Native Medicinal Garden
2023 Garden and Learn Days are here! You can look forward to spending one Sunday a month learning about the healing properties of countless native species. Karen is a Master Gardener with an extensive amount of knowledge and experience in this field. For any other Master Gardener’s out there, this is a registered Project Site in Passaic County so please join us and you can add hours worked to your annual requirement for volunteer hours. We will be taking necessary precautions to promote social distancing guidelines while gardening. We hope to see you there! Happy Gardening!
2023 Learn & Tend Dates
April - October
11:30am - 3:30pm
April 16
May 21
June 11
July 16
August 13
September 17
October 22
Seed Sale
You can start your own medicinal garden with seeds harvested right here in West Milford. Karen has been harvesting seeds for the past two years. In addition to individual packets, Karen has also created seed bombs- just toss and water!
These seeds should be cold stratified, which means they need cold, moist conditions to germinate. We recommend planting them in the fall so that they germinate during the winter. If you prefer to wait until Spring, store the seeds in the refrigerator and cold stratify prior to planting.
Black Cohosh - Cimicifuga Racemosa
Perennial
Part shade, full shade
Most, acidic, rich soil
blooms June through September
Evening Primrose - Oenothera Biennis
Night-flowering biennis
Full sun, part shade, full shade
Well-drained soil
Blooms July through September
Echinacea - Enchinacea Purpurea
Perennial
Full sun, part shade
Well-drained soil
Blooms June through September
Milkweed - Asclepias syriaca
*Host plant for every stage of the Monarch butterfly
Perennial
Full sun
Average to dry soil
Blooms June to September
Motherwort - Leonurus Cardiaca
Perennial
Full sun to partial shade
Moist, fertile soil
Blooms July through September
Yarrow - Achillea Millefolium
Perennial
Full sun, part shade, full shade
Well-drained soil
Blooms from June to September
If you would like to order one or more packets of seeds, please email sustainablewm1@gmail.com. Packets hold about 25 seeds and cost $3 each, or 2 packets for $5.
History
Douglass Memorial Garden, aka The Native and Wild Medicinal Plant Garden, offers free outdoor herbal medicine education and is now in its 13th year. The medicinal garden began after Sustainable West Milford ‘adopted a spot’ at the triangle intersection of Clinton Road and Warwick Turnpike. The garden has developed into a medicinal sanctuary free of fertilizers and pest controls.
The plot is home to an abundant number of medicinal herbs and native plants marked by handmade stone tiles describing each species and medicinal use for the plant. The tiles are accompanied by a map of the garden and a hand-crafted bench for hard-working volunteers and visitors alike, both pictured below. The 2010 installment of the water catchment system provides natural rain water for the plants, allowing the garden to thrive between volunteer events. Our partnership with Robin Rose Bennet, master herbalist and author, and Wise Woman Healing Ways has enabled us to maintain this property as an educational garden. Our current garden leader, Karen Longo will offer outdoor hands-on learning opportunities in 2023. Visit our calendar for up-coming events and learning days at the garden. We hope to see you there soon!
The garden is located at the intersection of Clinton Road and Warwick Turnpike in Hewitt, NJ 07421.