It is through Herbs that many of us have our most intimate associations with plants. Over the years, our relationship with plants has been undermined and anything herbal has been treated with suspicion, ridicule and legislation - the legacy of the witch hunts.

Throughout the ages our own selection processes have given us our cultivated food crops, to a point where 95% of human nutrition is dependant upon only 30 species of plant. Now, in the 21st century, we are looking down the barrel of a technology that has the capacity to erode even further the genetic integrity of all organisms.

Perhaps it is their wildness, the fact they have been allowed to follow their own evolutionary path that gives herbs their allure. Their distinct characteristics of taste, smell and touch can all evoke powerful feelings and memories. Most herbs have remained relatively untouched by hybridisation, they retain the "wildness" that has been systematically eroded from our culture.

The recent growth in popularity of alternative therapies and holistic supplements is an indictment of the ways of western culture. We no longer produce food from living soil, but from chemical cocktails that keep plants producing in what is effectively a hydroponic situation. Pharmaceuticals and cosmetics are not only harmful to our own bodies, but increasingly the damage they do to the environment is being realised. Large amounts of drugs are excreted into the waterways relatively unchanged, and enter the food chain.

Growing herbs for medicinal and culinary use is an easy way to provide many benefits for your health , your kitchen and your garden. "Make food your medicine and medicine your food" is a good adage. Fresh herbal teas are also a delightful change from manufactured varieties, and provide many health giving benefits. Wild plants of many sorts can be thrown in salads to provide a wide range of trace elements and minerals - dandelion, comfrey, watercress, parsley... Don't accept bland food any longer!

Herbs can help in another way. Their wild nature makes them more able to resist - even thrive in - some of the harsh conditions Australia has to offer. Many herbs are now needed in large quantities to satisfy consumer demand in areas of high populations, where land suitable for herb growing is not available. Western Australia has the cleanest environment on the planet that is inhabited by western culture and herbs are an obvious choice to grow in the fragile and extreme ecosystems here, and can help restore degraded land. Since most herbs have not been hybridised to such a degree, they retain inherent abilities to resist disease and pests and so lend themselves to an organic style of cultivation.