9.30am to 4.30pm

The course

The origins of the herbaceous border lie in growing herbs for home remedies in the past.  Led by a medical herbalist, the course offers guidance on the most safe and useful herbs to grow and how to harvest and use or preserve them.  A practical day ensures careful identification instruction on the individual herbs and experience in making a footbath, herbal honey syrups, herbal teas, an infused oil, a herb pillow and more.

Applications for bites and stings, bruises and irritated skin are taken from a selection of historical and modern recipes covering everyday problems from sore throats to diarrhoea. This will be a day illustrating effective traditional use of herbs.  Some herbs featured: marshmallow, fennel, elder, chamomile, lemon balm, thyme, sage, pot marigold, chickweed, houseleek, ribwort plantain, lavender…

The tutor

Christina Stapley BSc (Hons) MCPP is a qualified medical herbalist with a degree in Phytotherapy (plant therapy) and practises in Wiltshire.  She has grown some 300 herbs, studied and used them for over 30 years.  Her Hampshire garden was featured on television several times. 

Her knowledge of herb history is shared in historical herb workshops at Butser Ancient Farm, the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum, the Chiltern Open Air Museum and other centres in Somerset and East Anglia.

She has written three books on cultivating and using herbs in cookery, fragrant recipes, wines and liqueurs, crafts and home remedies.  Christina has also edited and interpreted a 17th century book of cookery and physic recipes.
http://www.heartsease-herb-books.com/workshop.htm

Participant information

Places are limited to 12 people. Please bring with you a pen and paper and suitable clothing footwear as you will spend part of the day outside.

Fee

£50 per person, including tuition, teas and coffees.
The Museum café will be open for lunch-time snacks or alternatively participants can bring their own packed lunch.

The Museum

The Weald & Downland Open Air Museum has over 45 historic building exhibits.  It is also home to the award winning and innovative Downland Gridshell, which houses a conservation workshop and artefact store, and is also used for many practical courses.  The Museum runs a full programme of courses in historic building conservation and traditional rural trades and crafts, along with MSc programmes in Building Conservation and Timber Building Conservation validated by Bournemouth University. Please telephone for further details.

To book, download a form here. Alternatively, fill in the booking request below.

Make a Booking Request

 
This is an initial booking request form, and does not guarantee a place on the course. The Adult Learning Team will check the availability of the course, and reply to you as soon as possible - usually within one working day.