Apothecary’s Garden-Teaching Gardens at Churchill Park, Hamilton

Workshops led by garden creator Dan Riegler

On Sunday August 16th there will be 2 workshops followed by a potluck– come to any or all!

In the first workshop, 10 am to 12, come stretch your legs and explore nature, learn to identify medicinal and edible plants with Dan’s expert guidance.

  Starting in The Apothecary’s garden in the Teaching Gardens, explore a variety of medicinal, culinary and aromatic plants cultivated in the garden and those native to field and forest that thrive in our unique biosphere.

  Rich in folklore, myth and magic, this walk will deepen our connection to the land, expand our foraging repertoire, and lend confidence that book learning cannot always offer.

Witch Hazel Scavenging Sunlight 2013

  How to harvest and prepare wild plants for food, cosmetics, recreation and medicine, the ethics and sustainability of wild harvesting and the need for stewardship on an individual and communal level will be discussed, as will
traditional Plant Alchemy, medical astrology, planetary rulerships, the doctrine of signatures, Shamanic or intuitive herbalism, bioregional Animism, Green Gnosis and other fun subjects.

— The second workshop- 2pm to 4pm, will focus on the practical side of herbalism. How to make medicine from plants. Dan will share techniques and best practices for making tinctures, salves, cremes, oils, infusions, decoctions and herbal wines and discuss distillation techniques for rectifying alcohol, (illegal in Ontario), producing herbal liqueurs and essential oils.

Great Northern Cough & Chest Balm-Spruce-Pine & Fir sap salve.

Since observation and first-hand experience are likely the most effective methods of learning, there will be a small field laboratory set up in the Apothecary’s Garden demonstrating the preparation of Dan’s, (Great Northern), cough and chest rub using fresh locally harvested Spruce sap.

Things to bring for the morning workshop A notebook and walking shoes.

For the second workshop bring a notebook, and a 1 or 2 ounce clean and empty wide-mouthed jar with a sealable lid for a gift of Spruce sap chest balm.

Everyone is welcome to come to these workshops! Drop in is fine but registering helps us know how to best prepare. For questions and to register please be in touch with Julia Hitchcock at [email protected]. The Apothecary Garden is located at the Aviary and Community Gardens at Churchill Park 85 Oak Knoll.

Cost: sliding scale $5-$25.