Florabunda Seeds - View and order from our Wildflower, Cottage Garden, Heirloom & Unusual Varieties Seed Catalog.

Medicinal and Culinary Herbs

Items 232-239

Florabunda continues to feature a selection of Medicinal and Culinary Herbs, as they are an important element of historic gardening. The herbs have been chosen to not only look good in your garden but also for their medicinal properties which are increasingly important today. They have stood the test of time and remain favourites to this day.

232. ECHINACEA/ PURPLE CONEFLOWER Echinacea purpurea
Used historically by the Plains Indians for snake bites and as a blood purifier. Receiving wide acclaim in modern times as an immune system strengthener and is used to "nip a cold in the bud". Tincture can easily be made from the 3 yr. old roots. Magnificent rose-purple flowers with bristly orange-coned centres. Ht.1 m, Sp. 30 cm. D.S. in fall-winter or refrigerate seed in pots 60 days before sowing. Perennial. N.O
$3.00

233. GERMAN CHAMOMILE Matricaria recutita
Preferred by many for the best herbal tea, this annual produces dainty, daisy-like flowers of white with yellow centres and finely dissected leaves. Dubbed the ‘plant physician’, it has been used for centuries to calm nerves, strengthen the stomach or freshen a room. Given full sun to part shade it will grow 70 cm high and will self-seed. Annual
$3.00

234. CATNIP Nepeta cataria
Known to humans for thousands of years to relieve the “evils that a man has about his throat”, this gray green leafed perennial grows to a height of 90 cm and flowers from July to September. Flowers are .1 to 2 cm long tubes, white with pinky purple spots. Cats love the smell of its aromatic leaves and often are seen rolling around on it or chewing the leaves to release its heavenly aroma. Give it average, sandy soil and it will bring both you and your cat years of pleasure. Perennial. Zones 3-7. I.
$3.00

235. ITALIAN LARGE LEAF BASIL Ocimum basilicum
Grown in the "flowery meads' of Italy's pleasure gardens in the 1200s. This variety is sweeter than others, lacking the heavy clove undertones of some basils. Leaves are large (also known as lettuce leaf basil), medium to dark green. Ahigh yielding pesto-type basil. Ht. to 50 cm. Sp. 30 cm. Good soil. D.S. Tr. Annual
$3.00

236. BEEFSTEAK PLANT Perilla frutescens crispa nankinensis
Native to India and western China, this annual herb has been used in Asian cooking and pickling since 500 AD. A member of the mint family, and a relative of basil and coleus, it will selfseed if you let it flower. Frilly burgundy foliage grows 75 cm tall and 60 cm wide in good garden soil in full sun or part shade. Great contrast for borders. Pre-chill seed or sprinkle it on soil in autumn. D.S.
$3.00

237. SELF HEAL Prunella grandiflorum
3.5 cm long whorls of purple flowers bloom June to August on 20 cm stems. Amember of the mint family, it will thrive in any good soil and is a useful astringent and general strengthener. Try them on a slope, in a meadow or at the front of the border. Perennial. D.S. early. Re-seeds readily. Ht. 45 cm. Sp. 30 cm. Zones 5-8
$3.00

238. CLARY SAGE (Muscatel Sage) Salvia sclaria
A fetching biennial with long-lasting mauve flowers that bloom fully all along 70 cm stems, large heart-shaped leaves and a pungent grapefruit scent used as a perfume fixative and flavouring in Muscatel wines. Sun, well-drained sail. D.S. in flowering site in spring. Ht. 1 m, Sp. 45 cm. II. Zone 5-9.
$3.00

239. MOTHER OF THYME, WILD THYME Thymus serpyllum
Brewed as a tea, thyme has been known to relieve shortness of breath, congested lungs, stomach cramps, whooping cough and asthma. This low growing plant will form a heavenly carpet of deep purple when in flower. It was once planted as a bed for fairies. Thriving on poor soil, thyme needs temperatures of 20 degrees to germinate. Perennial. Zones 4-9. Tr.
$3.00