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The Healing Garden

You can nourish your body and soul with seasonal rhythms, lunar cycles, and healing herbs

The rhythms of nature and the healing gifts found in medicinal roots, leaves, flowers, berries, and seeds weaves a life-affirming tapestry that can deepen our sensitivity, compassion, and feel more connected in day to day life.

This pre-recorded program is created by Deb Soule, author, biodynamic gardener, and founder of Avena Botanicals. Along with lessons, you will be supported in a daily self-care practice to align with solar and lunar rhythms and the different seasons.

Learn the energetics of each season, the four plant parts (roots, leaves, flowers, seeds), their relationship to the zodiacal constellation, and their medicinal gifts through the wheel of the year. You’ll also learn how to use the biodynamic calendar when planting specific herbs – along with the growing, gathering, preparing, and using of these herbs for seasonal wellness.

The program includes an illustrated journal by botanical artist Lisa Estabrook, also one of the guest teachers. Keeping a journal is one of the time tested methods for cultivating a practice of awareness.

We purposely began our course on the first day of Spring (for folks living in the northern hemisphere) so we can begin this seasonal shift, and consciously enliven our senses, intuition, and awareness of nature’s rhythms as the carrier of life.

What You'll Get Inside this Program

Your overall health, happiness and well-being is deeply rooted in the rhythms of the natural world – So when you align with the cycles of Nature, you have the opportunity to enhance your vitality and quality of life. 

But it’s not that easy – believing that a connection with nature isn’t always enough to weave this into our daily lives. It’s easy to realize that another season has passed us by unnoticed, or a magical experience came and went without a community to share it with and give it context.

This program is creating that space for you to make any Spring the season you reawaken this connection and magic, learn new tools and practices to feel more connected with the Earth’s life-affirming forces, and live in a more awakened way that respects, nurtures, and honors all life.

In this pre-recorded program, you will:

  • Learn a framework to guide you through rhythms of the year
  • Learn how to work with a Biodynamic calendar and gardening practices that align with seasons and lunar cycles
  • Build a journaling habit to reflect and cultivate your connection with nature and self-care
  • Be connected with a community of students for reflection, discussion, and to continue the work ongoing
Register for the Course

The Healing Garden also includes the following…

Save 15% on Avena Products

A special offer just for The Healing Garden students!

The Healing Garden Journal

A beautiful, printable PDF journal designed as a companion for this course.

Garden Walk with Deb

An intimate virtual tour of the gardens at Avena Botanicals.

Three Bonus Events with Deb

Summer Solstice ~ Fall Equinox ~ Winter Solstice

Meet Your Teacher

Deb Soule

Deb Soule is an herbalist, gardener, teacher and author of The Woman’s Handbook of Healing Herbs and How to Move Like a Gardener. Deb began organic gardening and studying the medicinal uses of herbs at age 16. Her faith in the healing qualities of plants includes a desire to make organic herbs easily accessible to women and families living in rural areas. In the fall of 1985, with her first mail order catalog and a small selection of herbal extracts and teas, Deb launched Avena Botanicals, an apothecary that now serves thousands of customers. Her new book, The Healing Garden, is available for pre-order.

In addition to the core classes taught by Deb, we’ve lined up 5 additional teachers to add even more depth to the topics!

Lisa Estabrook

Lisa Estabrook is an artist, mother, way-shower, author, home herbalist and plant whisperer who has spent the last 30 years remembering how to create a meaningful, heart-led, healthy and joyful life with the Soulflower Plant Spirits as her loving guides. Her work includes the Soulflower Plant Oracle Deck and companion guide book, Tending the Garden of Your Soul, along with the The Daily Practice Journal.

Lisa’s heART-led business (mysoulflower.com) includes a growing range of products intended to support and inspire connection with yourself and the planet through the power of art and flowers. Lisa’s belief is that the more we learn about ourselves, and take responsibility for our own healing journeys, the more we will empower and support ourselves and by extension our families, our communities and ultimately the Earth herself. Join the conversation in the Soulflower CommUNITY Garden (her latest creation), where you can tend the garden of your soul in a circle with other women doing the same.

Rocío Alarcón

Dr. Rocío Alarcón, an ethno-botanist with ancestral roots in the lineages of the curanderas of the Ecuadorian Andes, is a healer for our times. She has worked tirelessly for decades to preserve indigenous cultures and land both in the Amazon and in the Andean community where she grew up, under the tutelage of master healers. She has lovingly brought many modern seekers, as well as skeptics, into the fold of the healing traditions of her ancestors, teaching especially about our relationship with the world of divine forces.

Rocío’s grandmothers held intimate connections with the forces of nature, particularly the plants and the hummingbirds, whom they could call upon for the healing of their communities. Recently, Rocío has been bringing forth this ancestral heritage. She brings to her inherited knowledge a scientific understanding of the co-evolution of plants, animals, and ecosystems, as well as an understanding of healing based on modern neuroscience. She weaves this all together in her teachings on the healing power of the Plants and the Hummingbirds.

Rosemary Gladstar

Rosemary Gladstar has been practicing, living, learning, teaching and writing about herbs for over 50 years. She is the author of nine books including the popular Herbal Healing for Women, Gladstar Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Well Being, and The Science and Art of Herbalism, an extensive home study course. 

She is the founder of United Plant Savers, and co-founder of The International Herb Symposium and The Northeast Women’s Herbal Conference. She is also the co-founder of Traditional Medicinal Tea Company. Along with creating community and loving people, herbs are her passion and joy in life.

Sara Vesta

Sara Vesta is Life-Cycle Celebrant and ordained interfaith minister based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Through her ceremony writing and consulting business, Vestal Ceremonies, Sara co-creates meaningful rites of passage and personal rituals that honor the richly complex spiritual and cultural identities of her clients. 

Sara has a Masters in Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School and a Masters in Library Science from Simmons University.

Jus Crea Giammarino​

Raised with her Penobscot culture and spiritual practices, Dr. Jus Crea realized the healing powers of nature at a young age. She received a B.S. in Ethnobotany and Holistic Health from UMass, Amherst and a Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine from the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut with advanced training in women’s health and pediatrics. She has also trained as an auricular acupuncture detox specialist at Lincoln Hospital, WTS therapy for restorative healing, Indigenous Midwifery with Mewinzha Ondaadiziike Wiigaming and is a Certified Indigenous Breastfeeding Counselor.

Dr. Jus Crea has been practicing Naturopathic Family Medicine at The Integrative Health Group in Springfield MA since 2005. Currently she also enjoys teaching her Wabanaki herbal apprentices and raising her children. She is passionate about her cultural healing practices and works towards reclamation of her Wabanaki traditions, spiritual practices, and language.

Charis Lindrooth

Charis Lindrooth, D.C. is founder and director of BotanicWise, a platform dedicated to authentic herbal education, where plant wisdom can be shared and where like-minded people can connect and build a community to steward land, medicinal plants, and supportive relationships with each other.

The BotanicWise Community is an online platform where herbalists can connect and learn together.

Curriculum

🌱 CLASS 1

Spring with Deb Soule

We begin our journey welcoming the season of Spring. As we dive into an introduction to seasonal, solar, and lunar rhythms, we will discuss basic meditation skills, the importance of sanctuary, and the energetics of Spring. We will talk about the tastes of Spring and the best foods to eat during this season, as well as the appropriate use of medicinal plants. We’ll begin our study of the biodynamic calendar, and review Spring garden tasks, including planting seeds, growing, tending, digging, and preparing root medicines. Instructions for making fresh or dried root decoctions and tinctures will be included.

🌱 CLASS 2

Tending the Garden of Your Soul: Taking Self-Care to a Whole New Level with Lisa Estabrook

In this workshop, we will explore the idea of LIVING self-care practices, rather than DOING self-care practices, that support you in REMEMBERING your innate ability to care for yourself in ways that leave you feeling whole, embodied, and connected. This is about self-care from a place of sacred reverence rather than wounded obligation.

Living self-care practices expand our awareness of what is happening around us and within us so that over time we can recognize patterns in our thoughts, our words, and our actions and are able to deepen our understanding of how everything is connected. We become present in our lives. And when we are present we begin to make conscious choices about how we wish to direct our energy, what we wish to embody and create in the world, and discover bioindividual ways to nurture ourselves and all of our relationships. We remember how to be. This is the practice of Tending the Garden of Your Soul.

🌱 CLASS 3

Summer with Deb Soule

We continue our journey by exploring the season of Summer. As we dive into lunar rhythms, we will study the full moon, and also explore the energy of zodiacal constellations connected to the Water element: Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces. We will talk about the energetics of this season, including the tastes of Summer and the best foods to eat, as well as the appropriate use of medicinal plants. Using the biodynamic calendar, we’ll review Summer garden tasks, including planting seeds of leafy herbs and gathering medicinal leaves. We’ll discuss making medicines from leafy herbs such as Holy Basil, Lemon Balm, Bacopa, and more.

🌱 CLASS 4

Altar Building and Tending Basics with Sara Vesta

Drawing on cross-cultural studies of devotional practices, Sara offers an introduction to creating and tending a home altar that adds beauty and meaning to daily life. She will share practical tips and inspiration to deepen your relationship to ritual and the sacred (whatever that means to you!)

🌱 CLASS 5

Late Summer with Deb Soule

We continue our journey by exploring the season of Late Summer. As we dive further into lunar rhythms, we will study the waning to new moon, and also explore the energy of zodiacal constellations connected to the Air element: Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius. We will talk about the energetics of this season, including the tastes of Late Summer, the best foods to eat, as well as the appropriate use of medicinal plants. Using the biodynamic calendar, we’ll review Late Summer garden tasks, including planting flower seeds and gathering medicinal flowers. The importance of flower medicine, including flower essences will be covered. We’ll discuss making medicines from flowering herbs such as Calendula, Bee Balm, Roses, and more.

🌱 CLASS 6

Hummingbird Magic! with Rocío Alarcón

Hummingbirds (344 species in the Americas alone) have long captured the hearts and imaginations of people worldwide. Indigenous communities in the three Americas have celebrated hummingbirds as messengers and teachers, particularly helping us celebrate the joy of life.

During this workshop, Rocío will share the magic and healing power of hummingbirds. She will discuss their unique connection with plants and how they can uplift our everyday lives, bringing us into the present moment with happiness and joy, offering healing for our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual bodies, and ultimately, shifting our consciousness.

🌱 CLASS 7

Autumn with Deb Soule

We continue our journey by exploring the Fall season. Continuing our study of lunar rhythms, we will study the new moon, and also explore the energy of zodiacal constellations connected to the Fire element: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius. We will talk about the energetics of this season, including the tastes of Fall, the best foods to eat, as well as the appropriate use of medicinal plants.

Using the biodynamic calendar, we’ll review Fall garden tasks, including planting and gathering medicinal seeds. The importance of seeds as medicine will be covered. We’ll discuss making medicines from seeds and berries such as Elderberries, Hawthorn, Milky Oats, and more.

🌱 CLASS 8

Herbal Support for Covid-19 with Dr. Jus Crea Giammarino

From an indigenous perspective on the cause of disease and illness, we will explore traditional medicines for the Covid-19 pandemic. These plant medicines are here to help us in this time of great need. In this session you will learn supportive herbal therapeutics for prevention, acute symptoms, and chronic “long haulers.” Jus Crea will present some case studies from her Naturopathic practice.

🌱 CLASS 9

Winter with Deb Soule

In this class, we will be exploring the season of Winter. We’ll learn about the daily and seasonal breathing rhythms of Earth. We will talk about the energetics of this season, including the tastes of Winter, the best foods to eat, as well as the appropriate use of medicinal plants. We’ll review Winter home and garden tasks, including creating an herb drying space, details on drying and storing herbal teas, and how to create a Sacred Medicine Space in your home. We’ll discuss the use of warming and pungent herbal teas and spices such as Cardamom, Cinnamon, Clove, and more.

🌱 CLASS 10

Herbs for Ease, Comfort, and Serenity with Rosemary Gladstar and Charis Lindrooth

Herbs and natural therapies play a vital role in the health and well-being of the nervous system. Not only are herbs full of concentrated nutrients that are important both nutritionally and medicinally to the nervous system, but herbs also form a direct link between the body, mind, and spirit connection.

Rosemary and Charis will share their favorite herbs, known as nervines and adaptogens, for restoring balance and enhancing states of ease, comfort, and serenity.

🌱 CLASS 11

Healing Gardens with Deb Soule

In this class, we will be stepping into the garden. We will learn about biodynamic gardening principles, building healthy soil, compost, and have fun learning how to stir and apply the biodynamic soil prep, BD 500. We will also discuss mulching, watering, weeding, and transplanting.

We’ll share our personal reflections on tending our inner life as we tend our garden. We will learn how to make a sun and full moon infusion, the best techniques for creating garden altars and spaces for meditation, and how to build a healing garden for plants, pollinators, and people.

🌱 CLASS 12

Final Wrap Up and Q&A with Deb Soule and Charis Lindrooth

This final class will provide an overview of the core material and bring the pieces together. 

Bonus Recordings:

🌱 BONUS Session (pre-recorded)

Honoring the Summer Solstice with Deb Soule and Charis Lindrooth

🌱 BONUS Session (pre-recorded)

Honoring the Fall Equinox with Deb Soule and Charis Lindrooth

🌱 BONUS Session (pre-recorded)

Honoring the Winter Solstice with Deb Soule and Charis Lindrooth

The Healing Garden

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The Healing Garden

Are you ready to nourish your body and soul today?

  • All classes are pre-recorded and yours to watch on-demand
  • A vibrant active community to support you
  • Lifetime access to program
$ 350
Sign up now!

100% Worth It!

We are so committed to our programs that we will happily refund your full tuition price within 30 days of purchase if you are unhappy with it.

Need Help or Have Questions?

Program Overview

The Healing Garden is a pre-recorded in-depth program about nourishing body and soul with seasonal rhythms, lunar cycles, and healing herbs.

This course will take place within BotanicWise’s virtual Mighty Network Community.

The BotanicWise virtual community is compatible with all devices so you can conveniently access all class materials at home or on the go. You can download the Mighty Networks App directly from the App Store or Google Play Store by searching for "Mighty Networks." The iOS app is compatible for both iPhone and iPad, and the Android app is designed to work perfectly on your favorite Android device. Otherwise, you can use Text Me the App, the prompt at the bottom of your Personal Settings page of your Mighty Network account.

Who Is This Program Perfect For?

The course is geared towards both practitioners and individuals who have some experience with herbal medicine and self-care.

Yes! While this course does include information on biodynamic gardening, you will learn so much about connecting to the rhythm of the natural world.

This is an online program that requires a computer, laptop, or device with internet access. If you lack the technology or know-how to participate online, this program may not be an option for you.

For folks who live closer to the equator, where seasonal shifts are less pronounced, the information offered during this class can be especially helpful. Besides attuning to nature’s seasonal shifts, we will weave in herbal and self-care support for the seasonal shifts in our lives.

Tuition and Guarantee

Full tuition for this in-depth pre-recorded program is $350.

There is no expiration date for access to course materials.

No, there is no need to renew membership. Your tuition includes ongoing access to course materials.

Yes! We offer a 100% “Worth It” guarantee. We are so committed to our programs we will happily refund you the full tuition price if you are unhappy with the course. Refunds must be requested within 30 days of purchase.

We accept all major credit cards as well as PayPal. We also offer customizable payment plans through Partia.ly (found on our checkout page).

Last Little Details

Yes! You may reach out with questions at any time via the BotanicWise Community chat feature.

Please reach out to us with any questions using the contact form below!

Still have questions? Send us a message!

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