Herbs have been the first medicine in every culture on earth, the wisdom of their healing properties passed down over the centuries. The 16th-century Doctrine of Signatures, widely believed in Europe, sounds silly to us now. This theory maintained that the outward appearance of a plant indicated what ailments it would cure — "hence yellow dandelions were linked with jaundice, and walnuts were used for strengthening mental activity because their whorls resemble the human brain."

We grow herbs in our gardens as ornamentals or for cooking, the knowledge of their curative powers largely lost to Western thought and modern medicine. But all that is changing. Students at Bastyr University in Kenmore maintain and use a large herb garden as they study botanical medicine to earn a bachelor's degree in Herbal Sciences. "We are taking the traditional information in the old herbals and applying it to current diseases which are challenging due to stress and environmental pollution," says Robin Dipasquale, chair of the Botanical Medicine Department. Since they work with the body's own immune system, she explains, herbal remedies tend to take a little longer than modern medicines. This pause, she gently suggests, gives the patient time to reflect on how they may have gotten the problem in the first place.

And how do students of botanical medicine arrange their gardens? By systems of the body, of course: feathery fennel, peppermint and lemon balm grow in the area for the digestive system. Whenever possible, the students grow the original species rather than newer cultivars. Much care is taken with soil and growing conditions, since practitioners think the closer the herbs are grown to their native conditions, the more effective their medicinal properties. The students work in seven labs to extract the essence of the herbs into tinctures, chop up roots, brew tea and store dried herbs.

The tall, felty spires of mullien (Verbascum thaspus) were once burned as tapers in funeral processions, and used by the Greeks for toothache and eye problems. Bastyr students grow it in the respiratory beds, make its flowers into oil to use in ear drops and use its leaves topically as a poultice to cure a cough. Mother Nature is into multitasking — different parts of these herbs provide a variety of remedies. The humble lemon balm is the most-loved herb on campus as a reliever of muscle tension and anxiety; it also has antiviral properties and can be made into a cream to treat herpes. Feverfew, which so generously seeds around our gardens, is the most popular migraine remedy, made into a tincture and used to treat the most serious of headaches.

Now In Bloom Blueberries (Vaccinium) are the most ornamental of fruits, growing on handsome bushes that work as hedges or mixed into borders. White or pink spring flowers lead to decorative and delicious summer fruit, and the leaves turn a bright scarlet or yellow in autumn. Be sure to plant at least two varieties for better pollination.

The "Put to Bed at Night" part of the garden holds the promise of a good sleep. Bright California poppies (related to but far milder than opium poppies) quiet down the nervous system. Skullcap (Scutellaria) is a plant in the mint family that brings you down a notch without putting you sound asleep, and also brings relief from PMS.

Walking through the hundreds of healthy, burgeoning leaves and flowers, Dipasquale comments that herbalists were asked in a poll to name the one herb they most valued. The familiar yarrow (Achillea millefolium) was the choice of 95 percent because it is a potent first-aid medicine. Named for Achilles, yarrow was believed to have been used to treat wounds during the Trojan War. It also speeds up compost.

Visit the Bastyr herb garden and it's hard to look at these familiar plants without considering their legendary and romantic past, as well as their potent possibilities for our health.

Robin Dipasquale highly recommends the book "The Complete Medicinal Herbal" by Penelope Ody (DK Publishing, Inc., 1993). The Herbal Sciences Department has plans for public herb walks and an herb fair in May. For information, contact Kathleen Warren at Bastyr University, 425-602-3103, or visit their www.bastyr.edu.

Valerie Easton is a horticultural librarian and writes about plants and gardens for Pacific Northwest magazine. She is the co-author of "Artists in Their Gardens" from Sasquatch Books. Her e-mail address is vjeaston@aol.com.