Tonic & rejuvenative herbs in garden and kitchen. Bupin, ‘repair substance,’ is a group of Chinese herbs which can be combined with meat (optional) and vegetables to produce ‘medicated cuisine’, for tonification and boosting immunity. Consisting mostly of seeds, fruits and tuberous roots, they are tasty and are consumed as part of the meal (a few fibrous ones are used to prepare stock, then discarded). There are classic combinations involving 6-12 or more herbs, and many of these are sold pre-packaged in the larger oriental supermarkets. An exciting new (to us) direction for adventurous chefs. Many of these can be grown locally (an exciting new direction for adventurous growers). Also: congee, the standard Chinese breakfast of soupy rice, to which herbs can be added to address a wide variety of health concerns. I’ll share a collection of cookbooks.
All-day workshops are 9:30 am – 5:00 pm Cost $100 (bring your own lunch)
Half-day classes are 1:00 – 5:00 pm Cost: $50
Regular Plant Walks are 2 hrs long and cost $25
register below, or you are welcome to pay by cash upon arrival. if paying cash, please email to let us know you are coming, mountaingardens@gmail.com
Cost includes handouts, seed and plant distributions and samples of herbs and preparations as appropriate.
Each session will include: a plant walk in the garden and/or adjacent National Forest, lecture/demonstration, hands-on practice, resources and bibliography for further study.
For information on driving, lodging, and refunds, click here.
To register for an event, please follow the link for each date to register online, or call 828-675-5664.
We offer a 20% discount on workshops to groups of 3 or more. Email us for a code.
These workshops take advantage of our unique combination of diverse habitats, extensive plant collection, extraordinary library and well-equipped herb shop, plus my forty years of study and experimentation.
As a ‘botanic garden of useful plants’, one of our purposes is to introduce and promote new useful plants, for gardeners, growers, herbalists and chefs. Areas of special interest include wildfoods, medicinal herbs, (native and oriental), health-boosting (tonic, adaptogenic) plants and east-west parallels in botany and pharmacy.
Seeds and plants of most of the species discussed will be available for purchase; additionally participants will have the opportunity to purchase freshly dug, bare-root plants at a considerable saving.