29 Herbs and Flowers in the Garden this Summer

Columbines
I did plant these a few years ago from seed and this is the first year I've been around to see them flower! What an intricate flower! And it's the state flower of Colorado, even better!

Forget-Me-Nots
It's funny that these are the state flower of Alaska since they are so tiny and Alaska is so giant! But they are the sweetest little things. They do get the prickliest little seed pods though that get all stuck in your socks and gloves when you try to weed. Or in your cats fur ( :

Foxgloves
I planted a few of these from seed around the yard. They are biennials from my understanding but I let them go to seed and usually get a few flower stalks each year from them reseeding themselves. They aren't prolific though so don't take over like some of my other "reseeders." I also always find these flowers to be really powerful, I was told as a kid that if you ate one flower you would die of a heart attack right on the spot!

Valerian
I have about 4 Valarian plants around the yard all started from seed in the greenhouse. This lovely lady is the oldest and most mature and she's quite a show in the early summer. Some people think Valarian smells bad but I personally like the smell. I have never dug up the roots but they can be used in a tea to get some better sleep. I usually don't have trouble with that though...

Poppies
Another one I started from seed and this plant gets bigger and has more flowers every year! But the beauties are so fleeting... You only get a few days of the orange and purple flowers before they're gone.

Salvia
I had a ton of these in the yard when I first moved into the house and they survived my college party years when I didn't give a shit about gardening or keeping things alive. They are very hardy plants that can handle neglect and are great for xeriscaping. Bees also love them!

Motherwort
A stately herb. I just love the way they look. Kind of like a magic wand. I have never gotten one to grow/ stay alive from seed, so I transplanted this one from a patch behind my house.

California Poppies
I'm from California so I figured I had to start some of my own from seed. They reseed themselves every year but really need the perfect spot with lots of sunlight to do well. I think I found that spot ( :

Flaming Torch
I planted 2 of these as potted plants, not from seed. And they can get big and now 3 years later get about 10 torches or more per plant! Really a cool addition and a Colorado native.

Wild Rose
After our trip to Alaska I was hooked on the Nootka Rose. I collected tons of wild rose petals throughout our travels and still have a beautifully smelling jar of them that I add to my teas for a special touch. I couldn't find the exact wild cultivar but this plant makes me feel like I'm close.

Feverfew
Talk about an over achiever! This plant will take over in your garden and you have to prune it back a lot. I find it all over now and have to pull it up when it tries to make its home in places I don't want it. But it does a great job of looking gorgeous and healthy and full of life and fills up the spaces I have it really well. The flowers and i think the leaves too can be made into a tea for headaches.

Calendula
These pretty ladies smell good, flower just about all year, and can be used for a number of medicinal purposes. A great addition to the garden. They love light more than shade.

Anise Hyssup
These guys can get big and take over sort of like the feverfew but they smell so good, make a delicious licorice flavored tea and the bees love them. So keep up on their spreading nature and you'll have a great plant!

Onion
Sometimes I don't pull all my onions. In fact I usually let at least some of all of my plants go to seed just to see what will happen. Maybe I'll have less work on my hands and won't have to replant next year I hope. That's true for these beauties that have been in my husbands family for well over 100 years. His grandmother brought them here from the Basque country when she was young and fleeing the Bombing of Guernica.

Echinacea
These immunity boosting herbs are beauties aren't they? I planted them from seed too. And they get fuller every year which is something I really appreciate in a plant. They are also trippy when you look at that beautiful spiral in their seed heads. I haven't dug them up for their roots but that's where the medicinal magic lies I'm told.

Sunflower sprouting from the inside!
Who doesn't love sunflowers? I like to leave them around for the little songbirds to eat the seeds out of in the fall. The cat likes that too I think.

I forget what these are called
I planted these just this year so really am at a loss for what the name of these is but they look a lot like the columbine, very intricate like that.

Beautiful Borage
I have not gotten around to picking these and candying them but people always bring that up as something to do with them. They are also medicinal but like most of my plants I just like to grow them and know that I have them in case I need them. I'm bad about actually getting around to using them as medicine. I guess that means I'm healthy right?

Sweet Anne’s Lace
I didn't plant these. They are volunteers this year. You can tell they are not the poisen variety because of the purple in the center of the flower. They can be used as a medicinal herb but I'm more interested in using them for some natural fabric dyeing that I'm slowly getting my feet wet in.

Cosmos
Planted these from a starter plant. I've always wanted cosmos in the garden. They are such playful plants in my mind.

Elderflowers
When I bought the wild rose after our Alaska trip I also picked up this elderberry plant. It's already taller than me so I figure that means it likes it's spot! Didn't use the flowers for anything this year and need to get my second (much smaller) plant to bloom and cross pollinate with it in order to get elderberries but if I stay in this house another year I figure that'll happen.

Black Eyed Susan
Finally I have a healthy black eyed susan! I have tried to grow this from seed for 4 years in a row now and nothing makes it past transplanting so I finally gave up and bought a started plant. I think she's going to get big and flourish now!

Morning Glory
These can get pesky. They are beautiful but a bit like that really vicious bind weed and can get all up in your other plants business so be careful where you put these.

Asters!
Also got these from started plants and just love them. Such great color.

Fennel
Started my fennel from seed. This is his first year in the garden so we'll see how he fairs through next season. He should grow into a nice thick patch if I'm not mistaken.

Mary Jane grown all year from a gifted seed planted out in the garden
Growing indoors is so lame when you can get a plant this beautiful and healthy with so little work and zero electricity bill.

Nasturtium
I try to sneak these flowers into our salads all the time but Rob always pulls them out because he thinks its weird to eat flowers. But they make it so pretty!

Hopi Tobacco
Yeah I'd hoped that I was growing smoking tobacco but found out that this very sacred plant is not really for inhalation purposes. It's to be burned for ceremony and offered as gifts to the gods, not to be rolled up in a spliff or as blunt paper... I'm going to order other seeds for that... But I can use this to battle the aphids on my brassicas!

Hope you liked them, the bees and I did! Can you believe I fit that much variety into one yard?! And there are plenty of others I didn't get pictures of. Just helps you realize how amazingly diverse nature is!