This month for our guest speaker, we have Jennifer Ramirez from Saige & Stems Flower Farm in Loxahatchee. She is a local grower of cut flowers. A lot of Saturdays you can stop by her farm between 10am and 12pm to buy flower bouquets and tour her flower farm. Jennifer started her flower farm journey just a few years ago and has been able to grow some pretty unique flowers that are not generally grown in our area. They are flowers that we would typically see up North in cooler climates. Along with her flower farm, she sometimes offers classes to both adults and children. Join us for an introduction to incorporating multipurpose flowers and herbs into your gardens.
Everyone enjoyed Ellen Namhi, the Natural Nurse, who spoke with us last month about the many plants that could be used to alleviate our woes. She did a great presentation over Zoom. Perhaps someday we can convince her to make an in-person visit to our group.
Many thanks to Roland Gaudet, Ingrid Menz, KC Foster, Heather Emerson, Dian Hargett, Marci Green, Pam Wilcox, Roberta Lima, Annette and Chris Norris, Geri Mealing, Jeannie Fernsworth, and Zee Moreno who volunteered to help with last month‘s Spring Plant-a-Palooza herb booth. Special thanks to Dennis Hessing who sets up and collects our tent every sale (and stores it in between times). And many thanks to all who stopped by the booth and bought their share of herbs. We raised $804 after expenses, which will go to support our fall meeting expenses and the holiday dinner. Hopefully some of you will think about stepping up to organize the holiday dinner in December. More news on that at a later date
Heather Emerson is doing a great job organizing the T-shirts for us. She will have samples and be able to take orders again at the May meeting. Remember to bring $20.00 for a regular size shirt and $22.00 for an X size.
Our Board member Jeannie Fernsworth has suggested that we could plan to have Society members visit each others gardens. It‘s always fun to show off the results of our hard work. There will be a sign-up sheet at the meeting for those who are interested attending and/or showing. More news on that as we progress.
This month we will have a presentation from Jennifer Ramirez from Saige & Stems Flower Farm in Loxahatchee on incorporating cuttable flowers and herbs in our gardens.
Next month we will have Amir Rezazadeh, Extension Agent II, PhD (St Lucie County) who will talk to us about growing our own mushrooms. He will be presenting on video. KC Foster has attended one of these workshops and raves about it.
Remember that the June meeting will be the last before our July and August summer break. We will resume meeting in September. A couple of our Board members are talking about attending the N.C. Herb Association Wild Herb in July. Ask Marci Green or Jeannie Fernsworth about that.
In September the Board will offer a presentation on Turmeric, the International Herb Association herb of 2026. You will be amazed at the numerous and varied uses for this herb.
The Board members are working on putting together a workshop on DIY microgreens, possibly for this fall. Watch this space for more on that.
This should be a fun meeting, and will give us some ideas about updating our plantings in the fall.
Ellen Kamhi, PhD, RN, AHN-BC, RH(AHG), The Natural Nurse® has been a wild crafting herbalist since 1964. Dr. Kamhi attended Rutgers and Cornell Universities, sat on the Panel of Traditional Medicine at Columbia Presbyterian Medical School, is a Medical School Instructor, and teaches Botanical Pharmacology. She is a leader in the nutraceutical industry, recognized as a consultant specializing in regulatory issues, formulation and product education. She is on the Board of Directors of the American Herbalist Guild RH(AHG), nationally board certified as a holistic nurse (AHN-BC), on the education committee of the American Cannabis Nurses Association (ACNA). She provides CEU certified instruction for RN, NP, LMT, RD, ND in Herbal Medicine at Natural Nurse Academy, and has co-authored several books, and cohosts Radio Shows/Podcasts with Dr. Eugene Zampieron, ND. Dr Kamhi received the J.G. Gallimore Award- for research into subtle energy., and for developing unique Darkfield microscope techniques (1997), and for recognition for Woman of Science-distinctive research.
Program: Cooling the Fire Dragon - Botanicals For Pain.
The Dragon can be viewed as a symbol of maintaining a balanced inflammatory process. The Sleeping Dragon is a quiet and effective guardian, constantly on the lookout for an invasion or injury. Once Shaken Awake, the dragon breathes the fire of heat associated with an activated inflammatory process. The Fire Dragon emerges when the activation becomes chronic, with a ‘slow burn’ that leads to a breakdown in cell structure that has been linked to PAIN and most degenerative health issues. Natural remedies can modulate the healthy inflammatory process, often with a much better risk to benefit profile than conventional drugs. Lets Deep Dive Into Some Naturals- Wild Lettuce, Jamaican Dogwood and so many more!
There was lots of good stuff donated and lots of good stuff sold at the Anything and Everything Auction we held in March, ably directed by our president KC Foster. A total of $673.00 was raised from this event (about $100.00 in donations, the rest in auction proceeds) which will help pay for program expenses and speaker honorariums in the upcoming months. Thank you all for your contributions, and everyone there did seem
