Description
April 27~ Infused Herbal Salves & Edible Spring Treats
Violet (Violacea spp.), Plantain (Plantago spp.), Dandelion (Taraxacum spp.) & Chickweed (Stellaria media)
- Participants will gain familiarity with chickweed, plantain, violet and dandelion, and the various ways they lend themselves to nourishing food and medicine.
- Together we will prepare Violet Massage oil and a Green Garden Salve with violet, comfrey, plantain & lavender and share some dandelion, violet & chickweed pesto before closing with a tea circle.
May 11 &/or 14~ Botany, Poetry and Tea ~ a Spring Ephemeral Plant Walk
We will meet at the Ferry Hill Visitors and follow the trail along the limestone ridge above the Potomac River, looping down to connect with the C & O canal for less then a mile and returning to Ferry Hill, tuning into the spring ephemeral bloom and learning botanical terms to help identify native wildflowers. Botany in a Day & Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide will be referenced as a guide to using plant families and keys to identify plants.
June 20 ~ Herbal Infusions & Nourishing Nettles!
Nettles (Urtica dioica), Red Clover (Trifolium pratense), Oat Straw (Avena sativa)
Learn how to prepare nourishing infusions and varying benefits and choices of plants that lend themselves to these long infusions. We will prepare a mineral rich vinegar together that you can take home to strain at a later date and use through the summer months. We’ll also explore nettles as a food! A rich and nourishing class.
July 27 ~ Infused Herbal Oils~ Facial Serums & Salves
Rose (Rosa spp.), Calendula (Calendula resina) & St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum)
- We will greet Rose, Calendula and St. John’s Wort, and interact with them through preparation of infused oils, facial serums and salves for skin care & restoration of injury.
August 31~ The Elders
Making Herbal syrups
Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) & Rose (Rosa spp.)
- Together, we will make an elderberry rosehip syrup for immune support and take a bottle home. We will also sample herbal syrups to add flavor & health to sparkling drinks ~ raspberry rose & lemon elderflower ~
October 26 ~ Herbal Oxymels & Fire Cider
Get ready for the turn of the seasons with an immune supporting and warming batch of fire cider. We will explore various preparations of herbal oxymels and blend our own batch of fire cider with locally harvested herbs, roots and warming spices for each participant to take home, looking through the lens of herbal energetics to consider the ingredients we choose.
November 23~ Locally grown Incense & Smoke Bundles
Sweet Annie (Artemisia annua), Sweet grass (Hierochloe odorata), Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) & Lavender (Lavandula spp.)
- Together we will make herbal burn bundles and incense cones from locally grown and harvested plants. White sage and palo santo are commonly sold, as they are wonderful plants that release a lovely fragrance, but suffer from overharvesting. There are many plants that can be used as incense that you can grow or selectively harvest from the surrounding area, while alleviating the pressure on overharvested plants.
