One of the books for learning how to grow medicinal plants.

“Growing 101 Herbs That Heal” by Tammi Hartung, Medical Herbalist, 2000, Storey Books

Another of the best books on growing medicinal plants: “The Organic Medicinal Herb Farmer” by Jeff Carpenter with Melanie Carpenter, 2015, Chelsea Green Publishing

By far the two best books on how to grow a wide range of medicinal plants in the U.S. are:

“Growing Plant Medicine, Volume 1” by Richo Cech and Sena Cech, 2022, Herbal Reeds

“Growing Plant Medicine, Volume 2” by Richo Cech and Sena Cech, 2024, Herbal Reeds

Excellent web site on medicinal plants by long time medicinal herbalist Christopher Hobbs.  You can search either by ailment or medicinal plant common name. https://christopherhobbs.com/herbal-therapeutics-database/

Medicinal Plants of the Pacific Northwest – Natalie Hammerquist – Excellent up to date book on medicinal plants that is concise, has great photos, covers many native plants, has good formulas, and explains the healing value of the plants. 

The Washington Native Plant Society has a wealth of information, local chapters, and publishes a great magazine. www.wnps.org

Some native plants are far more valuable for wildlife than others. We now know which ones! Click here to find out…

Professor Tallamy’s work has made it abundantly clear how critical it is that we all grow and help to grow native plants, at home, at our workplaces, in parks, everywhere! Start by taking a look at this great video published in late 2024: A Chickadee’s Guide to Gardening.

Diane: I grew up in the Midwest, so knew all about Monarch butterflies and that they would only lay their eggs on native milkweed plants. But it wasn’t until I read this book that I learned that Monarch’s are not the exception, they are the rule. Fully 90% of all butterfles and moths will ONLY lay their eggs on a specific native plant, that they evolved together with. No native plants, no butterflies, no moths.

Diane: I had no idea until I read this book that it takes around 9000 caterpillars to raise a clutch of songbirds. 9000!!! That is not an extra 0. Even hummingbirds feed their babies caterpillars. Why? Because they have all the many nutrients needed for rapidly growing baby birds. Where do all these caterpillars come from? Butterflies and moths laying their eggs on NATIVE PLANTS. No native plants, no caterpillars, no songbirds.

Yes, when a deer gets hungry enough, it will eat anything. But there are a number of native plants that can withstand some deer browse, or that the adult deer will usually leave alone. Young deer will sample pretty much anything. They have to learn! Click here for Diane’s list of deer resistant native plants.