There are very few garden flowers that have as many superpowers as calendula. The benefits of calendula herb are many. Surprisingly these benefits are not just for health but for the garden, beauty, companion planting and so much more!
You know it wasn’t that long ago I didn’t even know what calendula was.
I, in fact, learned I don’t even say it right. I say CAL-EN-DOO-LA all hillbillie-like I guess.
Then I had a friend say she went to a naturopathic doctor and the doctor recommended a cream she had never heard of, she looked it up and it was the same flower I have been (and will probably continue to mispronounce).
Apparently, my favorite garden/ healing/ herbal miracle flower is pronounced KUH-LEN-JUH-LUH. It sounds a little more like it rolls off the tongue and a little less backwoods.
But… I’m sticking with my way, just saying.
Now regardless of how you say it, fancy or country, the calendula plant is quite A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. Like so amazing I just sang that for you (wink, wink)
Related Reading:
The EASY way to make calendula oil
Calendula Plant
The calendula plant itself is not super picky. It will start blooming early and keep at it till late in the fall! It is known as a cool weather plant, but I have successfully grown it in a less than properly ventilated greenhouse in the middle of summer (so I have proven it can also handle intense heat). Guess what, it still thrives. Calendula is an annual, but will easily reseed itself so you will likely never need to plant again!
This plant and forget-about-it flower looks amazing and needs no care, seriously! What more could you want? You can pick the blooms and it will just continue to bloom all season long even to the first snowfall. Easy, low maintenance, beautiful and medicinal, I’m telling you, this one is a winner!
Benefits of calendula herb
This hearty little herb is a wonderful all-around garden plant. It helps many other plants to thrive as well. It is considered a general pest deterrent and really has nothing that it cannot be planted with. Calendula is everybody’s bestie in the garden.
If you like tomatoes you will LOVE calendula. It is especially good to keep tomato hornworm away not to mention all the lovely pollinators love this flower.
Calendula flower for Health
The beautiful blooms of the calendula plant are wonderful at healing wounds. They speed cell repair and growth they can be used internally (say a tea) or externally (like a salve). Calendula is antiseptic and anti-inflammatory, it is also wonderfully helpful at keeping infections from taking root. This powerful garden herb is both potent and gentle, gentle enough to even be used on infants.
Common Health benefits for calendula herb:
- bruises
- burns
- sores
- cuts/ scrapes/ sores
- skin ulcers
- infections
- rash
- thrush
- stomach ulcers
Related Reading:
8 powerful herbs to supercharge your garden
7 Hack to build Organic garden soil for Free (or almost free)
Calendula for Skin & Beauty
All those powerful healing aspects of calendula can also be a secret weapon in beauty and a healthy anti-aging regimen.
Calendula oil (the properties of the herb infused into the oil of your choice) is a wonderful choice for the skin. It has capabilities of speeded cell repair, added antioxidants to fight free radicals, and fight fine lines and wrinkles along with healing dry skin!
If a thicker healthier mane is what you are looking, look no further than calendula oil for that as well. Calendula can rehydrate the scalp, reduce dandruff, and improve hair follicles while fortifying them against free radical damage.
For calendula-healthy hair try adding calendula oil to shampoos and conditioners, in hair masks, or in a light coating at the roots while you sleep. Resulting in thicker, healthier more vibrant hair.
after adding a little miss calendula to your beauty routine everyone is going to want to know what you are doing. You can just wink and say its a garden secret.
If I could only plant one herb (and thank heavens that’s not true, I simply love too many) I would plant this one. The benefits of calendula herb are too numerous to ignore and to amazing to go without. Whether for companion planting, growing amazing tomatoes, making skincare, healing salves, or healing internal issues this one has got it all. Not many things can claim that. If you have an issue who you gonna call?
No, not the Ghostbusters, calendula, it’s your new secret weapon ♡♡♡
Comment, Share and Enjoy
From our family to yours thanks for stopping by

Looking for more homegrown herbal goodness? Subscribe and join The Upcycled Family community for more posts, garden ideas, homestead inspiration and more!

Beth is a mother of 6 living on a handful of acres in an old farmhouse in central Kansas. Beth has a background in the military and health and fitness however her passions come from her homestead life. Beth is an enthusiastic homeschooling mom, avid organic gardener, chicken & goat wrangler, who is obsessed with herbs and natural remedies and maintaining an all-around Do-It-Yourself lifestyle. Beth loves to share all she has learned about and sustainable living. While striving for a healthy, natural life, family-centered life.
I’m Anxiously awaiting my calendula blooms to open! Can’t wait to try the healthy benefits!