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Life Snippets: Identifying Backyard Herbs (Video)

Life Snippets: Identifying Backyard Herbs | Growing Up Herbal | Join me as I search for backyard herbs in my MIL's animal pen!

I’m constantly amazed at the herbs that surround us. Plants that can be used for food and medicine. If we only knew they were there, that is.

Today, I’m sharing a little video of 7-8 herbs that I quickly found in my mother-in-law’s animal pen the other day. My hope is that you’ll see how easy it is to find a lot of useful plants all together in one place and that it will encourage you to learn to identify them and learn how to use them.

PS. Sorry that I shot this video vertically. I have no clue why I did that, other than that’s how I like to take a lot of my photos. Anyway, next time, I’ll totally shoot it horizontally so you can see it better. 🙁

Do you see any herbs that I missed? Share them with me in the comment section below. Don’t forget to be descriptive so I can find them!
  1. Jamie says:

    My little girl just worked through a very severe case of poison ivy. It was all over her and while I was trying to sooth her itchiness I learned about jewel weed. I was so excited about its properties and how to use it. We went to a nature preserve and found it everywhere. So we crushed its stem and rubbed it all over her and I did a little test on me with poison ivy. I was so glad to see how it worked. So now I will forever be able to recognize jewel weed! A great little plant.

    • Meagan says:

      Yes! Glad you found some and that it worked well for you. I’m sure you’ll spot it everywhere now that you know what it looks like! Keep an eye out for it in August as the seed pods get full and when you touch them they burst open and throw their seeds everywhere. They’re sometimes called “touch me nots” for that reason. My kids love it!

    • Steph says:

      Oh I wish we had some. My little girl has the most aweful case of p.i. We have lots of herbs growing where we live, most of them easy to recognize. My husband, son, and I hunted and hunted all over in all the normal wet, shady growing spots but couldn’t find any. Later found out it grows way east of our area. I’m glad you found some for your daughter. We have plantain of course, but it doesn’t seem to work as well as we’d hoped.

  2. Jill@JillsHomeRemedies says:

    I just went on an herb walk this week with a plant expert and learned to identify new plants. I need repetition, though, so I’ll be studying my photos and notes. I love plant identification – great video!

    • Meagan says:

      Thanks Jill! I love herb walks! It helps me to tie all the info I’m learning about certain plants to what it actually is instead of just looking at a photo of it.

  3. Heather says:

    Oh, so great. Went on a hike with my oldest today (age 6) and was thinking how much we need to just learn how to identify what is around us. Beginning herbal and essential oil user here 🙂 Kids love that that they can identify a the veggies in garden, so they would love learning more.

    • Meagan says:

      I totally agree! My kids love it when they can find herbs growing! Thanks for your comment, Heather!

  4. Abbra says:

    There was some bittercress, mallow, wild ginger in the beginning of your video along that fence. Near your jewelweed the video was blurry and moving a little fast but I’m pretty sure I saw mullein, motherwort, wild geranium, Monarda or wild bee balm, sassafras and a few pepper plants not like bell peppers – actual pepper ….. I tried taking screen shots from the video & adjusting the clarity but wasn’t successful – if I had clearer shots I could probably identify at least 10 or more medicinal plants – I too am an herbalist & LOVE wildcrafting ? Oh and some chickweed too by the fence lol

    • Meagan says:

      Oh my goodness! You have a good eye, Abbra! Thanks for pointing those out. I’m going to have to go look them up to see if I can spot them now. Thanks for sharing!

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