The University of British Columbia Botanical Garden and The Holt Physic Garden

Moongate and Tunnel to Physic Garden

The Food Garden

Another View of The Food Garden

The Arbour Garden

The Europe Section of the E. H. Lohbrunner Alpine Garden

The Yew Hedge Surrounding the Physic Garden

The Entrance Plaque of the Physic Garden

The Doctrine of Signatures Principle

Galium odoratum-Sweet Woodruff

Achillea millefolium-Common Yarrow

Viola odorata-Sweet Violet

Primula veris-Cowslip

Helleborus niger-Christmas Rose

Angelica archangelica-Angelica

Artemisia absinthium-Common Wormwood

I got to visit The University of British Columbia Botanical Garden and the Physic Garden that is a small piece of that garden with The Herbal Husband's nephew's wife, Moray last May.  It was a bonding experience.  J-A, you picked a great girl!  The Botanical Garden contains an Asian garden, the perennial borders, the winter garden, the alpine garden, native garden, contemporary garden, arbour garden, food garden and, of course, what I really wanted to see was the Physic Garden.

So we didn't waste time, we went through the Moongate and headed to the Physic Garden.  Again this garden is an intimate space, but full of wonderful herbs. On the way we passed through the Food Garden, the Arbour Garden and the Alpine Garden.  I have given you just a slice of the entire herb garden.  The Doctrine of Signatures principle is a foundation of the garden.  It is an ancient belief that plants are marked with a divine sign indicating their purpose.  For example, lungwort resembles a diseased lung and so it indicated use of the plant for pulmonary complaints.  Sweet woodruff was used for sweet smells when bundled.  Common yarrow was used by Achilles to bandage his soldiers.  Sweet violets were used as plasters and poultices.  Cowslip wine was used as a remedy for insomnia.  The Christmas rose was used to treat melancholy.  I put angelica in the mix because it was just such a beautiful blooming plant and it can give you contact dermatitis if you clip it on a sunny day.  Common wormwood is a cerebral stimulant that can be dangerous in  large doses.  I'm sure you all know that Maude Grieve's Modern Herbal is online at Botanical.com to get more information on these or any herbs.

I'm doing these travel posts in anticipation of my new guest blogger post for The Herb Companion being published.  So I'm continuing to get more photos together from my Chicago adventure last fall.  So stay tuned.