WHAT’S IN THE GARDEN?

Growing Season 2021

Please feel free to touch and smell the plants in our herb garden. They have been chosen because our ancestors used them to season their food, cure their ills, or dye their clothes. You are welcome to keep this information for your own use (and, during COVID times, for sanitary purposes).

We are grateful to the Landsberger Foundation for their support of this garden.

1. Basil. A culinary herb mostly used in Italian food. It is a tonic, aid to digestion, used for fever, common cold, stress, blood purifier, treat mouth ulcers and arthritis.

2. Calendula. Also known as ‘Pot Marigold.’ The petals add color in cooking and used as a spice similarly as saffron. It is an annual plant that can reseed. Medicinally, the petals are soothing and is often used in skin creams. They have antiseptic properties and often made into a tincture to treat scrapes and cuts.

3. Catnip. Cats love the scent of the leaves and become intoxicated by it. It’s a short lived perennial used as an insect repellant. Traditionally it was used as an anxiety herb and to treat insomnia, migraines, colds, digestive upsets and gas.

4. Chives. This garden staple has a culinary use, a pretty purple blossom, and an oniony flavor.

5. Dill. Dill dates back to ancient times and came to America with the Puritans who used it to settle sour stomachs and colicky infants. Today, it’s commonly used as a culinary herb.

6. Evening Primrose. The oil made from the blossoms are high in GLA (a fatty acid) that improves the elasticity of the skin, has healing properties, regulates hormones and improves nerve function.

7. Egyptian Walking Onion. Despite its name, there is no evidence that this unusual onion was used by ancient Egyptians. Use the leaves and stalks as scallions or the topsets as onions. In the fall, when the plant dies, the topset falls to the ground and becomes next year’s onions.

8. Fennel. The fennel bulb is used as a vegetable and the dried seeds have the flavor of anise or licorice. The seeds are used for digestive issues and often used as a tea for colicky babies.

9. Feverfew. In the daisy family and used for migraines and other headaches, constipation diarrhea, difficulty in labor and dizziness. Used as an ornamental in gardens.

10. Fleabane. In the daisy family, mostly a pasture weed.

11. Garlic Chives. The leaves on garlic chives are flat, not hollow as in common chives. They’re used in cooking and have a garlicky flavor.

12. Gooseberry. Usually used in pies, cobblers and other baked items – sometimes ripe gooseberries can be added to salads. They’re very tart and often prepared with sugar. They’re an excellent source of antioxidants and Vitamin C.

13. Horseradish. This is a perennial plant of the brassica family. The root has a very hot pungent and bitter flavor used in culinary dishes. As a medicine it has been used for urinary tract infections, kidney stones, as a diuretic for coughs, achy joints and as a vermifuge. It has powerful antioxidant properties. The heat of the herb can help clear sinuses.

14. Hyssop. A member of the mint family, its qualities are antispasmodic, antiparasitic and may have been used for inhalation and an expectorant to help with congestion.

15. Lady’s Mantle. It was believed that water gathers on the leaves was the purest, and was used by alchemists in their quest to turn lead into gold. Its medicinal properties are an anti-inflammatory and astringent – was used for “woman’s problems,” regulating menstruation. The young leaves were crushed to place on wounds.

16. Lavender. A small shrub in the mint family. It can be used as a culinary herb, and is an ornament in gardens the leaves and blossoms are used in sachets for fragrance, soaps and perfumes. Is a repellant for insects. A tea made from Lavender is calmative.

17. Lovage. Lovage is a perennial plant. Its leaves have a celery/parsley flavor and can be used in salads, soups and stews. The roots can be grated and used that way, too. The seeds can be used as a flavoring agent and medicinally act as a diuretic.

18. Marjoram. A cold-sensitive perennial in the labiate family. It is used in cooking, and traditionally was used for runny noses, coughs, and colds. The herb is considered anti- inflammatory and antibacterial, is high in antioxidants, Vitamins A and K, and minerals.

19. Mint. Calming and soothing, it is used for digestive issues, culinary uses in teas and candies. It is frequently used in dishes to add an aromatic cooling taste – such as in tabouli and the mint jelly that traditionally accompanies lamb.

20. Motherwort. Traditionally used l for heart conditions, heart failure, symptoms due to anxiety (a “mother’s heart”), women’s issues, gas, and hypertension. It “gladdens and strengthens the heart” and was considered a uterine tonic.

21. Oregano. First used by the ancient Greeks, oregano has become a staple in our kitchens. Associated with joy, during Elizabethan times it was believed to bring good luck, health, and happiness. Wear it to bed and you’ll have psychic dreams.

22. Poppy. (Oriental Poppy) A perennial, the seeds are used in cooking. The ancient Egyptians used the seeds for pain relief.

23. Rose Campion. Today, rose campion is primarily an ornamental plant. In the past it was used as a diuretic and kidney tonic.

24. Rue. Native to the Balkan, it is used as an ornament and herb. During medieval times, it was used for eye problems and digestive disorders. It has a culinary use, but must be used sparingly because it is very bitter and large doses can cause bad bellyaches. Rue is used in nosegays (a small bouquet of herbs and flowers). Cats hate the smell of rue.

25. Sage. Salvia officionalis is a perennial woody shrub and a member of the mint family. The ancient Romans was believed to ward off evil. It’s frequently used to season stuffing (sage and onion stuffing is a British classic). Traditionally, I was believed to improve mental function, lower blood sugar, and reduce cholesterol.

26. Santolina. Also known as “lavender cotton,” it was used historically to expel parasites and in closets to repel insects. The oils were used in perfumes and the leaves used in potpourris.

27. Summer Savory. Also in the mint family, summer savory Is like winter savory, but is a bit sweeter and is an annual plant. It can be used in a dressing for fowl dishes. The ancient Roman and Greeks considered it as an aphrodisiac. Druids used it as part of their rituals celebrating the fertility of summer. It is high in antioxidants and has anti-inflammatory properties, but it is mostly used in cooking.

28. Tansy. A perennial in the aster family, tansy is native to Eurasia. It was used totreat intestinal worms, digestive problems, and rheumatism. Some people used it as a face wash. Tansy in the US Pharmacopeia for fevers and feverish colds. During Colonial times meat was rubbed with tansy and packed with its leaves to prevent spoilage. Tansy is also used as an insect repellant.

29. Tarragon. This culinary herb, particularly common in French cooking, is known as “the little dragon.” Unlike other herbs that were used by ancient people, tarragon has only been cultivated for about 600 years.

30. Valerian. Valerian would have been in historic gardens as a medicinal plant, but not as a culinary herb. The root is used in medicines for insomnia, anxiety and stress and restlessness, and menstrual cramps. It is a perennial plant.

31. Winter Savory. Another plant in the mint family, winter savory goes well in cooking with beans and meat dishes. People use it as a savory herb in stuffing for poultry. It’s aromatic, antiseptic, reduces digestive gas, and has been used as an expectorant.

32. Wood Betony. Also called woundwort, hedgenettle, bishopswort, wood betony was used as an ancient cure-all. The tea was used for migraines and anxiety. A poultice of the leaves was used for cuts and insect bites. It was used as a digestive, to encourage visions and dreams, and especially to ward off evil spirits. Wood Betony was often cultivated in apothecary gardens in monasteries.

Leave your mark on history. You, too, can leave your mark on history by buying a personalized Heritage Brick for the Legacy Patio that surrounds the herb garden.

This ongoing fundraiser supports the Montclair History Center's educational programs and preservation projects, including this herb garden. Bricks will be installed throughout the year.

Go to www.montclairhistory.org/buy-a-heritage-brick to for more information and to start designing.