“Just for one’s health … it is very necessary to work in the garden and to see the flowers growing.”
– Vincent van Gogh
What is a Medicine Wheel Garden?
The traditional medicine wheel garden is circular and divided into four distinct areas aligned with the cardinal directions (N, W, E, and S) creating a sacred spot filled with plants.
The medicine wheel garden originates with Native American culture and represents their relationship with the cosmos, the Creator, the cycles of growth, death, and rebirth and the rising and setting of the sun and moon.
Gardening relates to this concept of the sacred circle -from the seeds come germination, then growth, blooming/flowering, seed development and eventually plant mortality.
How to Make a Medicine Wheel Garden
The Medicine Wheel garden can be adapted to fit your needs and belief systems.
What You Will Need:
five marker stake and stones/rocks
hammer
measuring tape
compass
string or line for marking
crystals, feathers, flowers, spheres, garden art, etc. (optional)
Directions: Simply, create a circular rock outline in an area that has meaning to you.
Drive a stake into the ground to mark the center of the garden.
Attach string to the central stake and using the compass, locate the four cardinal directions (N, W, E, and S) and mark them with a stake. Mark the circle by joining the four cardinal direction stakes with string.
Remove any sod or rocks. What else the soil needs will depend on the medicine wheel garden plants you choose.
Lay plastic or landscape cloth from each outer stake to the center to form paths and then spread your gravel, rocks, or other material over the paths.
Replace the stakes with rocks (bricks, pavers, wood chips or mulch, or seashells) and then outline the rest of the garden space in the same manner.
Replace the center stake with a large rock, boulder, piece of driftwood, tree branch or other object with significant meaning. Additional details can be added to a medicine wheel garden to personalize it even more, such as statuary, orbs, crystals, or other garden art.
Plant your flowers, herbs, succulents or shrubs, for example:
culinary herbs - Basil, Chamomile, Chervil, Chives, Cilantro, Dill, Lemon verbena, Marjoram, Oregano, Parsley, Peppermint, Rosemary, Sage, Spearmint, Tarragon, and Thyme
medicinal herbs - Basil, Chamomile, Echinacea, Fennel, Garlic, Ginseng, Golden Seal, Lavender, Licorice, Motherwort, Onion, Sage, and Stinging Nettle. Medicinal plants can be used as herbal baths and teas, powders, herbal extracts, poultices, salves, or syrups alone or in conjunction with each other.
butterfly and hummingbird plants
plants associated with the elements
Important: Never use any chemicals on or near the medicine wheel garden.
25 percent of all prescription drugs are derived from plants and 70 percent of pharmaceuticals are resultant from components found in plants? Eighty percent of the world’s population uses botanical medicines as their principal means of health care.
Most herbs are best when used fresh from your garden, but at the end of the growing season you may want to freeze or dry some of your herbs for use during the winter months.
Dried herbs can be kept for months in airtight jars, plastic containers, or plastic bags. Dried herbs do lose some of their flavor over time, so be sure to adjust your recipes accordingly.
Frozen herbs also can be kept for extended periods of time as long as they are kept in airtight, plastic containers or bags to prevent breakage.
Review an interactive Medicine Wheel Garden by clicking here!
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Making a Medicine Wheel Garden - writerSandy How to Design a Medicine Wheel Herb Garden | eHow Gardening Know How: What Are Medicinal Plants: Gardening With Medicinal Herb Plants https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/herbs/hgen/medicinal-herb-plants.htm
Gardening Know How: Edible Herb Gardens: Tips For Growing A Culinary Herb Garden https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/herbs/hgen/edible-herb-garden.htm
Gardening Know How: Medicine Wheel Garden Ideas: How To Male A Medicine Wheel Garden https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/design/lideas/medicine-wheel-garden-ideas.htm
Medicine Wheel Garden - Tips For Creating Sacred Space in Your Own Backyard - PioneeofTo cardinal directions