“We built it to add to our sacred space, to add to the beauty,” Levin said of the garden she built four years ago with a peace pole in the center.

The garden is one of several on what used to be a horse farm. She and husband Fred also put in three ponds, one with a water fall, a labyrinth path and a screened gazebo overlooking the medicine wheel garden.

“It just seemed to fit in with the theme: spirituality, sacred space,” she said. “I’ll come out here to sit and meditate. It’s very peaceful.”

Whether it’s a medicine wheel, herb garden or healing garden, more gardeners are selecting plants our forefathers used to relieve everything from coughs to constipation.

Chamomile and valerian will dress up any garden, but chamomile also relieves cold symptoms while valerian will help you fall asleep. Calendula, a disease-resistant, long-blooming summer annual, helps wounds heal when applied to the skin.

Drought-tolerant yarrow, prized for its mid-to-late summer show of tightly-clustered yellow or purple blooms for generations, has been used for cuts and scrapes.

The gray-green leaves of sage have helped many a cook, but did you know sage tea is used as a gargle for a sore throat?

You may have plants with medicinal qualities and not even know it. Common weeds, including red clover nettles are probably in your backyard. Clover relieves skin inflammation and nettle is said to retard bleeding; a handy tidbit to know when you slice open a finger trying to cut these plants back.

“For centuries, herbal doctors in many cultures worldwide have recommended herbs for various health conditions,” said Heather Boon and Michael Smith, co-authors of “The Complete Natural Medicine Guide to the 50 Most Common Medicinal Herbs.”

For more information visit:
http://www.mlive.com/homeimprovement/stories/index.ssf?/base/features-0/1188111225204930.xml&coll=6