A GROWING INTEREST; HERBS OFFER OLD-FASHIONED WAY TO HEALTH.

Byline: Carol Bidwell Staff Writer

You might call Amanda McQuade Crawford's unruly Ojai garden a pharmacy in the rough.

The one-third-acre plot of land, surrounded by orange orchards and smack up against the tiny town's green mountains, is home to Crawford's voluminous stock of herbs - herbs to make you sleep, to end your headache, to calm you down, to pep you up.

The greenery, used properly, can often be an effective alternative to traditional medicine for treatment of everything from chronic ailments to pesky rashes. And every day, more people are converting from skeptics to true believers in herbal medicine.

Crawford, 41, learned about the powerful potential of herbs through personal experience. Since then, she has graduated from the National Institute of Medical Herbalists in Britain, founded both the American Herbalists Guild and the nonprofit College of Phytotherapy in Albuquerque, N.M., and written two herbal-remedy books on the subject.

``People are not trustful of nature,'' Crawford said. ``They think if it's from the wild, it will kill you. In fact, it's hard to get too much of an herb. But you need to have wisdom. You can't just go around chewing on bushes, willy-nilly.''

From the time of the cave man, humans realized that certain plants would help alleviate certain complaints and foraged in the wilds for a plant that would make their symptoms disappear - or at least diminish. Until 70 or 80 years ago, before the bulk of Americans moved to cities, most people still knew what herb to brew up if they had a stomachache and which to rub on if they had a rash.

``It was simple common sense,'' Crawford said. ``It's still that way in two-thirds of the world, where doctors and surgery are still newfangled stuff. Our country has lost that (belief in natural remedies). Unless it has a bar code on it, we're suspicious.''

Crawford's ever-blooming garden - which is home to just about every herb you could name - is about as far from the meticulously maintained shelves of a health food store as you can get.

Valerian (a sleeping aid) blooms riotously side by side with spearmint (good for digestion). Lemon verbena (for menstrual cramps and other complaints) perfumes the air, along with spearmint (calming when made into tea), feverfew (brings down fevers), Jupiter's beard and yarrow (both good for digestive complaints).

Passionflower vines (a relaxant) tumble over two wire arbors along a winding path between undefined beds of catnip (calms fussy kids as well as perking up lazy cats), St. John's wort (for depression), artichokes (for liver complaints), borage (for infections), milk thistle (for gallstones), echinacea (for colds and flu), rue (for arthritis) and more.

Walk along the path, and the scent of the flowers envelopes you, along with the constant buzz of satisfied bees and flitting butterflies.

Crawford takes little credit for her garden, which grew largely on its own, she said.

``I'm an herbalist, not a gardener,'' she said, rubbing a stalk of mint between her hands and savoring the scent left behind. ``So a lot of the things I've planted have died. But before they died, they dropped seeds, and where the seeds landed, new plants grew. I figure if they're happy growing there, that's where they stay.''

Most of her herbs - some of which tower 6 to 8 feet high - were started from tiny plants in 4-inch pots about five years ago, when she and her husband, Mark, a screenwriter, moved into the century-old farmhouse.

Unlike fussier plants, herbs will grow just about anywhere there's lots of sun and good drainage.

It's easier to grow herbs in the ground because they naturally draw on moisture and nutrients from the soil, but they can also flourish in pots if they're planted in good potting soil with compost added, Crawford said. Fertilizer helps growth and bloom, but use only organic additives if you plan to ingest the plants, she warned - ``otherwise, you'll be ingesting chemical fertilizers that get into the leaves and the roots.''

While Crawford acquired some of her more exotic herbs on her worldwide travels to lecture and promote her books, most would-be herb growers can find the plants they want at local nurseries. If they're not in stock, most nurseries will order herb plants or seeds.

There are more users of herbal medicine now than ever before, apparently seeking out herbs they've read about on the Internet and in health-oriented publications and seen on TV news segments, say local nursery workers.

Many who want to add herbs to their gardens know only vaguely what they're looking for; others come in, herb book in hand, knowing exactly what they want, said Bryan Erhardt at Chatsworth Nursery in Chatsworth.

``Some of them want to know how to use the herbs, and if I know, I'll tell them,'' he said. ``I've been reading about it, and it's interesting.''

Doug Balfour at Armstrong Garden Center in Thousand Oaks is happy to help customers select herb plants. But he draws the line at offering advice on making teas or tisanes, poultices or balms.

``I'm no expert,'' he said. ``I can't really tell them what they want to know. I don't give medical advice.''

Generally, he points questioning customers to the nearest bookstore for a book on herbal medicines.

Crawford said most fledgling herbalists should pick a few herbs and read about them before experimenting.

Crawford became interested in herbal medicine 25 years ago, when she was diagnosed with endometriosis, a painful inflammation of the membrane lining the uterus.

``The doctors were dreadful,'' she said. ``So I decided to cure myself.''

She read everything she could find - and there wasn't much back then - on herbal remedies, then embarked on a six-month course of self-prescribed herbal treatments and a diet rich in fruits and vegetables. For two years, she felt fine, then a move to Scotland, where it was hard to get fresh produce, brought a recurrence, but another course of herbs cured it. And she hasn't had a twinge since.

``Herbs don't necessarily work quite as neatly or as fast as traditional medicine,'' Crawford said. ``There are definitely times when we need technical medicine. If you get hit by a bus, you go to the emergency room. But there are times when herbs can be lifesavers.''

Making the herbal connection

Certified herbalist Amanda McQuade Crawford has written two books on herbal medicine: ``The Herbal Menopause Book'' (The Crossing Press; $17) and ``Herbal Remedies for Women'' (Prima Publishing; $18).

Two books she recommends for beginning herb growers are: ``Sunset Western Garden Book'' (Sunset Publishing Co.; $25) and ``The Herb Garden'' by Sarah Garland (Penguin Book; $14.95).

For more information on growing and using medicinal herbs, contact:

Herb Research Foundation, phone [phone], fax [phone], e-mail infoherbs.org or www.herbs.org on the Web.

American Herbalists Guild, phone [phone] for information on contacting local herbalists or to order publications.

Check out www.allherb.com, which provides up-to-date articles from the American Herbalists Guild and other sources.

- Carol Bidwell

CAPTION(S):

4 Photos, Box

PHOTO (1--Cover--Color) BACKYARD PHARMACY

How to grow your own medicinal herbs

Gus Ruelas/Daily News

(2--Color) Trained herbalist Amanda McQuade Crawford grows medicinal plants in her Ojai garden. She has written two books about herbs

Andy Holzman/Daily News

(3--Color) Crawford, who doesn't consider herself a stellar gardener, harvests echinacea to treat colds and flu.

Andy Holzman/Daily News

(4) Crawford grows tansy, which is highly poisonous and should only be prescribed by a certified herbalist. It is used to treat indigestion, rheumatism, intestinal worms, migraine, nerve pain, loss of appetite and premenstrual syndrome.

Andy Holzman/Daily News

BOX: Making the herbal connection (see text)