Last night at GC Herb Society

We had a good meeting, as usual, and the weather wasn't too bad for nighttime driving. Some of these women have been steady and reliable members for over 20 years, braving whatever weather Mom Nature throws at us, to get to the meetings. We're all volunteers here, in our love of herbs as our common purpose and in our friendships with each other. No one gets a paycheck for showing up - we just do it. Like in that old Nike commercial.

Our discussion ran, as we were talking 'business' about our upcoming Symposium, to the subject of raising the ticket price. Frankly, we live in an area, mid-Michigan (specifically Genesee County) that has seen the worst of the recession and the heart of our county, Flint, has been in a slow moving economic Hurricane Katrina for the past thirty years. The statistics tell that over thirty years Flint has lost as many percent of residents to the changing of the economy from an industrial base to a information/technical/financial base as NOLA lost to a single weather event.
Only when it happens quickly, people run to your aid.
Flint is the original bootstraps city, only our grit and determination keep us fighting the good fight. There are neighborhoods of wealth nearby, but we are all affected by the plight of our neighbors, and respond in our unique ways, "pressing on, regardless."

We have decided one more time to keep our ticket prices steady, and of course, as a non-profit organization, our profits will be used to help and educate others in our community as is outlined in our bylaws. I must say, I'm proud of our herb women.

Why are volunteer gardeners always exhausted in the spring?

Not gardening ... no, Meetings and Classes and Committees and Events...

Now that the Genesee County Herb Society's 2008 Spring Herb Symposium is history, I should give a few impressions. I'd first like to report that we did make money to support our projects, and we did successfully fulfill our stated mission of educating the public about herbs. The comments on the evaluations and other feedback have been very gratifying. I was too busy to get many photos, but I have a few.



Our speaker, Donna Frawley is a personable and knowledgeable lady, and she gave us a fine day of educational entertainment. Her first talk, our keynote presentation, was about Cooking With Herbs, and it was one of those fast paced, multi-dish shows like you see on a cooking show.

She prepared a multitude of dishes all made with herbs, and the samples were delish! Nothing says comfort food to me like a homemade minestrone soup, and Donna supplied the guests with all of the recipes so we wouldn't get lost in the rapid preparation.
After our workshops and lunch, Donna was back with Herbal Breads, again with recipes and samples. I hope no one was on a diet!



Donna was a home economist and professional baker so she had some good stories to tell while she did her demonstrations. She is on the board of the International Herb Association and she has owned a home based business, Frawley's Fine Herbary, for 25 years specializing in herbal blends and other herb related foods, and published her own cookbooks and now has a dvd.

I sat next to Donna at lunch and she told me she has been writing a column for the Midland Daily newspaper for several years, now. So I looked it up to post a link here.

The entry plant sales by His and Herbs of Montrose.


I'd write about my workshop, "Dry Herbal Seasonings - Better Than Store Bought" but I'm giving the same presentation to the Herb Society in a few months and I wouldn't want them to read it all here. My class was very enthusiastic to say the least, and we may have some prospective members show up for the May meeting!

Snowbound with Garden Catalogues - What's a girl to do?

Seeds from J.L. Hudson, Seedsman:
(Shipping= $1.50)
Arnica montana
Astragalus membranicus
Artemisia vulgaris
Ocimum sanctum
French Sorrel

Plants from Bluestone Perennials:
Free shipping because I recycled my packaging
20 percent off my order because I ordered early
(And I used my coupons that Bluestone packs with their plants.)

Daphne x transatlantica 'Summer Ice' (shrub)
Kerria 'Honshu' (shrub)
Veronica 'Waterperry' (3)
Dianthus anurensis 'Siberian Blues' (3)
Dianthus gratianopolitanus 'Bath's Pink' (3) for extension herb garden
Achillea 'Terra Cotta' (3) for extension herb garden
a free surprise three pack
and backordered from last year with coupon:
Dianthus x allwoodii 'Old Spice' (3)
Fothergilla 'Major Mt. Airy' (shrub)

Both orders combined came in at a thrifty $56.00. I'll get some of that back when I plant the 6 plants in the extension garden. I feel pretty good about this, and I'm confident that although Bluestone perennials are small, they are true to name and they arrive healthy. All it takes is patience to increase their value.

I just talked to Norma, our club president, and we're going to ask (with permission from membership) a local herb nursery to be a plant vendor at our 2008 Genesee County Herb Society Herb Symposium in April.
That should make buying plants for the extension herb garden easy and support a good cause at the same time.