The growing guides and information are compiled from a large number of sources including personal experience, reliable internet sources, talking to experienced individuals, research journals and books. The website is created by Nathalie Strassburg and the information is free and intended to inspire others who want to start or develop their own gardens.

The growing guides contain the following information:

Ideal Environment

The ideal grow environment is a description of the type of space a plant will prefer, this includes their final size, root requirements, soil preferences and temperatures. This type of information is usually collected from their native habitat.

How to Plant

This section usually gives you more specific information about how to start planting a specific species, an idea of when to plant, what spacing to give the plants, how long the plants can last and any tips or notes that can add to your success, like using mulch or how to overwinter the plant.

How to Water

In general plants prefer to be watered well less often than getting a little often. This section gives specific information for each plant and how to take care of watering because it is a vital step in the success of any garden. Most seedlings or young plants require watering more often than older or established plants.

Companion Planting

Companion planting is one of the most interesting aspects of planting since it enables you to have an organic garden and gain a deeper understanding of plants and how they interact with their environment. This section usually gives a list of the best companion plants for each species and what to avoid.

Here are the Companion Plants by group: Herbs, Flowers, Trees, Vegetables, Berries, Fruit and Mushrooms

This information comes from a variety of sources and is usually based on one or a variety of factors such as soil requirements, water requirement, spacing, growing style, deterring pests, discouraging diseases, attracting certain insects like bees for pollination, encouraging growth, protection, oil production or how to optimise your garden space.

How to Propagate

Propagating plants is a wonderful part of the process and usually includes information about how a plant can be propagated and how to do it, for example if seeds need to be soaked, what type of soil and watering requirements, how long they take to germinate, timing for planting or when and how to do root divisions.

How to Harvest

Harvesting at the right time is vital in collecting medicinal plant parts because the plant constituent levels vary during the growing cycle. This information is collected from a variety of sources and include information about when to harvest, for example flowers are usually gathered at the beginning of flowering and in the middle of the day when it is dry and sunny, leaves are usually gathered before and during the time of flowering, roots are dug out in early spring or autumn, fruits are gathered at the time of ripening and seeds are usually collected from the remaining dried flowers or pods.

Only healthy and clean (free from pests and disease) should be used for medicinal purposes.

Avoid any chemicals or chemical fertilizers in your medicinal garden. Harvesting can also include basic storage information, especially if the information is important.