12 Best Healing Herbs for the Homestead

One of my favorite things to grow in the garden is medicinal plants and healing herbs. I love growing my own food, but growing and harvesting medicinal herbs is even more amazing!

Why Grow Healing Herbs?

The obvious answer is:

So I can have natural, helpful herbs to support the body with any ailments my family may have! But growing my own medicine is important to me for a few additional reasons:

• Conventional medicine has failed me for chronic health issues. But, natural medicine has helped me relieve my symptoms and address underlying issues.
• Herbal remedies are expensive to buy!
• I have control over the ingredients that will go into my herbal remedies.

But there are other reasons to grow herbs, too:

• Easy to Grow – Many are easy to grow, even for a gardening newbie or someone who thinks they have a black thumb.
• Attractive – I love looking out at the garden to see beautiful blooms mixed in with my veggies.
• Can be Planted with Other Plants – There’s no need to dedicate a space for herbs as they grow fine with other non-herb plants (but you can if that works better for you!).
• Pest Control – Many herbs help repel “bad” bugs and may also attract “good” bugs.

You can see how beneficial it can be to grow your own herbs. But, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed with so much information out there on medicinal plants and their uses.

My advice is to keep it simple. Identify a few common healing plants that you feel will fit your family’s needs and start there. Taking your time to build your home medicine cabinet is better than doing nothing at all!

Best Supportive Herbs and Their Uses

Although I could add so many other herbal plants to this list, these are my must-have healing herbs. They are effective and versatile, and not to mention, beautiful. Each has won a spot in my garden year after year. 

Lavender

If you’ve been here before, you might know that I love lavender. It’s so beautiful and fragrant, I can’t help but run my hands through it when it grows!

It’s also attractive to pollinators and easy to grow, making it a great herb for new gardeners.

Lavender is a gentle but powerful herb. Here are some of the ways Lavender is used:

• Better sleep and calming the mind and body
• Improved memory
• Supports wound care

I have personally noticed some of these effects on myself. I definitely feel calmer when smelling lavender!

How to Use it:

• Infuse lavender buds and leaves in a carrier oil (coconut oil, avocado oil, etc.). You can do this by gently heating the oil and herbs for about 30 minutes or placing in the sun for a few days. An infused oil is a simple way to preserve the medicinal properties of the herb throughout the year.
• I like to add lavender essential oil or infused oil to my skincare products (like deodorant or face wash). Lavender is a perfect scent for anything you use at night.
• Make a healing salve. Gently heat lavender oil and beeswax together. Let cool in a tin or small pot. This can be used to hydrate the skin too.

Calendula

Calendula is also known as pot marigold (not to be confused with French marigold). This herb blooms with the calendar (that’s how it got its name) and is one of my favorite choices for its beauty and versatility. Calendula has many benefits, including the following:

• Reduces swelling
• Supports the immune system
• Soothes cramps
• Supports skin healing

Calendula is a common ingredient in healing salves for both humans and some livestock and pets.

How to Use It:

• Infuse calendula in a carrier oil, and then add it to beeswax to make a homemade herbal salve. Rub it on cuts and scrapes in place of antibacterial ointments.
• A simple tea made with calendula can do so much! Check out this post from The Nerdy Farm Wife on 14 Uses for Calendula Tea.
• Calendula petals are also wonderful additions to a salad. They will brighten up any plate of greens!

Chamomile

Chamomile is a beautiful and easy-to-grow herb to have on hand. It makes a mild but sweet tasting tea which I love to add to my daily rotation of herbal tea.

It also has many medicinal properties. Traditional medicine practitioners have touted the benefits of chamomile for centuries. And now, science is jumping on board, too. Chamomile can:

• support relaxation and sleep
• support healthy blood sugar
• help calm a fussy baby
• soothe the skin when irritated by eczema

Chamomile is a very gentle herb that is wonderful for creating calm in a hectic modern life.

How to Use It:

• Chamomile is an enjoyable herbal plant to make into a tea and drink on a regular basis. The dainty flower heads are easily plucked from the plant and dried on a screen for later use.
• You can also infuse chamomile in a carrier oil to make an herbal salve. This salve would be very calming to irritated skin.
• A chamomile infusion also works well as a hair rinse. Rinsing your hair with a chamomile tea infusion soothes scalp irritation and will naturally lighten hair color.
• When used as a face toner, a chamomile infusion will soothe redness and calm inflamed skin (anti-inflammatory) while minimizing blemishes.

Sage

I love reaching down to rub the bumpy-textured, pale-green leaves of my sage (Salvia Officinalis) plants between my fingers. Many herbs lose their potency as their leaves get larger throughout the season. But, sage is the opposite. The larger the leaves become, the more the flavor intensifies.

For centuries, sage has been celebrated for its cleansing properties. The aroma cleanses and clears my mind, but sage has many other medicinal properties.

• Supports the body in fighting cold and flu
• Helps with swelling and pain
• Helps fights infection

Sage is a delicious culinary herb but also a potent medicinal herb that I use in herbal medicine often.

How to Use It:

• Sage is a wonderful herb to use in the kitchen in fall and winter meals. It aids in the digestion of the heavier and richer entrees of the cooler season.
• But it is also wonderful as a mouth rinse. Make an herbal tea using your fresh or dried sage leaves. Rinse with it twice daily to keep your mouth clear of canker sores and gum irritants.
• Because sage is drying, it is often added to deodorant to help wick away sweat.

Aloe Vera

Aloe vera is fun and easy to grow. I’ve always heard that aloe should be placed in a sunny area but in my experience aloe grows better without direct sunlight.

Because it’s a desert plant, aloe doesn’t need much water. This plant is often associated with sunburn relief but is excellent for a variety of uses including being: 

• moisturizing
• soothing to the skin
• soothes insect bites, rashes, and eczema, and burns
• supports heart health

There are many ways to use the natural health benefits of aloe.

How to Use It:

• Cut a leaf from the base of the plant and slice it open. Using a spoon, scoop out the gel in the center of the leaf, and store it in the refrigerator in a glass jar for up to 4 weeks.
• Apply this fresh gel to any kind of burn, cut, or scrape.
• It can also be eaten (don’t ever eat bottled aloe vera unless you know it’s food-grade). Aloe soothes the insides in the same way it soothes the skin.

Peppermint

One whiff of peppermint will provide all the energy needed to weed and water your garden! Okay…not all the energy you need, but it can definitely give you a boost.

Peppermint is eager to take over the garden, so be sure to give it ample room if planting directly in the earth. This healing herb is best known for its digestive health benefits. But it also provides cooling relief for migraines and headaches. 

How to Use It:

• Drink peppermint tea after a heavy meal to stimulate digestion.
• Since peppermint is energizing, it’s perfect for anything you would use in the shower in the morning. Add peppermint infused oil to shampoo and conditioner. This is great for the scalp and can stimulate hair growth, too.
• You could also make a tincture using fresh peppermint leaves. Tinctures are great for getting all of the healing power of the herb. Tinctures are also convenient to take (usually a few drops under the tongue) and store well.
• Add peppermint leaves to iced tea or lemonade in the summertime. This is a wonderful way to cool down from the inside out.

Thyme

A delightful plant to grow for culinary and medicinal purposes is thyme. It’s an easy-to-grow, sun-loving plant that has been used for ages to boost immunity. The small leaves create a powerful flavor that tastes great added to any chicken or turkey meal.

• Helps support the body in fighting cold and flu
• Supports healthy cell turnover

Additionally, Thyme is a delicious culinary herb that you may already have in your garden or kitchen.

How to Use It:

• Infusing thyme in honey is a delicious way to use this healing herb. Honey alone makes a sweet cold and flu buster, but adding thyme increases the potency of this home remedy. Honey is soothing for sore throats and dry coughs. Adding the immune-boosting properties from thyme will increase your body’s ability to heal itself from whatever bug is ailing you. Add thyme honey to your tea, or enjoy a spoonful throughout the day when you are ill.
• You also might try adding fresh or dried thyme to various dishes and soups. The grounding flavor is satisfying and fresh! Plus, the whole family will receive the antioxidant benefits thyme has to offer — just by eating dinner!

Rosemary

The light, memorable aroma of rosemary shows this herbs potency. Rosemary looks a lot like lavender with its woody stalk and many long, thin leaves.

However, their scents are quite different (though equally lovely). Perhaps most well known for its connection to memory, rosemary is full of healing benefits that extend beyond the brain. 

• Soothes cough
• Supports the nervous system
• Supports cognitive function

Rosemary is also high in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, making it a great addition to any kitchen.

How to Use It:

• Rosemary can be infused in oil to create a healing salve for bruising and minor cuts.
• Commonly paired with peppermint in shampoos and conditioners. This combination smells wonderful and is thought to aid in hair growth and overall thickness.
• Add rosemary to your favorite chicken dish. Or make flavored olive oil for cooking by infusing rosemary sprigs into your cooking oil.

Garlic

This list of medicinal herbs and their uses wouldn’t be complete if garlic were missing. Garlic is rather simple to grow, as long as you have proper drainage and adequate sunlight.

This versatile plant is vital in helping my family get through cold and flu season. Garlic scapes will also lend a whimsical look to any garden, and make a refreshing pesto to add to pasta dishes.

• Helps with swelling
• Supports healthy heart function
• Helps with wound healing
• Supports healthy cell turnover

Garlic is one of my favorite aromatic to add to a dish and also one of the easiest home remedies to use.

How to Use It:

• A simple way to use garlic is to cut a clove in half and rub it on the skin to support healing.
• Chew raw garlic during illness to support the body.
• Make fire cider — a traditional herbal concoction using garlic and other spicy plants. Use this as a remedy to support the body during colds and flu.

Ginger

Ginger is another vital kitchen medicine (and food!) in our home. Ginger’s many health benefits are widely known in the herbal community and have been called upon throughout the ages. It is a favorite for using during colds and cases of flu.

Ginger originates in Asian countries and can be difficult to grow in North America. A ginger plant would certainly need to be brought indoors if you live in a cooler climate. Ginger can:

• help soothe nausea
• support recovery of sore or overworked muscles
• Help soothe menstrual cramps

Ginger is so easy to use and is incredibly delicious!

How to Use It:

• I love to simmer fresh ginger root slices on the stove top when I have a sore throat or stuffy nose. Once the tea is ready to drink add fresh squeezed lemon and honey for a warming, immune boosting drink.
• Another way to use ginger would be to add your ginger tea to a hot bath with Epsom salt to soothe achy, tired muscles, and detox the body.
• Ginger has a naturally warming scent and flavor. Add it to soups and curries when you just can’t shake those chilled-to-the bone winter nights. I also love ginger on cauliflower rice (with some turmeric).

Milk Thistle

If you are looking for a really fun plant to give your garden a lot of character, look no further than the tall and spiky milk thistle. It’s bright pinkish-purple flower heads always make me smile when I see them growing alongside my vegetables. Besides its lively presence, milk thistle has some powerful cleansing and healing properties.

• Supports liver health
• Helps with healthy blood pressure and blood sugar
• Supports healthy cholesterol levels

Milk thistle is a newer herb to me but very powerful and proving its worth in my homestead garden.

How to Use It:

The best way to reap the benefits of milk thistle is to enjoy it as a tea. The flower heads contain roughly 190 seeds, which can be dried and crushed for tea. Steep the crushed seeds and leaves in just-under-boiling hot water to create a cleansing herbal tea.

Feverfew

If you like the petite, daisy-like flowers of chamomile, you’ll love feverfew, too. Feverfew flowers grow from a taller stem than chamomile, and the flowerheads are a bit larger, however, these two healing herbs look quite similar. This herb has traditionally been used for headache relief, and science is just now beginning to back up this and other benefits. Feverfew is used for the following:

• Headache/migraine relief
• Pain relief
• To support healthy cells
• Soothe insect bites
• Relieve toothache pain

Feverfew has many other uses that are being explored as well!

How to Use It:

• One way to use feverfew is by drying the flowers and leaves and then crushing them into a powder. Fill veggie capsules with the powder for a quick and natural migraine relief pill. It is also common to add white willow bark to these capsules. This will create a homemade aspirin — but without the negative side effects!
• Another way to use feverfew is to make it into a tincture. This can be taken internally or applied to the skin to soothe irritating bug bites or rashes.

More Herbal Fun!

In this Ask Me Anything episode my blogger friends and I answer questions about growing herbs. Check it out!

Don’t forget to grab your FREE GIFT too:

Learn How to Grow Herbs Indoors

Also, check out these resources:

Kristi’s blog post: How to Grow Rosemary 
Kristi’s resource: Medicinal Herbs Materia Medica Starter Pack

Shelle’s blog post: https://rockinwhomestead.com/beginning-herb-gardeners/
Shelle’s resource: 27 Culinary Herbs and How to Use Them in the Kitchen 

Healing Herbs: Final Thoughts

We are living in an exciting time for medicinal herbs. For ages, people have been trusting in the wisdom of these (and many other) medicinal herbs. 

What I hope you take away from this is that it is possible to impact your health by growing healing herbs. Our ancestors knew it. And science now demonstrates it.

If you can’t grow your own herbs quite yet, I recommend buying them from a reputable company like this one.

Taking one small step can open up a world of possibilities. So, don’t be overwhelmed. Even just choosing one of these plants to add to your garden would be a great first step. Find one that piques your interest. Spend the entire growing season exploring that one plant’s possibilities and add it to your Materia Medica. I can promise you, you will be happy you did!

My favorite resource for learning more about herbs are:

• Rosemary Gladstar’s Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner’s Guide
• New England Herbal Academy courses (great for in-depth, science-backed herbal information)
• My friend Heidi’s Facebook Group and her beginner’s herbal course and membership site. I’m loving going through this easy to digest herbal information. Heidi is an amazing teacher and presents content with excitement, but she also keeps it down to earth and easy to understand.

Now It’s Your Turn

What are your favorite medicinal herbs and how do you use them?