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Step 1
Develop a plant list. Consider whether you are actually intending to use these for medicinal purposes or assembling a collection for its historical significance. Think about whether you want annuals, perennials or a combination of both. Study lists of medicinal plants and information about them (see Resources below).
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Step 2
Find a location suitable for the plants. This can be tricky because plants that are considered medicinal come from many plant families. Some will require full sun and others partial shade. If you have a large enough planting area, you might be able to incorporate varied conditions in one large site. Otherwise, consider having more than one bed, or focusing your plant list on the conditions that are available in your site.
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Step 3
Learn the properties and traditional uses of the plants on your list. This could be a matter of health and safety if you are trying to use these for medicinal purposes. Some may be toxic, while others may be quite safe. Modern research has found that many medicinal plants have anti-microbial actions, contain valuable trace minerals or have other benefits.
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Step 4
Design your garden. Even a specialty garden should be pleasing to the eye and functional. Look at the habits of the different plants then group them using growth pattern, color, height and bloom time as guidelines for arrangement in your garden. Consider that you will want to work among the plants to harvest from them, and that many plants can grow very large.
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Step 5
Keep detailed records of what you have planted and what the traditional uses of the plant were. Whether you keep these records on 3 inch by 5 inch cards, in a notebook or on your computer doesn't matter. What is important is that you have good records of your plant collection.
