The Apothecary Garden

Eight herbs to begin a medicinal garden. Each one chosen because it is useful, reliable, and well-suited to a first-time grower in a temperate Australian climate.

“The best time to start a herb garden is before you need it.”

SEASON Autumn/Winter

SOW March – June

SEEDS 8 varieties

LEVEL Beginner friendly

What’s in the pack

Each variety selected for ease of establishment, medicinal value, and relevance to a home apothecary.

• Calendula

The workhorse of the medicinal garden. Anti-inflammatory, skin-healing, and endlessly generous with its flowers. Sow in autumn for a long spring season.

• Lemon Balm

A calming nervine that establishes quickly and self-seeds freely. Makes an excellent tea and is one of the most rewarding herbs for new growers.

• Chamomile (German)

Delicate and useful in equal measure. Harvested for its flowers, which dry beautifully and keep their potency well.

• Marshmallow

A tall, handsome perennial with roots used for soothing respiratory and digestive complaints. Slow to establish but long-lived.

• Valerian

A classic sleep and anxiety herb. The flowers are fragrant and attractive to pollinators; the roots are harvested in year two.

• Red Clover

A beautiful and underrated medicinal herb, rich in isoflavones and gentle enough for everyday use. Fixes nitrogen in the soil as it grows.

• Plantain (Broad Leaf)

One of the most practical herbs a grower can have. The leaves are a first-aid standby — drawing, soothing, and easy to harvest fresh.

• Self Heal

A low-growing perennial that earns its name. Used topically and internally, and happy to spread gently through a garden bed.

NOTES FROM NAOMI

Why I chose these herbs

When I was putting together the first FarmacyCo Apothecary Garden pack, I wanted to choose herbs that were practical, forgiving and genuinely useful. These are the plants I recommend most often to beginners not because they are the most dramatic or the most exotic, but because they grow well in our climate, they reward attention, and they earn their place in a garden year after year. Every one of them has been part of my practice in some form: in a treatment room, in a kitchen, or growing quietly in a bed at FarmacyCo while I work out what to do with them next. I hope they become as familiar to you as they are to me.

WHAT ELSE IS IN THE BOX

Bonus content

The seeds are just the beginning. Each pack includes:

• Seasonal growing notes — what to sow, when, and how deep. Written for Victorian conditions.
• Medicinal herb bed layout — a simple diagram for arranging the eight herbs in a productive 1.2m bed.
• Winter herb tea recipes — five blends using herbs from the pack, with tasting notes.
• Harvesting guide — when to harvest each herb, what part to take, and how to dry it.
• Herb profile cards — one card per herb with botanical name, key uses, and a note from Naomi.
• Access to a seasonal video from FarmacyCo — a short film from the farm with growing tips for the season.