Herbal garden establishment

What is an herb garden?

An herb garden is often a dedicated space in a garden, devoted to growing a specific group of plants called herbs or medicinal plants. They can just be dedicated patches where such herbs grow randomly, or they may also be carefully designed. Herb gardens could be purely functional for growing these important plants, or they could also include a blend of functional, medicinal, and ornamental plants.

Medicinal plants and herbs are considered valuable and important ingredients which can be used in development of life saving drugs. Apart from that, these plants also play a critical role in the health, well-being and human cultures of people around the world.

The herbal garden at our Knowledge Park was developed in collaboration with Dabur Nepal in 2013. The objective of the herbal garden is to create awareness of conservation and traditional uses of herbs and medicinal plants to visitors, and to also be a place where students, farmers, and others can learn how to identify and conserve these important plants. It is also a platform to help develop linkages between medicinal and aromatic plant growers with the private sector which uses these plants as raw materials to produce different products.

Our herb garden at the Knowledge Park has 52 different species of herbs and medicinal plants. In recent years, we have also supported Godavari Kunda Community Forest User Group to establish herbal gardens inside their community forest. There are now more than 15 species of herbs and medicinal plants, including lemon grass, Himalayan yew, peppermint, spearmint, basil, rosemary, lemon balm, cardamom, Sichuan pepper (Timur), growing in the community forest.