Growing your own medicine is empowering—learn how with plant activists Dan Jason and Rupert Adams.

Many common, easy-to-grow plants can energize or soothe, stimulate the immune system, aid in sleep or digestion, help to heal injuries, change blood pressure, reverse inflammation, soothe a sore throat—and more. But how do you find or grow them, and how do you use them?

This compact book describes some of the best-known medicinal plants and provides expert information on their care and use. Accompanied by the beautiful watercolour illustrations of Lyn Alice, Dan Jason and Rupert Adams explain the nature of each plant, how to grow them, their medicinal properties and other potential perks, such as their ability to produce dyes or attract pollinators.

Dan Jason has owned and operated the mail-order seed company Salt Spring Seeds since 1986 and Rupert Adams has worked for over two decades with Dan Jason, currently growing a wide variety of vegetable, grain and herb seeds for Salt Spring Seeds and the BC Eco Seed Co‑op. The medicinal perennials in this book will be beautiful, useful and environmentally positive additions to any local garden.

Dan Jason has been gardening since childhood, but most avidly for the last twenty years since he moved to Saltspring Island, BC and began to study and develop bean varieties. After his first discovery, the Black Jet soybean, he never looked back. He opened a successful seed business, Salt Spring Seeds, in 1988, which still specializes in seeds for high-protein plants. Jason is also a director of Canada's Heritage Seed Program, a national network of organic growers dedicated to preserving our heirloom seeds.

Dan Jason's profile page

Rupert Adams has worked for nearly two decades with Dan Jason, currently growing a wide variety of vegetable, grain and herb seeds for Salt Spring Seeds. He specializes in growing medicinal herbs and runs his own medicinal herb and tincture business, Kairos Botanicals. Rupert worked for three years as a coordinator and advisor to the Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security. He currently resides and grows at Abundance Community Farm in Agassiz, BC.

Rupert Adams' profile page

Lyn Alice has studied at the American Academy of Art in Chicago and at the Denver Botanic Gardens’ School of Botanical Art & Illustration.

Lyn Alice's profile page

“Anyone interested in herbs will enjoy this beautifully illustrated little guide from two people who know these plants well. Even gardeners already familiar with some of the plants profiled may be surprised to learn that they have medicinal qualities or how valuable many are to pollinators. The information on growing and using each plant is clear, practical and provides all you need to know to have a thriving garden of interesting herbs.”

Linda Gilkeson, author of <i>Backyard Bounty: The Complete Guide to Year-Round Organic Gardening in the Pacific Northwest</i>

“Medicinal Perennials to Know and Grow is a wonderful book that inspires and provides knowledge on how to grow your own medicinal plants. This valuable information will help you to create an earth-loving garden that is biologically diverse and will provide you with beneficial and sustainable medicine for years to come. With every passing season perennial medicine plants get stronger, bigger and expand their root systems and once they are established are easy to care for. Harvesting and making medicines with plants that you have grown is a wonderful feeling, as you are in touch with every aspect from the seed to the harvest to the medicine! If you are looking for information on how to do this or expand your already growing garden, I would recommend this beautifully illustrated book that is packed full of wisdom and practical knowledge.”

Beverley Gray, Herbalist and author of <i>The Boreal Herbal: Wild Food and Medicine Plants of the North</i> and <i>Medicinal Wild Plants of Canada</i> and owns Aroma Borealis Herb Shop in Whitehorse, Yukon.