The Sacred Gardener

05/28/2026

New post on Substack!

Mullein Legacy

I had a client last week who told me her journey with herbalism started from a talk I gave where I was speaking about the gifts of Mullein. She’s in her seventies and had been having problems with a lingering lung ailment, so after my talk she went and bought Mullein from a reputable source and took it as a tea. It worked so well to clear and heal her lungs she became evangelical and began converting other older people in her community into believers of Mullein, many of whom had chronic lung issues. And, those friends after being healed passed the knowledge of this plant onto younger people like their children and grandchildren. She said these folks were always coming back to her and thanking her and telling her how it helped them and how they’d passed it on. Such a simple, amazing and hopeful story! Herbal knowledge can spread that easily, and be reclaimed as a multigenerational legacy just like that. And the herbs are “free” and just waiting to be recognized and asked for help. It’s just waiting to happen. But that little bit of receptivity, of fertile soil to help the seed grow is essential.

The connection between Receptivity and Healing

05/26/2026

Violet love
You can feel it from this one. Nourishing, gentle, compassionate. Good medicine for these times.

Historically used in love and protection work, leaves and flowers are edible.

A gentle “lymphagogue” designed to stimulate stagnant lymphatic fluid, reduce swollen glands, and soothe inflamed tissues. It is often used as a natural remedy to support immune function during seasonal colds or general lymphatic congestion.

We eat this one in salads, infuse in oil for a face serum combination, infuse in vodka to take as a tincture and dry the leaves for tea. So generous!!

05/15/2026

Spring Abundance.
Marsh marigold
Raspberry leaf
Tamarack
White pine bark
Forest floor
New mystery shoots
Wild plum blossom
Strawberry
Motherwort
Willow
Haskap
Alder

05/01/2026

Episode 4 of The Accidental Herbalist!
The link to listen is below. Subscribe to us on Substack for our monthly podcast where we talk to herbalists, writings on herbs and wild plants with more to come.

In this episode Steven speaks with herbalist Christine Dennis.
Christine is an eco-psychospiritual herbalist, with a Master of Science (MSc.) degree in Herbal Medicine, with a focus on the Goethean Methodology, from the University of Wales in the UK. She is a current Professional Member (RH) and past president of the Ontario Herbalists Association as well as a member of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists (MNIMH) in the UK.

Christine shares with us how she was called to working with plants, the importance of connecting with self when being a healer, her connection with the skies and evolutionary astrology and why it's important to her practice as an herbalist and what's happening in the skies right now to help us understand what feels like chaos to so many of us.

Listen now |

04/30/2026

Plant sale! Send us a message with your order.
Pick up days at the farm:
May 23 and 24 10-3
or connect with another time if this doesn't work.

As a herbalist I mostly use local plants, but there are half a dozen that I make an exception for!
And I grow them. Some years I grow too many and have extras to sell in the spring.

Many herbs have small seeds that take a couple months just to get to a size where they will grow quickly. Because some of these herbs are tropical they also need a longer season to mature for harvest. So I started most of these 2-3 months ago.

Andrographis
Aerial parts are botanical powerhouse from India. Boost immunity, antibiotic, antiviral, anti-fungal/yeast, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, balances blood sugar, helps gut health and cognitive function.
Very low dose needed. Central in the treatment of Lyme disease. Andro looks kinda wimpy, but when you taste it you see, it packs a wallop. One of the world’s more bitter plants (as indication of medicinal worth). I had a very good crop of Andro two years ago but am almost out of tincture, so grew it again. It’s tricky to start, this is a zone 9 plant so it hates the cold. It can handle partial shade but likes most decent moist soils. (it’s fussy but grows well during the summer). Only gets a couple feet tall and foot wide. Could be grown indoors. I covered mine into the late summer but it wasn't really worth it, it barely grew. Hates the cold.
88- 2". $4

Tulsi (Holy Basil)-
Aerial parts used as Culinary, immune boosting, anti-inflammatory, eliminates spike proteins, balances blood sugar, regulates cholesterol and blood pressure, neuro-cognitive and mood balancing. Grows well and hardy, with full sun and good soil will get 3' tall.
6- 2" $4

Ashwaganda
Root helps with, stress, anxiety, fatigue, sleep, mood, neuro-cognitive, heart health, male fertility, regulates hormone levels, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, cholesterol, blood sugar.
Nightshade that is hardy, considering it’s from India, needs a long season and decent soil to produce good size root.
6- 4" $4

Artemisia Annua
Aerial parts for immune system, digestion, anti-cancer, blood sugar, anti malarial, anti-parasite and used by millions as successful treatment for Covid 19 in India and Africa. Grows well here zone 3b as perennial if mulched.
40- 2" $4

Perilla
Aerial parts are Culinary, strongly anti-inflammatory, allergies, asthma, antiviral, anticancer, neuro-protective effects against dementia, regulates inflammatory response, lower stress, anti-depression. From China so it's tropical but grows like Basil.
60- 2" $4

Thai basil
culinary, anti-inflammatory, aids with digestion, supports immunity, stress support
40- 2" $4

Basil
20- 2" $4

Violets
Used for almost all skin ailments, respiratory, lymphatic, anti-inflammatory, allergies, pain relieving
12 -small clump of mature violet plants (that will spread over lawn or forest floor), perennial,
4" pot $8

Heart ease
detoxificant, skin ailments, digestive, anti-cancer, respiratory.
small annual but sometimes self seeds into the next years
12- 1" pots $4

04/28/2026

Sacred Gardener School Starts May 6
Land as Teacher
Healer
Mother
with Steven as your guide
https://sacredgardener.ca/product/sacred-gardener-school/

04/27/2026

Coming up this Thursday!
Accidental Herbalist Podcast, Episode 4: Christine Dennis, Eco-Psychospiritual Herbalist
https://substack.com/

Christine is an eco-psychospiritual herbalist, with a Master of Science (MSc.) degree in Herbal Medicine, with a focus on the Goethean Methodology, from the University of Wales in the UK. She is a current Professional Member (RH) and past president of the Ontario Herbalists Association as well as a member of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists (MNIMH) in the UK.

Christine shares how she was brought to herbal medicine, how evolutionary astrology is an important piece of her practice, listening to the plants that call you and how you learn their medicine and much more.

Follow us on Substack to get notified of it's release!
https://substack.com/

04/25/2026

Sacred Gardener School starts May 6-10, we meet again August 19-23. Comment school and we’ll send you the link!

From Amanda, a participant in The Sacred Gardener School. Thank you.

“I arrived for the first session of the Sacred Gardener School, after a day of travel from San Francisco. More than one of the participants, remarked about how long it was to travel, and wasn’t there anything like this where I live? No. No, there isn’t. Nothing even close that I know of.

I am a licensed herbalist and acupuncturist, and I have my finger on the pulse of the herbal schools, permaculture courses, and Buddhist meeting groups in my region. What Steven and Megan are living, teaching, and inviting us to embody - is in a category all itself. At the Sacred Gardener School, I experienced the integration of a deep love and reverence of and for the Earth, with the practical skills of homesteading. The days were rich with insight and medicine - for the soul, belly, and lineage. This school is everything I have been looking for, and has refined my compass of where to aim my heart and my life, moving forward. “

04/23/2026

Is the Sacred Gardener School for you? We start May 6-10.
This school is for you if:
You want to be taken on a journey into your ancestral Earth culture,
You want to live in harmony with the plants and animals and spirits of the land,
You want your scope of history to expand and to know where we’re now in all that,
You want to have deep meaningful sharing and relations with others,
You want to learn extensively about harvesting wild food and medicine in a very hands on and memorable way,
You want to learn how to feed and heal yourself, your family and friends,
You want a sovereignty and independence from the industrial systems,
You want to learn about feeding the earth and growing food in a way that enriches the land through integrated polyculture,
You want to learn about preparing, storing and cooking food from the land,
You want to learn about fermentation and how to make, beer, wine, kraut kimchi, bread, yogurt, miso,
You want to go deeper than deep ecology, deeper than permaculture,
You want to bring peace to your life by recovering and feeding your ancestral connections,
You want to understand and learn how to do ritual and ceremony,
You want to be more connected to the Earth.

The Sacred Gardener School is for those inspired to move into a deeper level of being; to live in a connected, sustainable and soulfully present way with the Earth. The school will foster your growth over time, enabling you to embody the living skills and ceremony needed to engage the larger spirit and ecology of the Earth, so She may bless and redirect our collective and personal path. Many pieces must be in place for these teachings to unfold within us.