My plants really hate me. See, I live on the third floor of an apartment building, and while I'm lucky enough to have a very roomy balcony, it faces north, which means very little sunlight for anything that lives on it. This is challenge enough for little seedlings, but our recent bout of unseasonable heat and dryness was especially rough. I was afraid to water the plants too much, because a thunderstorm has seemed constantly just around the corner. The ones that survived really loved last weeks showers, but it was very close to too little, too late.  Ok, I may have also just totally forgotten to water them a couple (a bunch) of days here and there. Give me my face-saving moment disguised as bullshit gardening expertise. Whatever the case, the mint is dead. The oregano is dead. The thyme is dead. One yarrow is dead, the others looking like they wish they were. The tarragon has seen better days. The Thai basil actually looks pretty good. Only two California poppy sprouts have come up, and one bee balm. The passionflower is looking disconcertingly robust next to this herbal graveyard, but I'm not complaining (Passiflora incarnate is so darn pretty and weird-looking that I didn't quite believe this blogger when I looked up their cultivation a month or so ago, but it's looking like they were right after all).  These may have been dumb plant choices for a shady balcony and a forgetful person. But here we are.    (Pictured: Planting. A happier time. Light growing mix and seedlings from Villagers, a wonderful resource for small-scale homesteaders of all stripes. Terra cotta pots from a home and garden big box store; for this purchase and the murder of my plants alone, I am sure to face some sort of divine punishment at the hands of wood sprites or something.) The mint, tarragon, oregano, basil, and thyme were gifts from my mom (GUILT), and all have obvious culinary uses. Basil and mint are also known to sooth the digestive tract. Yarrow is thought to be mildly anti-microbial and staunches bleeding. Passionflower is my favorite of this bunch, though. It is used as a sleep aid and to treat anxiety. It looks like something that should grow in the tropics, but lives around here; the first place I personally ever saw it growing was in Nashville (It's the state flower of Tennessee. The more you know). A friend picked some for me last year, with which I made a tincture (Alcohol and plant material, which serves as both a preservation method and delivery system for the plant's medicine). This has since served me well through bouts of bad sleep and overall battiness. I love passionflower so much. ANYWAY, I think all these guys are good to have on your porch, in your home, in your medicine cabinet. This is why I wanted them to live on my balcony, ideal living situation or not.  I spent a growing season as an apprentice for a farm in the greater Asheville area, and last summer, I took a weekend herbalism class. I greatly respect both institutions and the people who run them. In my continuing self-education in herbalism and gardening, however, I'm not so sure I'm doing them proud. But education is a process, right? If you like, please follow what is sure to be a tragicomic quest to better understand, grow, and use plants for greater wellness.  **Legally, I think I'm supposed to let you know that none of this should be used as medical advice. I am not a medical professional of any sort.  Fatal error: Call to undefined function composer_manager_register_autoloader() in /home/ashgrit/public_html/007/sites/all/modules/mobile_detect_api/mobile_detect_api.module on line 18