I did a talk at the Library at Burleigh Heads this morning on herbs and their medicinal and culinary uses.
The talk went for just over one hour and included a variety of herbs from our large range. I have a list of the herbs I spoke about below with a 

Also called purple coneflower because of the attractive flower heads with purple/pink petals and cone shaped centres. The name Echinacea comes from the Greek word echinos, which means hedgehog or echidna referring to the prickles of the flowers central cone. It is a herbaceous perennial dying down

The first chillies grew beneath the forest canopy of the Amazon jungle in South America thousands of years ago. The plants proliferated and gradually spread north. Chillies were one of the earliest plants to be cultivated and 

The most common sorrel grown here in Australia is Garden sorrel rumex acetosa sometimes labeled as French sorrel. It is a perennial with broad lance shaped bright green leaves and grows to about 90cm high. Sorrel is native to Europe and Asia and has naturalised in many count

Native to Britain and Europe Salad Burnet was grown in medieval times because the leaves could be harvested throughout the winter when most greens were scarce. The Latin na

Borage Borago officinalis is from the Boraginaceae family along with comfrey, lungwort and forget me not to name a few. It is sometimes known as starflower.

Mustard greens belong to the family Brassicaceae (formally Cruciferae). The name Cruciferae, meaning “cross bearers,” comes from the shape of the flowers. They have four petals, usually white, yellow, or lavender, and four sepals arranged in opposite pairs in the form of a Greek cros

German Chamomile is a fast growing annual from the daisy family. It is native to Europe and is cultivated in many temperate countries. It is a branching herb with finely divided ferny bright green leaves. The small daisy like flowers have collars of white petals around a cone shaped yello

Kale is a leafy green vegetable that belongs to the Brassica family, a group of vegetables that include cabbage, broccoli, collards and Brussels sprouts. Like broccoli, cauliflower and collards, kale is a descendent of the wild cabbage, a plant thought to have originated in Asia Minor and to have been brought to Europe around 600 B.C.

Calendula is an annual herb from the Asteraceae family. It is native to southern Europe and parts of Asia, and is cultivated worldwide for its usefulness in the garden, kitchen and medicine chest.

The botanical name Melissa is Greek for “bee” and officinalis is Latin for “of the druggists storeroom” indicating it was included on official lists of medicinal pla

Comfrey is a perennial herb native to Europe and can be found growing in damp places along riverbanks and in ditches. It has large, hairy leaves and grows in a rosette to 1 m in height. The small bell-shaped, mauve or pink flowers are borne in clusters. The roots are large with black/brown skin and fleshy insides, and travel deep into the soil.

Turmeric is a perennial, growing to 1metre. It has large lily like green leaves and white to pale yellow flowers. The knobbly rhizome is bright golden yellow.

(Eryngium foetidum) is the perfect plant to have growing in your garden if you enjoy the flavour of regular Coriander (coriandrum sativum) but have trouble growing it during the summer months.

St Johns Wort is a clumping perennial, low growing rising up to between 60cm – 1m when in flower.

A biennial herb to 1.5m tall, large broad leaves, green and slightly hairy on top, whitish and hairy underneath. The flowers are reddish purple and has hooked bracts. The deep roots, which are used medicinally, are brownish-green, or nearly black on the outside.

The hook-loop fastener (Velcro) was invented in

Spring - Now is the time to plant basil as the weather is warming up. Basil seeds can be planted into seed trays or directly into the garden or alternatively established plants can be purchased and planted into well-draind fertile soil.

Basil likes full sun and does not like to be over watered. Most varieties of basil are annuals, pinching out growing tips regularly encourages bushy grow