During day two at The Herb Society of America's 2010 Educational Conference & Annual Meeting of Members I had already done a lot of garden touring!

Our first stop was breakfast at the Centennial herb garden, which was donated and created by the Nashville Herb Society. The garden sits within a walled courtyard at the back of the Centennial Art Center, which also houses a full-scale replica of the ancient Greek Parthenon, originally built for the Tennessee 1897 Centennial Exposition. The garden featured lovely, mature lavender and some beautiful hyssop plants.

This facility used to be a swimming attraction. The pool house is now the Centennial Art Center and the swimming pool is now the gorgeous herb garden. These are some pictures of the herb garden, which sit in the shallow end.

The art center has parties and weddings at this facility. How much fun would it be to have a dance floor in an old deep end?!

Last, here are the plans of the herb garden that sit in the "shallow end."

Photos by Allison Martin

I am attending The Herb Society of America's 2010 Educational Conference & Annual Meeting of Members this weekend; this year the conference is being held in beautiful Nashville, Tennessee.

Last night we gathered at Carnton Plantation in Franklin, Tennessee. The plantation, which was built in 1826, features gardens filled with medicinal and culinary herbs and heirloom varieties of vegetables, fruits and ornamentals. Here are some gorgeous pictures from my experience at the conference. And this is only day one!

Photos by Allison Martin

Stay tuned for even more beautiful photos, live from Tennessee!

The Herb Society of America (HSA) was invited by Lake Metroparks Farmpark to decorate a Christmas tree in their main lobby. The HSA staff decorated the tree this year with many natural, low-cost ornaments.

Many herbs were used to create fabulous ornaments. Excited staff members tucked Artemisia stems and leaves, Allium christophii seed heads, Achillea flowers, Lavandula flowers, Aquilegia seed pods, Hydrangea blossoms, Origanum flowers, Eryngium flowers and sage flowers in among the branches of the Farmpark Christmas tree. These herbs were gathered from the small garden surrounding the HSA headquarters by Helen Tramte, an HSA librarian who also harvested and dried these herbs.

Cinnamon sticks embellished the tree. To make: Simply tie together three cinnamon sticks with a twist tie. Then cover the twist tie with a beautiful ribbon of your choice. Next, if you choose, tie fishing line to the center of the ornament and loop it as if it were a hanger. (You can also use store-bought ornament hangers.)

HSA staff circled the Christmas tree with a string of popcorn. To make: Get fishing line that measures at about 6 feet and string popcorn together.

About 100 cinnamon and applesauce ornaments were crafted as decoration. To make: Stir together 1 cup cinnamon, 1 cup applesauce and 1 tablespoon white glue until dough becomes stiff. Roll into a ball then flatten in between two sheets of wax paper. Cut dough with cookie cutters to create fun, seasonal shapes. Use straw to create a hole for a ribbon hanger. Turn ornaments twice a day until dry. Drying usually takes about five days.

(Click here for more ways to create Cinnamon Dough Ornaments.)

(Click here for instructions on how to create Cinnamon Spice Ornaments.)

The tree keeps an herbal fragrance with hanging potpourri mixes. To make: Slice oranges. Stud slices with white cloves and dust in cinnamon powder. Next, place your fragrant pomanders in netting and secure with ribbon.

The tree was topped with a large gathering of alliums. Tramte compares their likeness to that of fireworks.

It took the staff a little over an hour to decorate the tree. The tree went on display during the Country Lights event, which sold out. Farmpark is located in Kirtland, Ohio.

Culinary herbalist, cookbook author, writer and food photographer, Pat Crocker is passionate about food and herbs. Visit her at www.riversongherbals.com.

How should I communicate the joy, peace, friendship, grace and love I experienced at the recent Herb Society of America Educational Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan?

With few words and many pictures.

The annual event represents for me, an opportunity to spend time in beautiful gardens with some of the country's most experienced gardeners, chefs, artists, writers and botonists. At the two-day conference we learn from each other, from intensive seminars, from workshops and from touring gardens.

This year, we visited some public and private gardens in beautiful Michigan. As always we were greeted with warmth and enthusiasm.

On both the pre- and post-conference garden tours, there were both quiet and secret places for humans

…and birds.

There were serious teaching gardens..

…and there were places of pure whimsey.

We saw cottage gardens...

…Asian-inspired gardens...

…and the 4-H Children's Garden at MSU.

We ate..

…and we drank.

And as always, the herbs were in focus.

I only met Madalene Hill twice—both at conferences of the Herb Society of America—but I can honestly say she’s one of the people whose work has changed my life.

When I first started my job with The Herb Companion, I was familiar with a reasonably good number of herbs, primarily for cooking. But it wasn’t until I attended my first Herb Society of America gathering that I began to appreciate the depth of what herbs represent in our world and just how completely cool they are.

At that gathering, I met Madalene and her daughter Gwen Barclay, the one-two punch of herbal wisdom hailing from deep in the heart of Texas. I didn’t know at that time exactly what Madalene’s role in this new world was, but it was apparent from the universal respect she garnered from everyone present that she was some kind of pillar of the community.

Courtesy of  Jim Long's Garden

I think who she actually was is more to the herb-loving world like Julia Childs or Irma Rombauer was to food-lovers. Each of these intrepid souls re-drew the boundaries of an ordinary world and opened up amazing new adventures to all those who came after. And they kept alive a conversation that grew and grew, ultimately creating a reality where none existed before.

In short: I get to do my job because Madalene and other pioneers like her did theirs.  Not counting “garlic powder” and dill, herbs were a foreign conversation in my family, as for most of the country in the 1950s and 1960s when Madalene was at the beginning of her journey. Madalene was amazed at the ancientness of herbs and the fact that they’ve occupied a place in human life—pretty much in the same form as they are in now—for thousands of years. They’re delightful to grow, to cook with , to enjoy in a variety of ways, and Madalene was a successful stalwart in spreading that word.

Through her public speaking and demonstrations, through the Herb Society and later The International Herb Society, through all her remarkable work with the National Herb Garden in Washington, D.C. and at Festival Hill in Round Top, Texas, she broadened and deepened our cultural awareness and practical knowledge of herbs.

And now, these ancient plants and their updated relatives have a conscious and growing cadre of champions—you among them, if you’ve bothered to read this far—continuing the conversation, moving the boundaries of our knowledge ever outward.  Madalene Hill’s passion is passed on, her legacy intact. 

Reading about herbs here on www.HerbCompanion.com as well as in The Herb Companion magazine is a great way to pick-up fresh ideas and inspiration. Another is to join The Herb Society of America, an organization founded 75 years ago by a group who wished to learn more about herbs and their uses, and to share what they learned with others. Today, HSA includes 2,300 members who meet in smaller, regional units.

This past weekend, HSA marked its 75th Anniversary by hosting its annual meeting in Boston. Hundreds of members attended to listen and learn from speakers, exchange knowledge and ideas, celebrate the past, and plan the future. I was happy to be among them.

One of the things I enjoy most about events like these is their spirit—an excitement in the air that goes beyond enthusiasm for the event itself. Attendees feel connected through their love for plants, nature and the “web of life.” The person who sits beside you at a workshop or dinner, or who stands next to you admiring a tour garden, instantly becomes your friend.Keynote speaker Holly Shimizu, executive director of the U.S. Botanic Garden (www.USBG.gov) in Washington, D.C., addressed the critical role plants play in sustaining all life, and asked: Why are plants not valued by our modern world? Those of us who love plants must advocate for them—by promoting the use of native plants; sustainable landscapes; organic methods; and water, soil and habitat conservation.

On Saturday evening, HSA recognized eight inspirational members—all plant advocates in some way—for their valuable contributions, many of them spanning decades. To learn more about them, The Herb Society, and how you can become an herbal advocate, visit www.HerbSociety.org. 

herb,HSA,Herb Society of America,sustainable landscape,organic,native plant,Shimizu,U.S. Botanic Garden,USBG
description: * Herb Society of America meets in Boston June 26-28 to celebrate its 75th Anniversary. Keynote speaker Holly Shimizu urges members to advocate for plants.