Get Going on the Garden

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Crimson Sage owner Tina Glaessner is proud of her extensive selection of medicinal herbs, including many hard-to-find plants that are used in Chinese, Ayervedic and Native American medicine. “I want to see people growing their own herbs and developing a relationship with the plants. That is healing in and of itself,” Glaessner says.

Lingle’s Herbs sells organically grown medicinal herbs, too, but they specialize in fine herbs for the table, such as lime-scented lemon balm, Syrian oregano (Origanum syriacum) and Jamaican moujean tea shrub (Nashia inaguensis). John Lingle’s enthusiasm for herb cookery is infectious and inspiring, and he seems incapable of describing an herb without also suggesting several great ways to use it in the kitchen.

Many of the people who grow herbs for a living also nurture dreams of what their plants can do when shared with others. At The Thyme Garden in Alsea, Oregon, owners Rolfe and Janet Hagen stay busy nurturing 650 types of herbs, welcoming visitors to their display gardens and aromatherapy conservatory, and hosting workshops, weddings and group luncheons. “We are quietly growing our visitors’ spirit and conscience,” Rolfe says. “Our mission is to bring the people back into contact with the Earth that supports and takes care of us.” The Thyme Garden makes plenty of plant-people connections by selling 48 types of lavender, 26 sages, 25 basils and 24 types of rosemary.

Sometimes growing all those herbs is too much of a good thing. On Mercer Island, Washington, No Thyme Productions owner Nancy Mencke found herself feeling slightly brain dead from 10 years of propagating scented geraniums, oreganos and a dozen types of thyme. “I have fallen in love again,” Nancy says. This time, the plant that has captured her heart is hen and chicks (Sempervivum tectorum), which can be used medicinally just like aloe. “I just love these guys,” Nancy says. “We’re propagating 30 different kinds.”

As Nancy Mencke has found, there is always something new to discover in the world of herbs. This sentiment is echoed by Jim and Dotti Becker, owners of Goodwin Creek Gardens in Williams, Oregon. The Beckers started out growing and drying flowers, but one plant discovery led to another, and they now offer plants for tea, topiary or even weddings. They also have written books on everlasting flowers and scented geraniums, craft hearts and lavender wands, and have become avid propagators of native herbs and flowers such as fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium). What more could you ask for in a mail-order mentor?

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