Saturday, July 23, 2011

Flowers from my garden

Shaddy asked if I would share pictures of the flowers in my garden. I made the comment to her that I had many plants with medicinal uses, and wondered if the reason was my pharmacy background. When you look at their history, many plants have been used medicinally. One source said, even today, flowering plants provide almost 25% of the basic ingredients for our modern drugs.

In Oregon, we have had a very wet and cool spring and summer. But I am thankful for these conditions when I see the temperatures in the mid-west and east.

Here are a few of my plants and what they may be, or have been, used for:

Lavender (used as an anti-tussive (for cough) and an antiseptic) 


Yarrow (helps calm eczema)


 Foxglove (digitalis - regulates the heart)

 

Echinacea (stimulates the immune system)



Rose (promotes blood circulation) 


 Begonia (promotes blood circulation)


Magnolia (useful for asthma)



 Hydrangea (used for urinary tract infections)


Jacob's Ladder (treatment for dysentery, toothache, animal bites)


 Sage (has been used for its healing properties, and recently evaluated for the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease)


Mint (used to treat stomach aches, chest pain and as a diuretic)


 Day lilies (some of these flowers are edible, but some are poisonous)

 


Iris (has been used in aromatherapy, as a sedative, and as an anti-cancer agent)


Gunnera (this plant is wonderfully odd with its huge leaves.  It has been used for many things including as a topical wound dressing)



Disclaimer: Before you try any of these for their medicinal uses, please consult a health care professional!
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6 comments:

  1. Natasha AlexanderJuly 23, 2011 at 11:09 AM

    Wow, this is so interesting! Gorgeous pics and your garden must be spectacular! I've never seen Gunnera before. I didn't realize that magnolia would grow in Oregon.

    And I second your disclaimer: I think foxglove is poisonous if you just start chawing on it, so don't...

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  2. AnonymousJuly 23, 2011 at 3:14 PM

    Oh my gosh!! Your wide variety of flowers are gorgeous. Your garden must be humungous! I'm so thankful that you photographed them and shared them here.

    Thank you so much, Linda.

    Your friend,
    Shaddy

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  3. Linda McMannJuly 24, 2011 at 7:46 PM

    Hi Natasha! Yes, the disclaimer is VERY important! Chawin' any of these plants would be dangerous! The magnolia tree that shades the patio is kind of sparse, but the flowers are beautiful. They are just now starting to bloom. I think we are about a month behind in the growing season because of our wet and cool weather, based on my tomatoes, grapes and apples. But much preferable than the heat!

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  4. Linda McMannJuly 24, 2011 at 7:49 PM

    Shaddy - we have two acres and lots of room to plant! Takes a lot of work to keep it up, which is apparent in my lack of writing this summer! Hope you are enjoying your beautiful back yard.

    ReplyDelete
  5. WalkJuly 25, 2011 at 4:24 PM

    Beautiful plants, your yard must be beautiful. It's interesting how so much of nature will treat our different aliments. Kinda like someone planned it that way.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Linda McMannJuly 25, 2011 at 10:26 PM

    Yep, I'm thinking that too! Thanks for the visit, Walk!

    ReplyDelete

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