms are repelled.

Basil, Ocimum basilicum 

Common name, Botanical name

Characteristics 

Basil is a highly fragrant member of the family Lamiaceae. The plant grows from a thick taproot and has silky round leaves that are oftentimes pointed. They are green in color, although some varieties feature hints of red or purple. The plant produces small white flowers which are clustered on a single spike at the top of the plant. Basil plants are often grown as annuals but may survive for several seasons with some care.

Uses & Benefits

• Basil is commonly used as a fresh or dried herb in cooking and is popularly used in beverages in Southeast Asia.

• The unique array of active constituents, called flavonoids, found in basil provides protection at the cellular level.

• Basil is a very good source of vitamin A.

• Basil is also a good source of magnesium, which promotes cardiovascular health by prompting muscles and blood vessels to relax, thus improving blood flow.

• Planting near tomato plants enhances the taste of tomatoes.

• The strong scent of basil attracts beneficial bees and other pollinators.

• Basil deters flies.

Mint, Mentha spp

Common name, Botanical name

Characteristics 

Mint is a perennial with very fragrant, toothed, opposite leaves and square stems. Mint plants produce a terminal flower spike and the flowers can be white or purple in color depending on variety. Mint plants are fast growing and can become very invasive. They will continue to grow for many years once established. 

Uses & Benefits

• Mint leaves are used fresh or dried to make teas, jams and desserts.

• Essential oil can be extracted from the leaves and is used as a flavoring.

• Mint is a great appetizer or palate cleanser, and it promotes digestion.

• It also soothes stomachs in cases of indigestion or inflammation. 

• Menthol oil derived from mint can be very soothing for nausea and related motion sickness.

• Improves oral health.

• Mint's highly aromatic foliage acts to repel ants, white cabbage moths, and other pests.

Chives, Allium schoenoprasum

Common name, Botanical name

Characteristics 

The chive plant is a perennial herb and member of the onion family (Allium). It forms small bulbs from the roots. The leaves of the plant are tapering, hollow and cylindrical and have a soft texture. The chive plant grows in clumps and produces large pale purple flowers in a dense cluster of 10–30 individual inflorescences.

Uses & Benefits

• Chives are consumed fresh as a culinary herb in a variety of dishes.

• Chives comprise more vitamin A than any other allium family member vegetables.

• They also have some other essential vitamins such as vitamin C, and K.

• The leaves are packed with other B-complex vitamins as well as some essential minerals such as copper, iron, manganese, zinc, and calcium.

• Chive is known to repel a number of harmful insects including aphids, beetles, cabbage worms, Japanese beetles and slugs.