What to plant in my Herb Garden?

I typed this up a few days ago but wanted to share it for blooming Tuesday this week. When I can start making lists and plans like this it means that SPRING IS IMMINENT!!!!!

Thanks to Jean at Mrs. Green Thumb for hosting Blooming Tuesday - see her blog at http://msgreenthumbjean.blogspot.com/ to see other participants!

I have been planning our garden and yard this past week. I love this time of year to look at seed magazines and decide what is happening in our little garden.
I have been studying what type of herbs I want to plant and that can live in a zone 4. These are herbs that can be used for cullinary but have medicinal benefits as well.

Here is my list so far:
Basil - bite pain, cramps, nausea, indigestion, headache, fever, calmative
Dill - sedative, insomnia, gas, cramps,stress
Marjoram - nausea, toothache, sprains, joints
Mullein - skin irrations, burns, antiseptic
Parsley - blood sugar, bites, swelling, nerves
Peppermint - headaches, antiseptic, sinus/bronchial congestion. digestion, gas
Sage - depression, yeast or blood infection, congestion, diarhea, fever
Plants
Alfalfa - minerals, detox, builds blood, joints, diuretic (May plant along outside fence area)
Cayenne Peppers - antiseptic, sore throat, bleeding, ulcers, pain
Onion - sprins, respirtory congetsion, diabetes
Garlic - antibiotic, anti viral,adust blood pressure,
Dandelion - digestion, liver, blood sugar
There are other plants as well, but they can't be grown here, so I will need to either have ahouse plant or stock up on the herb.
Aloe Vera - speeds healing, antispetic, digestion, burns, skin ailments
Cinnamon - antibiotic, antiviral, antifungal, diabetes, ulcer, nausea, ulcers, cramps
Cloves - toothache, nausea, gas, mild depression, insect repellent
Ginger - great to take baths in when sick
Nutmeg - diarhea
Oats - nervous exhaustion, depression, shingles, eczema
Olive Leaf - antibiotic,anti viral, enerby, lower blood pressure

The Snow IS Melting!!!

I can not help myself - the snow is melting and I am so excited! I had to take a picture of my pond. The ice is gone for the first time in months and my fish are HUGE!

This is how it looked last fall, so excited to dig in the dirt again!

Thanks for Outdoor Wednesday to share this! Check out http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/ to see the other participants.

Waterless Pond and Rock Wall Idea

Thanks to Mrs. Green Thumb for hosting Blooming Tuesday - see her blog at http://msgreenthumbjean.blogspot.com/ to see other participants!

We spent last week in St. George , Utah where it is warm and very dessert. I loved this waterless pond and would love to put one like it in our entry area. (We are still under snow here.)

This rock wall was also at the house we stayed at. Here is apicture of a tall version, I took it to see more detail and a smaller height in the second picture.

I want to put a planter like this in our side yard.

Heading for ST. George, Utah

This weekend our #2 daughter is blessing our #3 grandson. We are leaving snowy Idaho to find the sun! It is 14* right now here and 43* there. I post again on February 23. See you next week!

The Side Yard - Before and After

Sorry scanner not working - I had to use my digital camera to get duplicate pictures.

This is our side yard. When we first moved in the tree's were small and we had grass. As the tree's got bigger the grass died and we had a mess. This is what we came up with and we all love it!

This is Before - Looking out to south into our back yard

Picture in about 2002

This is after we leveled it and added dirt

Picture in 2003 - Looking South

Picture in 2004 - Looking South

The picture at the top of the blog is from 2007 and is looking north into the same area from the other direction. More pictures at bottom of blog.

The Bistro - Before and After

Sorry scanner not working - I had to use my digistal camera to et duplicate pictures.

The area against the house on the south side had some plants growing. It was so hot against this side of the house they were the only thing that would grow. I don't know what they were as the people who lived here previously planted them.

I was looking out the window one day and realized we needed a place to eat our breakfast outside and a place I could read my scriptures in the sun in the mornings in the spring, summer and fall. One thoought led to another and the Bistro was born.

This is the best before picture I have of the area.

This is our after picture. I plant everything in here in pots and in the colors of red and yellow. I would like to put up a permanent covering this summer.

Play Yard / Back Fence Area Before and After

Sorry my scanner isn't working so I had to use my digital to duplicate pictures.

The back fence area started out as a few swigs in the ground against the split rail fence. Over the years the lilacs have grown and other shrubs and bushes.
One year we decided to make some theme gardens back there. Now we have the pergebo in the corner, the thinking spot, the miniature garden, the play yard and the fire pit.

Pictures of the Play Yard Area

This is just a few years after we moved in. I wish I would have taken better yard pictures, but all of our children were little and the pictures were more of the children. This pictures shows a bit what it was like.


This is a picture of the play house being painted and the play yard beginning to take shape.

2002

Pickett Fence added 2004

See below for current pictures

Cuttiing Garden Before and After

Cutting Garden Area - Before and After

This area against the house had huge juniper bushes. I don't have a great picture of what they were like before. Our daughter painted the house the spring of 2003 and the picture is taken then. We had a hard time keeping out the grass and spiders, which also meant we had spiders in the basement.

We took out the junipers in the summer of 2003 and put in the cutting garden. Most of the plants came from people who were thinning out their flower beds, so they mean alot to me.

I love this garden, I can see it through our daylight basement windows and it is beautiful. Every plant is a perennial for our area. It changes week to week from bulbs in the spring to asters and mums in the fall. I think I will try and take a picture every couple of weeks this summer.

I couldn't get my scanner to work so I had to use my digital camera to take the pictures of before. So they aren't really clear. My apologies.

Summer 2003

Cleaned Out - We planted things in the fall of 2003
This is the summer of 2004 This is the spring of 2007