Planter Information – Herbs
Gillingham Town Council aims to protect, conserve, and enhance the town’s natural environment and its biodiversity whilst improving public open spaces, public rights of ways and green corridors.
In February 2020 Gillingham in Bloom (GIB) was awarded funding by South Western Railway’s Customer and Communities Improvement Fund (CCIF). This funding enabled the Town Council to purchase self-watering sustainable containers which have been placed at various locations around the town, enhancing the street scene, which in turn promotes community wellbeing and pride.
As a ‘Pollinator Friendly’ town, Gillingham Town Council has included herbs in many of the planters that provide a food source for butterflies, bees and other insects as well as strengthening bee highways throughout the town.
The aspiration was to educate the community, by promoting the benefit of herbs which links into the town’s mediaeval heritage. Herbs have medicinal and culinary uses, and are used in various, global cuisines. Many herbs are aromatic, so please enjoy the different scents.
WARNING: Please be cautious about using herbs medicinally. If you are pregnant, breast-feeding or taking any medication, seek professional medical advice before taking any herbal remedies.
Below is a brief description of some of the herbs you may find in our planters along with images created by Felicity Baker.
Basil
Culinary uses:
All the parts of the Basil plant are edible, including the flowers, leaves and stems. The flowers taste bitter. Basil is most commonly used fresh in recipes. It is added last to hot dishes as cooking quickly destroys flavours. Basil is the main ingredient in pesto – an Italian sauce.
Medicinal uses:
Basil is a powerful anti-stress agent. It has anti-inflammatory and immune boosting properties. Its oil is used to manage depression and anxiety.
Bay
Culinary uses:
Bay is an aromatic leaf used in cooking. It can be used whole or in a dried or ground form. If eaten whole, the leaves are pungent and have a sharp, bitter taste. Its fragrance is more noticeable than its taste.
Medicinal uses:
The leaves and oil are used to make medicine. Sweet bay is used to treat cancer and flatulence, stimulate bile flow and cause sweating. Sweet bag can be applied to the scalp to treat dandruff and applied to skin to ease muscle and joint pain (rheumatism). Burning bay leaves and relieve anxiety. The smoke when inhaled calms the body and mind. Bay leaves can be used to treat Type 2 diabetes, heal wounds, antioxidant, antibacterial and antiviral, anticonvulsant, antimutagenic and analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties.
Chives
Culinary uses:
Chives are used fresh in salads, egg dishes and baked potatoes, fish and soups. Chives add a mild fresh onion taste. Chives can be to softened cream added cheese or butter.
Medicinal uses:
Eating Chives may help improve sleep and bone health. Chives are a nutrient-dense food high in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Chives have inset-repellent qualities and can be used in the home and garden to repel pests.
Coriander
Culinary uses:
All parts of the plant are edible, but the fresh leaves and the dried seeds are the parts most traditionally used in cooking.
Medicinal uses:
The nutritional profile of the coriander seeds is different from the fresh stems or leaves. The leaves are particularly rich in vitamin A, C and K. The seeds have a lower vitamin content, but they do provide significant amounts of dietary fiber, calcium, selenium, iron, magnesium and manganese.
Dill
Culinary uses:
Also called dill weed, the plant has slender stems with alternating soft leaves and brown, flat, oval seeds. While the leaves have a sweet, grassy flavour, dill seeds are more aromatic, with a slight citrus flavour that’s similar to caraway seeds. As herb and spice, dill is commonly used to elevate the flavour of various dishes. It’s often paired with salmon, potatoes, and yogurt-based sauces. In mediaeval times it was regarded as a charm against witchcraft and was used as a tea to treat insomnia and digestive problems
Medicinal uses:
Dill is rich in several nutrients and has traditionally been used to treat various ailments, including digestive issues, colic in infants and bad breath. Dill has a good source of many essential nutrients, including vitamin C, magnesium, and vitamin A. Dill is rich in a variety of plant compounds that may have numerous benefits for health, including protection against heart disease and certain forms of cancer.
Fennel
Culinary uses:
Thinly sliced raw Fennel bulb adds a sweet liquorice flavour and crunchy texture to salads. Fennel stalks can take the place of celery in soups and stews and can be used as a “bed” for roasted chicken and meats. Use Fennel fronds a garnish or ship them and use similar to other herbs like Dill or Parsley.
Medicinal uses:
Both the bulb and aromatic seeds of the Fennel plant are highly nutritious and may offer an abundance of impressive health benefits. Adding them to your diet may improve heart health, reduce inflammation, suppress appetite and even provide anticancer effects.
Garlic
Culinary uses:
All parts of the Garlic are edible. The leaves can be eaten raw or cooked or added to bland foods such as cream/cottage cheese. Finely chopped wild garlic can be added to mashed potatoes and served with roast lamb and other meats.
Medicinal uses:
Garlic has antibacterial, antibiotic and possibly antiviral properties. It contains vitamins A and C, calcium, iron, phosphorus, sodium and copper. Studies have shown that it may help reduce blood pressure and therefore the reducing the risk of stroke and heart disease.
Hyssop
Culinary uses:
Foliage, flowers and plant oils have a long history of culinary and folk medicine uses. Leaves have been and still are used in cooking to flavour such things as meats, soups, sauces, salads or stews.
Medicinal uses:
The Romans used hyssop to bring protection from the plague and later in the 17th and 18th centuries, it was used as a tincture to treat jaundice and dropsy. Hyssop is used for digestive and intestinal problems including liver and gallbladder conditions, intestinal pain, intestinal gas, colic, and loss of appetite. It is also used for respiratory problems including coughs, the common cold, respiratory infections, sore throat, and asthma.
Kaffir Lime
Culinary uses:
The Kaffir Lime leaf has a potent citrus flavour that is sour with a floral undertone. Its taste is a mixture of lime, lemon and mandarin and has a unique taste. The texture of its leaves is like Bay leaves and often no eaten when added to a dish. The leaves can be used for flavouring cooking and drinks like gin and tonic. The rind can be grated and used in cakes and its fruit for marmalade. Note: the juice of Kaffir Lime is not a good substitute for regular limes; however, its zest can be used instead of a regular lime
Medicinal uses:
The juice of the Kaffir Lime can be used to control head lice and to deter and expel leeches. The fruit can be made into a shampoo.
Lavender
Culinary uses:
If you’re cooking, use culinary lavender only. There are hundreds of varieties of lavender, but many are specifically grown for their excellent oil properties, not for eating. The best edibles are English lavender varieties (Lavandula angustifolia) like Hidcote, Munstead, and Lady.
Medicinal uses:
In medieval times lavender was placed among linens and used as a headache relief and to ward off the plague. It is used to treat burns and stings and its strong antibacterial action helps to heal cuts. It can be useful in treating anxiety, insomnia, depression and restlessness.
Lemon Balm
Culinary uses:
Use Lemon Balm in place of lemon peel in recipes and to flavour soups, sauces, vinegars and seafood. Or add it to your favourite sugar cookie dough for a delicious lemony tea cookie. Lemon herbal tea.
Medicinal uses:
In the medieval times Lemon Balm was used to reduce stress and anxiety, promote sleep and ease problems with digestion and flatulence. Today it is used to relieve tension and to treat intestinal problems such as poor digestion. It can be used to inhibit the growth of the herpes virus which causes cold sores.
Lemon Grass
Culinary uses:
Lemon Grass can be used whole, sliced or pounded into a paste. To make a paste only used the very bottom 7-8 cms and discard the rest. Peel off dried out layers and then bash woody top end with a rolling pin to soften and release some of the aromatic oils. Use whole Lemon Grass in stews and curries. Chop and use to make marinades and soups or add to stir-fries. Use as a flavouring for crème brulee or steep a stalk in a bottle of vodka for cocktails for 3 to 4 days.
Medicinal uses:
The leaves and oil of Lemon Grass are used to make medicine to treat digestive tract spasms, stomachache, high blood pressure, convulsions, pain, vomiting, cough, achy joints (rheumatism), fever, the common cold and exhaustion. It is also used to kill germs and as a mild astringent.
Mint
Culinary uses:
Culinary mints are ideal for chopping into salads, sprinkling over fruits or combining with basil or cilantro to make into pesto. Freeze a few trays of strong mint tea and then use the ice clubs to cool drinks.
Medicinal uses:
Mint is used to ease queasy stomachs, calming stress and anxiety and promoting restful sleep. Peppermint tea is an excellent remedy to ease an upset stomach, calm the digestive tract and alleviate indigestion, fluctuance and cramps.
Oregano
Culinary uses:
Marjoram and Oregano aid the digestion, and act as an antiseptic and as a preservative. Grown for its strong tasting, slightly spicy and pungent leaves, Oregano is an important herb in Italian, Greek and Mexican cooking. It goes particularly well with tomatoes, aubergine and lamb and is generally added just at the end of cooking, so that it retains its pungency. Oregano is also one of the main ingredients in bouquet garni. Leaves and flowering tops can also be infused for tea.
Medicinal uses:
A herb which is more commonly associated with culinary use rather than a medicinal one. It does however contain volatile oils which are known to be strongly antiseptic against fungal and bacterial infections. This effect, together with proposed relaxing actions on the airways of the lungs, makes it useful as an expectorant to hep bring up phlegm in respiratory infections. Gut infections can also be helped by oregano as can mouth and throat infections. A tea of the herb makes a useful mouthwash and gargle for the latter.
Sage
Culinary uses:
The strong flavour of sage means that a little goes along way, especially if using dried leaves. Sage goes well with port, beef, duck and chicken recipes. In Italy it is mixed with melted butter and served stirred into pasta or gnocchi.
Medicinal uses:
Sage is used to treat digestive problems including loss of appetite, flatulence, stomach pain, diarrhoea, bloating and heartburn. It is also used for reducing overproduction of perspiration and saliva and for depression, memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease.
Thai Basil
Culinary uses:
Thai Basil leaves are a frequent ingredient in Thai green and red curries, though in Thailand the basil is used in drunken noodles and many chicken, pork and seafood dishes.
Medicinal uses:
Thai Basil is used for stomach spasms, loss of appetite, intestinal gas, kidney conditions, fluid retention, head colds, warts and arm infections. It is also used to treat snake and insect bites. Women sometimes use Basil before and after childbirth to promote blood circulations and to start the flow of breast milk.
Thyme
Culinary uses:
Fresh thyme can be added to a recipe whole with the stem or the leaves can be removed from the stem and then sprinkled into a dish. If a recipe call for a “sprig” of thyme, the leaves and stem should be kept intact.
Medicinal uses:
Thyme oil has antifungal, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. Both thymol and thyme essential oil have been used in traditional medicine. Thyme helps fight respiratory infections and is a natural expectorant that serves as an antiseptic and helps expulse mucus. It is good for soothing coughs and fighting nasal congestion.
Turmeric
Culinary uses:
Turmeric is the main spice used in curry for colour and flavour.
Medicinal uses:
The root is used in medicine. It has been scientifically proven that it has the potential to prevent heart disease, Alzheimer’s and cancer. It is a potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant and may also help improve symptoms of depression, pain and inflammation.Marjoram and Oregano aid the digestion, and act as an antiseptic and as a preservative. Grown for its strong tasting, slightly spicy and pungent leaves, Oregano is an important herb in Italian, Greek and Mexican cooking. It goes particularly well with tomatoes, aubergine and lamb and is generally added just at the end of cooking, so that it retains its pungency. Oregano is also one of the main ingredients in bouquet garni. Leaves and flowering tops can also be infused for tea.
