Herbs used only for their medicinal or healing qualities were divided by the herbalists in about the fifteenth century into specific groups according to their supposed action upon the human system.
The background of history and legend tells its own story because practical horticulture had a therapeutic side of more excellent value than mere esthetic pleasure. Living in fear of the unknown, our forefathers used charms and omens, herbs and magic to relieve their apprehensions.
Old legends merely amuse us today, and we no longer rely upon folk magic to cure our ills. We depend upon only uniform approved products scientifically processed from wild herbs or drug plants; however, herbs with healing qualities are interesting.
Hyssop
Hyssopus officinalis
An ancient and bitter herb, hyssop first appeared in English gardens in Gerard’s time, about 1568, when it was used as strewing herbs. Bees like the long-lasting purplish-blue terminal spikes of fragrant flowers appearing in late summer.
The aromatic, dark green, narrow, opposite leaves of bitter taste were once used in an infusion for cleansing a sickly system. From Bible times, hyssop has been associated with the bitter drink of the Crucifixion, although modern research questions this identification, preferring marjoram
The healing elements of the plant occur in a volatile oil in the leaves.
Culture—Tolerant of the sun or part shade, hyssop grows best in alkaline soil and is not too rich. It will make a compact bush ultimately about three feet wide if left unclipped and unshaped.
Horehound
Marrubium vulgare
It is called white horehound in England because it is covered with a white woolly pubescence; this is a medicinally fragrant, decorative, shrubby perennial.
The small, white, tubular flowers are arranged in dense but widely spaced bristly whorls; the sepals have stiff pointed tips which cling to the fur of passing animals or one’s clothing, a way of distributing the seed.
The stems are square, whitish, and pubescent, bearing wrinkled, deeply veined opposite leaves. An infusion of the leafy tips, sweetened with honey, makes a cough syrup.
Culture—Horehound thrives best in poor, sandy, but well-drained soil in a sunny location.
Tansy
Tanacetum vulgare
A tall-growing, handsome, crisp-looking perennial of about three feet, tansy bears conspicuous flat cymes of rayless yellow flowers in late summer. The rich green leaflets are pinnate, toothed, and arranged in a fern-like pattern on smooth, grooved herbaceous stems.
The leaves smell somewhat like camphor and have a bitter, aromatic taste. Tansy tea was an old-time remedy, but today the plant is naturalized in gardens primarily for ornament.
However, the leaves are sometimes used to make moth repellents combined with cloves, rosemary, and thyme.
Culture—Of the most accessible culture, tansy will grow in any soil under almost any conditions. It grows fast from seed and spreads.
Balm
Melissa officinalis
An introduction from southern Europe, the balm has a pungent lemon scent that is particularly alluring to bees in early spring. It is perennial with upright, branching, four-sided stems bearing opposite, broadly ovate, acute, and more or less hairy leaves.
The pale yellow flowers of little ornamental value appear in the leaf axils from June to October. A handful of leaves, dried or fresh, may be steeped in hot water for ten minutes and sweetened with honey to make a refreshing tea, aromatic and faintly astringent, which will prove stimulating to one having a feverish cold.
A sprig of the balm is pleasant too in iced or hot tea.
Culture—Balm is quickly grown from seed in any light sandy soil. It does well in sun or partial shade in a sheltered position.