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  • GARDEN CALENDAR
    • January winter
    • February to do list
    • March timely tips
    • April 15th last frost
    • May spring frenzy
    • June garden tasks
    • July summer tasks
    • August hot summer
    • September gardens
    • October fall begins
    • November planting
    • December gardens
    • Garden TOPIC search
  • Gardening Articles
    • VEGETABLES >
      • Heirloom Vegetable Seeds, Cool Season
      • Heirloom Vegetable Seeds for Summer Crops
      • Vegetable Love, The Edible Landscape in January
      • Peas Edible Landscape
      • How To Dig A Vegetable Garden - Soil Science And Preparation
      • Warm Season Vegetables & Fruits: Edible Landscaping
      • Growing & Feeding Container Vegetables
      • Organic, Heirloom And Regular Seeds-What To Plant And Why
      • Organic Vs. Chemical Gardening Practices
      • The Quest for the Perfect Tomato
      • Cover Crops and Garlic
      • Tomato Primer the basics
      • Fall Greens for the Edible Landscape
      • Grow Lettuce
      • The Tomato Wars heirlooms vs. hybrids
      • Okra is more than a vegetable
      • Hill of Beans
      • Sweet Potatoes & Yams
      • Seasonal Edible Planting Layouts for Raised Bed Gardens
    • HERBS >
      • Rosemary Darling Of The Kitchen
    • FOOD Health Organics >
      • Eat Local
      • LOCAL food in Mecklenburg
      • Carolina Produce
      • Grow Healthy Kids with Gardening
      • Grow Top 6 Veggies
      • Okra Southern Food
      • Sweet Potatoes
      • Let Us Eat Lettuce
      • Green Leafy Friends
      • Canning Basics 101
      • Snappy Green Beans
      • Tasty Peas
      • Gardener Skin Care
      • Summer Heat Safety
      • Produce Your Produce Grow Guide
    • BULBS, Rhizomes >
      • Coo-Coo for Crocus
      • Bulbs for Spring Planting, Summer Bloom
      • Tall Bearded Irises Dig Divide
      • Bulbs For Fall Planting Spring Bloom In Mecklenburg County And Region
      • Cool Crinum Beat the Heat
      • Silly Scilla! in September
      • Daylily 'Genesta' Tall Blond
    • NATIVE Plants >
      • Natives With Winter Interest
      • Native Plants for All Seasons
      • Ameliorating Habitat Loss
      • Native Plants With Spring Interest
      • Tough Plants for Tough Times
    • Invasive Exotics
    • FAVORITE Plants >
      • Japanese Maple Ferns Black Mondo - A Winning Combination
      • Spring Woodland Gift
      • Winning Perennial Plant Combo
      • How to Stop A Car!
    • FRUIT >
      • Easy Fruit Growing
    • PERENNIAL Flowers >
      • Gardening Basics
      • Seeds for Winter Sowing
      • Right Plant Right Place
      • Black Lenten Rose
      • Trillium
      • Amur Adonis
      • Hosta 'Empress Wu'
      • Wa-Hoo For Waipahu!
      • Chrysanthemum
      • Ranunculus
      • Ragged Robin
      • Toadflax Canon J. Went
      • Spurge Euphorbia
    • SHRUBS, pruning >
      • Pruning Boxwoods
      • Paperbush Edgeworthia
      • Camellia Primer
      • Spider Azalea
      • Garden Borders
    • LAWNS Groundcover
    • GARDEN DESIGN >
      • Rain Gardening
      • Attracting Hummingbirds to Your Garden
    • CONIFERS >
      • White Cedar Cypress
      • Growing Conifers in the South
      • Select Pines for Carolinas
      • Eastern Red Cedar
      • Yews and Plum Yews
      • Hemlocks Tsuga
      • Japanese Cedars
      • Spruces Picea
    • TREES, care, resources >
      • Flowering Apricot
      • Witch Hazel Hybrids
      • Redbud Primer
      • Dogwood Primer
      • Growing Bamboo
      • Crape Myrtle 'Violet Filli'
      • Earth-Friendly Lawn
      • Managing Lawns Environmentally
      • Acer palmatum 'Bihou'
    • SOIL compost >
      • SOIL in the Piedmont
      • SOIL pH guide
      • SOIL Mecklenburg basics
      • Topsoil the dirt about
      • Prep SOIL for transplants
      • Build SOIL fertility
      • Garden Recycling: Yes, No, Yes, No, Yes . . .
      • MICROCLIMATES
      • Heat Wave Garden Tips
      • Why Should We Care about Biodiversity
      • Why Biodiversity Is Slipping Away
      • Plant Hardiness Zones From The USDA (2012 update)
      • Biological Islands for Cleaner Water Purification through Floating Treatment Wetlands
    • BUGS & Insects >
      • YELLOW JACKETS look out!
      • SLUGS a beer fest
      • HORNWORM control
    • WILDLIFE, Varmints >
      • DEER stinky control that works
      • RABBITS defend your garden
      • SQUIRRELS what really works
      • VOLES what will & won't work
      • MOLES what works
      • PESKY 'POSSUMS
      • PESKY RACCOONS
      • SNAKES gracious Alive!
  • Symposium
  • Hort Desk 2
  • HOME
    • About Master Gardener Volunteers
    • Become A Master Gardener Volunteer
    • Demonstration GARDENS
    • 2018 Master Gardener training
    • Publications
  • EVENTS
  • Contact
    • Speaker Request
    • Garden HELP Desk
    • School/Community Garden Consultation
  • GARDEN CALENDAR
    • January winter
    • February to do list
    • March timely tips
    • April 15th last frost
    • May spring frenzy
    • June garden tasks
    • July summer tasks
    • August hot summer
    • September gardens
    • October fall begins
    • November planting
    • December gardens
    • Garden TOPIC search
  • Gardening Articles
    • VEGETABLES >
      • Heirloom Vegetable Seeds, Cool Season
      • Heirloom Vegetable Seeds for Summer Crops
      • Vegetable Love, The Edible Landscape in January
      • Peas Edible Landscape
      • How To Dig A Vegetable Garden - Soil Science And Preparation
      • Warm Season Vegetables & Fruits: Edible Landscaping
      • Growing & Feeding Container Vegetables
      • Organic, Heirloom And Regular Seeds-What To Plant And Why
      • Organic Vs. Chemical Gardening Practices
      • The Quest for the Perfect Tomato
      • Cover Crops and Garlic
      • Tomato Primer the basics
      • Fall Greens for the Edible Landscape
      • Grow Lettuce
      • The Tomato Wars heirlooms vs. hybrids
      • Okra is more than a vegetable
      • Hill of Beans
      • Sweet Potatoes & Yams
      • Seasonal Edible Planting Layouts for Raised Bed Gardens
    • HERBS >
      • Rosemary Darling Of The Kitchen
    • FOOD Health Organics >
      • Eat Local
      • LOCAL food in Mecklenburg
      • Carolina Produce
      • Grow Healthy Kids with Gardening
      • Grow Top 6 Veggies
      • Okra Southern Food
      • Sweet Potatoes
      • Let Us Eat Lettuce
      • Green Leafy Friends
      • Canning Basics 101
      • Snappy Green Beans
      • Tasty Peas
      • Gardener Skin Care
      • Summer Heat Safety
      • Produce Your Produce Grow Guide
    • BULBS, Rhizomes >
      • Coo-Coo for Crocus
      • Bulbs for Spring Planting, Summer Bloom
      • Tall Bearded Irises Dig Divide
      • Bulbs For Fall Planting Spring Bloom In Mecklenburg County And Region
      • Cool Crinum Beat the Heat
      • Silly Scilla! in September
      • Daylily 'Genesta' Tall Blond
    • NATIVE Plants >
      • Natives With Winter Interest
      • Native Plants for All Seasons
      • Ameliorating Habitat Loss
      • Native Plants With Spring Interest
      • Tough Plants for Tough Times
    • Invasive Exotics
    • FAVORITE Plants >
      • Japanese Maple Ferns Black Mondo - A Winning Combination
      • Spring Woodland Gift
      • Winning Perennial Plant Combo
      • How to Stop A Car!
    • FRUIT >
      • Easy Fruit Growing
    • PERENNIAL Flowers >
      • Gardening Basics
      • Seeds for Winter Sowing
      • Right Plant Right Place
      • Black Lenten Rose
      • Trillium
      • Amur Adonis
      • Hosta 'Empress Wu'
      • Wa-Hoo For Waipahu!
      • Chrysanthemum
      • Ranunculus
      • Ragged Robin
      • Toadflax Canon J. Went
      • Spurge Euphorbia
    • SHRUBS, pruning >
      • Pruning Boxwoods
      • Paperbush Edgeworthia
      • Camellia Primer
      • Spider Azalea
      • Garden Borders
    • LAWNS Groundcover
    • GARDEN DESIGN >
      • Rain Gardening
      • Attracting Hummingbirds to Your Garden
    • CONIFERS >
      • White Cedar Cypress
      • Growing Conifers in the South
      • Select Pines for Carolinas
      • Eastern Red Cedar
      • Yews and Plum Yews
      • Hemlocks Tsuga
      • Japanese Cedars
      • Spruces Picea
    • TREES, care, resources >
      • Flowering Apricot
      • Witch Hazel Hybrids
      • Redbud Primer
      • Dogwood Primer
      • Growing Bamboo
      • Crape Myrtle 'Violet Filli'
      • Earth-Friendly Lawn
      • Managing Lawns Environmentally
      • Acer palmatum 'Bihou'
    • SOIL compost >
      • SOIL in the Piedmont
      • SOIL pH guide
      • SOIL Mecklenburg basics
      • Topsoil the dirt about
      • Prep SOIL for transplants
      • Build SOIL fertility
      • Garden Recycling: Yes, No, Yes, No, Yes . . .
      • MICROCLIMATES
      • Heat Wave Garden Tips
      • Why Should We Care about Biodiversity
      • Why Biodiversity Is Slipping Away
      • Plant Hardiness Zones From The USDA (2012 update)
      • Biological Islands for Cleaner Water Purification through Floating Treatment Wetlands
    • BUGS & Insects >
      • YELLOW JACKETS look out!
      • SLUGS a beer fest
      • HORNWORM control
    • WILDLIFE, Varmints >
      • DEER stinky control that works
      • RABBITS defend your garden
      • SQUIRRELS what really works
      • VOLES what will & won't work
      • MOLES what works
      • PESKY 'POSSUMS
      • PESKY RACCOONS
      • SNAKES gracious Alive!
  • Symposium
  • Hort Desk 2
HERB Uses, History, Essential Oils 
Herbs and essential oils have been used to treat a wide variety of ailments and injuries for thousands of years.  Since the dawn of the twentieth century, refinement of synthetic prescription medication and increased sophistication of our medical system have changed the way we approach health care.  
All things natural
But a resurgence of interest in all things natural, aided by the internet of course, and a steady supply of quality herbal products, has led us back to tried and true practices of old.  As Master Gardeners, our goal is always to educate and we appreciate your interest in this subject.
Cautions about herb use 
But before putting any of this information into practice, be sure to read to the end where we list warnings and contraindications for use. Checking resources here and asking your doctor always. 
Two authors, Banbury and McCracken take a look at herbs from the historical, cultivation, cultural and medical uses standpoint. Often providing two articles on the same herb - read them both for a well-rounded perspective.   
Find more on Herbs Culinary, Cultivation & Harvesting here
herbs medicinal
Bay Laurel Essential Oil: Keeping The Immune System Healthy
Tonya Banbury

Basil Essential Oil: Memory & Concentration 
Tonya Banbury


Basil: Cultivation, Culinary, Medicinal and History of the 2003 Herb-of-the-Year
Maureen McCracken


Comfrey: A Controversial Herb  Cultivation, Uses, Cautions  
Maureen McCracken

Comfrey: The Best Known Healing Herb
Tonya Banbury


Eucalyptus Essential Oils: Treatments For Skin Conditions And Respiratory Systems
Tonya Banbury


Eucalyptus in the Landscape and Cough Drops: Cultivation and Medicinal Use
Maureen McCracken
 Geranium, Pelargonium Odoratissimum Essential Oils: A Fresh Rose-Like Scent
Tonya Banbury

German Chamomile Essential Oils: Anti-Inflammatory Properties
Tonya Banbury

German Chamomile: Herbal Tea And Treatments
Culture, Medicinal Herbs
Maureen McCracken


Goldenseal, Hydrastis Canadensis L.: A Long And Colorful Folk History Native Plant 
The History, Medicinal Uses and Cultivation of 
Maureen McCracken

 
​
Goldenseal, Hydrastis Canadensis: In The Herbalist's Medicine Cabinet
Tonya Banbury
 


Perilla, P. Frutescens: An Interesting And Valuable Addition To The Garden
The Medicinal, Culinary, History, Cultivation
Maureen McCracken

Rosemary - Darling Of The Kitchen Is A Workhorse In Aromatherapy
Tonya Banbury

Thyme, With Culinary, Medical And Aromatherapy Uses
Tonya Banbury 

Yarrow Essential Oil,
 A Pretty Healer
Tonya Banbury 






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