The Gardening Club The Garden Club was created to help us with the maintenance of the medicine garden while creating an inheritance plan of responsibility for yeas to come and to provide an opportunity for interested community members to learn about native plant species and how they can be used. Currently, we are [...]
Bee balm or Monarda fistulosa, is a perennial herb. This herb contains an antiseptic that is commonly found in mouth washes. It was used by the Blackfoot to help treat infections on both the skin as well as in the mouth and throat (was used as tea). Bee Balm is part of the [...]
One of the concerns we received about our garden is that our perennial plants are dying, and we want to clarify that they are not. Despite the hail in August and frost this last week, most of our plants have developed well. We observed new foliage in our dogwood, stinging nettle and Tobacco [...]
Sweet grass is an aromatic herb. Scientifically it is known as Hierochloe odorata, but more commonly it is known as vanilla grass for its distinctly sweet smell. The most common use of sweet grass is by the indigenous people of Canada and the United States. It is used for basket making, its aroma, and [...]
On Monday, the medicine garden team and Dr. McLean reunited to tidy up the garden. They worked together to remove weeds, add soil to level the ground and add mulch to the hedge. They hope they can finish adding mulch this coming Friday. Everyone who has time on Friday, September 17th, from 8:30 am [...]
Stinging nettle is a perennial herb scientifically known as Urtica dioica. The family Urticaceae is known as the nettle family and the genus name comes from Latin uro meaning “I burn”. Stinging nettle can cause skin irritation when handled - symptoms include intense burning and itching sensation but don't worry the sensation only lasts [...]
Although we planted Prairie turnip (Psoralea esculentum) in our medicine garden you won’t see it until next spring. Prairie Turnip becomes dormant after flowering & loses its stems and leaves (see top right photo). While it is dormant (not actively growing) it's not dead but will regrow from its roots with the arrival of [...]
On Saturday, our students with Dr.Mary Ann McLean reunited to talk about what to do with the area in the garden's center. Our students suggested that it would be interesting to include non-native medicinal plants that were introduced into Canada. To include non-native medicinal plants in the garden, some plants already in the diamond [...]
Now that we have planted the hedges, built the raised beds & filled them with soil we were delighted to start our favourite part of the project, planting forbs & grasses in the raised garden boxes. Note that forbs are non-woody plants with flowers, eg. sunflowers, echinacea & giant hyssop (see last week’s post). [...]
To help our readers learn something about native plants & their uses, we will present a featured plant every week. Today we will introduce our first plant: Giant Hyssop as it is commonly known. Its Scientific Name is Agastache foeniculum. Giant hyssop is a perennial aromatic plant that can grow up to 90-100cm [...]
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