Valerian Plants

Valeriana officinalis

We encourage our customers to add some unusual herb plants to their garden - herb gardening should be interesting as well as rewarding.

During midsummer the Valerian plant starts to bloom. The flowers of this medicinal herb are white to pink with a very unique but aromatic smell. Sweetly scented and likened to the smell of aged cheese, Valerian can have sedative effects. Used historically to treat insomnia and anxiety, modern medical studies have found Valerian herbs to be fairly effective but may induce side effects such as dizziness, headaches and night terrors. The herb's antispasmodic properties also seem to have a positive result on cramps and muscle spasms.

This hardy, aromatic herb was also superstitiously carried in the pockets of bridegrooms to ward of the tempting charms of elves and sprites in the Medieval Ages and it is rumored that the Pied Piper may have used Valerian herbs to entice rats to follow him. Scientific research may prove the latter of these two wives' tales to be true, as chemically, Valerian is an attractant for cats. Valerian seems to produce the similar effects of Catnip in felines, often provoking them to run around and play wildly.