M R Gardens: Beneficial flowers, medicinal herbs and native wildflowers at Oakley Farmers Market Thursday

Monday, May 4, 2015

Beneficial flowers, medicinal herbs and native wildflowers at Oakley Farmers Market Thursday

Look for M R Gardens at the Oakley Farmers Market on Thursday from 3:30 to 6:30. In addition to vegetable transplants, I have several beneficial flowers, medicinal herbs and native wildflowers, including:

Angelica archangelica: Beneficial, culinary and medicinal herb. Used for bronchitis and chest complaints, to relieve cramping and to enhance circulation. Photo courtesy of Christian Fischer.

Balloon flower: Used in Chinese medicine to eliminate phlegm, relieve cough, reduce inflammation, lower blood pressure and blood sugar, and improve immunity. Photo courtesy of Kurt Stueber.

Bergamot Bee Balm: Beneficial, medicinal, native perennial. Used for colds and sore throats, as a sedative, and as a tonic against depression, among other ailments. Photo courtesy of Wolfgangw.

Spotted Bee Balm: Beneficial, medicinal, native perennial. Used for a variety of ailments. Photo courtesy of Ted Bodner.

Caraway: Beneficial, culinary and medicinal biennial. Mainly used for improved digestive health.

Lance-leaved Coreoposis: Beneficial, native perennial or self-seeding annual. Photo courtesy of Kenpei.

Feverfew: Medicinal. Mainly used to treat migraines.

Lemon Balm: Medicinal. Used for fevers, colds and cough, depression, headaches, upset stomachs, insomnia and herpes.

Lovage: Beneficial, edible, medicinal perennial. Mainly used for improved digestive health.

Mugwort: Medicinal perennial. Mainly used to encourage menses, relieve menopausal symptoms and improve digestion.

Sneezeweed: Beneficial, native perennial. Common name is based on former use of dried leaves for snuff, inhaled to cause sneezing that would supposedly rid the body of evil spirits. Photo courtesy of Dietzel.

Stinging Nettle: Medicinal and edible perennial. Highly nutritious herb that can be used in place of cooked spinach.

Tulsi: Medicinal self-seeding annual. Tea is said to have many health benefits, including helping the body cope with stress.

Photo courtesy of Vicki Burick.

In addition, I have vegetable starts:

Tomatillos
Tomato, disease-resistant: Defiant and West Virginia 63
Tomato, heirloom: Cherokee Purple, Ruby Orr (yellow), West Virginia 63 (orange)

Tomato, plum: Striped Roman

Tomato, cherry: Sweet and Matt's Wild (disease-resistant)

Pepper, jalapeno

Pepper, sweet: Sweet Big Red, Olympus, Corno di Taro

Basil: Sweet Thai

Customers' comments

"Working with no-till beds was a completely new experience for me. What looked like a mound of leaves was pushed aside to reveal true garden alchemy months in the making. Looking at the rich, crumbly earth, you could just tell this was good stuff! After I pushed the garden fork in the earth with absolutely no resistance, I was hooked. I had to know how to replicate this in my home garden." —Brooke of West Asheville, N.C., M R Gardens volunteer

"Part of my retirement dream was having gardens all around our new house. Before I met Megan, I could visualize my gardens but was completely stuck when it came to implementing my vision. She listened to my vision and was able to create a design that reflects what I saw. Most importantly she taught me how to rebuild the topsoil that was graded away during the building of our house. The day we started working on preparing the beds, I felt deeply that we were healing the damaged earth by layering the organic compost and leaves to decompose over the winter."—Susan of Rutherfordton, N.C., M R Gardens client

"Great organic gardener with a wonderfully organized approach to provide plants at the right time for gardeners to plant for best results."—Colleen of Asheville, Long-time customer

"Friendly and calm in the chaos of the Asheville Herb Sale. Many thanks!."—Asheville Herb Fest customer.

"Love having a local, native plant connection who has knowledge and inventory!"—Jay, M R Gardens customer

"Megan was very patient with all my questions! Thanks!."—Carol of Black Mountain, N.C.

"Megan is an incredible resource! I consulted with her this past spring on a new garden and was so grateful for her breadth of knowledge of native plants. She offers an incredible variety of natives and coached me through which to select along with growing tips. All are thriving so far, which is completely thanks to her, as I have little experience or talent in this area. I highly recommend her and M R Gardens!." —Melissa of West Asheville

"I don’t know what the secret is, but Megan’s perennials are special, they’re hardy and they come back every year like they are supposed to… even if I am slightly neglectful. I especially appreciate the native species." —Lorraine of Asheville

"I have purchased native plants from M R Gardens for the past two years. They are healthy and happy plants that have really made my garden nicer, and Megan is so helpful and knowlegable about native plants." —Nikki of Asheville

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Monday, May 4, 2015

Beneficial flowers, medicinal herbs and native wildflowers at Oakley Farmers Market Thursday