THE MEDICINAL GARDEN
My dad and grandpa were gardeners. They tried to rope me in when I was a kid, but I was more of a bookworm. When I left home, I got more interested in plants through environmental activism. My first gardens were flops, but I loved them.
When I started learning about medicinal herbs, it was a jumble to me. I started small, foraging invasive weeds to reduce their populations and make more room for native plants. Then I focused on growing easy plants. The most important thing is growing plants that are suited to your climate—plants that thrive in your bio-region and nourish the soil.
A lot of medicinal plants are perennials, so you don’t have to start from scratch every year. Mostly I just have to mulch and weed. Mulching is
