Herbal Workshops led by Marissa (Marissa’s Herb Garden)
April 26th: Herbal First Aid 1pm-3:30 $70
May 10th: Herbal Oils & Salves 1pm-3:30 $70
June 14th: The Art of Botanical Distillation 12pm-4 $100
July 13th: Botanical Dying 1pm-3, $70
September 21st: Herbal Tinctures 1pm-3:30 $70
Read descriptions below…
Learn how to use 10 common herbs in simple first aid situations at home to treat poison ivy, basic wounds, bug bites, burns, strains and sprains, congestion, fevers, and more. Learn to make poultices, washes, and rinses. We will focus on 10 common herbs for use in first aid, such as: mallow, comfrey, yarrow, plantain, jewelweed, pine, echinacea, chamomile, calendula, and beebalm. With these ten herbs, you can cover a wide range of applications to care for the wellbeing of your friends and family. By the end of this workshop, you will have a solid understanding of the benefits of using herbal remedies in first aid situations and the knowledge and skills to safely and effectively use them. Whether you’re an herbal enthusiast looking to expand your knowledge or someone interested in natural first aid solutions, this workshop is perfect for you.
$70 per participant
*e-transfer option also available email [email protected]
Craft your own skin care magic! Learn how to harness the vibrant, healing qualities of herbs such as calendula, chamomile, lavender, plantain, and comfrey in your skin care routine. In this workshop, we take you through the steps of making herbal oils and salves for use in skin care and first aid. You will learn basic skin care preparations that can be expanded upon to make a wide variety of skin care products.
Marissa has many years of experience crafting herbal oils and salves. She is most passionate about creating skin care that is vibrant and full of colors to get the ultimate potency. She will guide you through all the steps and answer your questions related to making these topical preparations to help you build your confidence in making your own natural skin care at home. All participants will take home a prepared herbal oil and balm they made during this workshop.
$70 per participant
*e-transfer option also available email [email protected]
Craft herbal magic with us as we learn about the art of plant distillation. Distillation is used to make essential oil and hydrosols. We will cover the process of making hydrosols, which are commonly used in skin care and have various uses in herbalism. Plant distillation is a way of capturing the essence of our terroir, as batches of hydrosol will chemically vary based on soil, rainfall, sun exposure, plant variety, health of the plant, and time of harvest of the plant used.
We will cover the basics from choosing your copper distiller, cleanliness, why choosing the right water source matters, plant harvesting, plant to water ratio, and the basic technique to make high quality hydrosols.
I am very excited to be offering this workshop and being able to teach this special craft. Herbal distillation is such as love of mine. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I think it’s the magic of fire, water, and air that come together to make a product that captures the essence of a plant, and the essence of the conditions under which this plant has grown and was harvested. This is a unique opportunity to learn about herbal distillation and to craft a hydrosol with us. Distillation takes time and patience, as a result this workshop has a 4-hour duration time. Participants get to take home a bottle of hydrosol they made from the distillation process.
What is distillation?
Distillation is the art of capturing a plant’s volatile properties using a copper alembic still. Basically, the herbs are added to a large copper pot with water; the water is heated to a boil, and the steam it creates releases and volatilizes some plant constituents such as essential oils, which then go through a condenser filled with cold water to turn it back to a liquid state. This is the way of making essential oil and hydrosols. In the essential oil industry, hydrosols are often described as being the “leftover” of making essential oils, but in cultures around the world, hydrosols are a valuable product in their own right.
What is a hydrosol?
Hydrosols are aromatic waters that have been distilled from plants using a copper alembic still. Hydrosols are the cellular waters of the plant that encompass the water-soluble properties of the herbs mingled with a little bit of essential oil that comes naturally through the distillation process.
$100 per participant
*e-transfer option also available email [email protected]
This is a fun opportunity to work with natural dye flowers such as marigold, purple pincushion, dyers’ coreopsis, and sulphur cosmos to create a colourful bundle-dyed project. These flowers are a safe and colour-popping alternative to chemical dyes. We will go over fabric preparation and dye technique to ensure you get colour-fast results from your dye project. We will also share tips and tricks for growing, harvesting, and drying your own flowers for natural dyeing at home. Participants will create a dye project on linen using confetti of flowers in hues of orange and blue which they get to take home.
$70 per participant
*e-transfer option also available email [email protected]
Learn to create potent herbal extracts using fresh herbs in alcohol, vegetable glycerine, and vinegar. We will cover topics such as using fresh herbs over dried herbs, which substances are better suited for extracting some plant constituents over others, why make alcohol-based vs. non-alcohol-based tinctures, which alcohol percentage to use, how long to infuse your herbs, how to use them, internal and topical applications of tinctures, basic safety, and a basic overview of herbal properties.
This workshop is intended for the herb curious, and no prior knowledge of herbalism is required. Participants will leave the workshop with an herbal tincture of their making, basics knowledge in herbalism, and the confidence and know-how to make their own herbal tinctures at home.
$70 per participant
*e-transfer option also available email [email protected]
Meet Marissa of Marissa’s Herb Garden!
In 2021 we were looking to shift our foraging/herbal products to another small business. We met Marissa a few years earlier through another farm. She was the perfect fit! We share resources with each other and help spread the word of her new herbal business. You can learn more about her under our Partnership section!
Marissa is a community herbalist and herb farmer in Cobourg, Ontario, in the beautiful Northumberland hills. She has a passion for working with plants and creates products with the rhythm of the seasons using bioregional herbs and flowers grown in her garden. This process is a tender labour of love that yields magical elixirs, delicious tea blends, fragrant hydrosols, vibrant skin care products, and more. Marissa is passionate about herbalism and teaches workshops on various herbal topics to her community.