Not long ago growing culinary herbs in a home garden was regarded as an eccentric thing to do and only the most adventuresome gardeners grew medicinal herbs. Things have changed and more gardeners than ever are growing herbs of all kinds.
Seeds for medicinal herbs are readily available in catalogs and online stores making it easy to get started with medicinal herbs.
There are plenty of books and online resources available for anyone interested in growing medicinal herbs but nothing can replace seeing it first hand.
Over 40 percent of medicines are derived from plants.
For a wonderful introduction to the world of medicinal herbs visit the Medicinal Garden at University of Michigan Matthaei Botanical Gardens. The folks at Matthaei have collaborated with the U of M College of Pharmacy to develop this garden. There you can see many different medicinal plants growing.
The garden is not organized by genus and species as botanists like to do but rather by human body systems: respiratory, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular and more. Other areas of the garden are devoted to disorders such as diabetes, infectious diseases, cancer, etc.
Matthaei Botanical Gardens is located near Ann Arbor at 1800 North Dixboro Road, a half mile or so south of Plymouth Road. They’re open daily from 10 am to 8 pm during the summer season.
Bob