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"I do remember an apothecary,-- And hereabouts he dwells,—whom late I noted In tatter'd weeds, with overwhelming brows, Culling of Simples; meagre were his looks; And in his needy shop a tortoise hung, An alligator stuff'd, and other skins Of ill-shap'd fishes; and about his shelves A beggarly account of empty boxes, Green earthen pots, bladders, and musty seeds, Remnants of packthread, and old cakes of roses Were thinly scattered to make up a show." Romeo and Juliet, Act V. Sc. 1. Herbs have been used by people all over the world for all manners of things for centuries. They have been used for cooking, alchemy and for herbalism. I use to be quite the skeptic seeing it all as “snake oil,” per say. After all, who uses terms such as Decoctions, Tinctures and Tonics? It sounds so Medieval…something to do with wizards and dragons and eye of Newt! Well that being said…I started growing a garden every spring several years ago and in doing so began to research the plants I wanted to grow. I would have to say that Garlic intrigued me so much! It has the most amazing properties. It is truly a wonderful herb, much more than just lowering your cholesterol levels. Yes, I would say garlic was the first chink in the armor of my skepticism. Anyways…  I started out with just a small garden.  Our family decided we wanted to learn more about being self-sufficient so we began to raise rabbits for meat along with our garden. This eventually brought making homemade soap into the picture. Terrified of Lye, I decided, I was not going on that venture alone! That is how I ended up at Green Lotus Studios with an unlimited Monthly class pass and I have been addicted to learning about herbs and creating things naturally ever since! Just in case you were wondering Ms. Donna has the Yearly Annual Membership on sale now for $99.00! Check the Webpage for the awesome details!  Making all natural Homemade soaps lead to making all natural homemade cheeses of course! (Oh my! Check out the Spring soap sale!) Well, one thing led to another and somehow, here I am writing blogs and attending the Beginning Herbalism class and loving every minute of it! Of course, I have to put a plug in for The Beginning Herbalism class that is taught by Mrs. Patti!  Mrs. Patti is very knowledgeable and shares so much of her personal experience that brought about her passion for being an Herbalist! She keeps us all enthralled! One of the things I love about Green Lotus Studios is that every instructor has had their own personal experiences where using herbs have truly helped them both physically and emotionally. Those experiences bring out such a passion in the class room! Beginning Herbalism is a six week long course that introduces tinctures, decoctions, tonics and infusions. (Yes! Those three medieval words!)  You will also learn about the digestive system and teas, immune system and herbal nourishers, nervous system and tonics, basic aromatherapy and the lymphatic system! If you purchase the annual membership that I mentioned earlier you receive half off of the Herbalist courses. The course book includes all kinds of recipes to help get you started and you create your own as well. You learn about what you should do as an herbalist and also what you should not. I am loving this Journey! The next Beginning Herbalist class begins April 6, 2015 at 6:00 pm. Check out the web page for details and I hope to see you at Lotus soon!
Green Lotus Studios has so many facets! If herbs does not stir your creative side then perhaps the gardening, tie dyeing, sewing, crocheting or the Victorian French Beaded Flowers classes will. Check out the Calendar on our web page and come join the fun! Come on out to Green Lotus Studios where creativity and community meet!
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