Photo Karen Graham.
Medicinal Herbalist Kerry Hackett was the guest speaker at the Bailieboro Women’s Institute Spring Luncheon last week. Those who missed her presentation can join the Millbrook & District meeting on May 3rd where she will talk about endangered herbs and wildcrafting.
Last week the Bailieboro Women’s Institute ushered in spring with their annual luncheon featuring Medicinal Herbalist Kerry Hackett. The full house enjoyed a delicious pot luck luncheon of prepared by the local hosts and then heard from Ms. Hackett who spoke about the variety of uses of many of these familiar garden plants that are beautiful, useful and easy to grow.
The speaker’s credentials are impressive. A member of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists (UK), American Herbalists Guild and the past President of the Ontario Herbalists Association, Ms. Hackett has been a practitioner of herbal medicine for almost two decades. In addition, she is certified Master Gardener and is currently studying towards an MSc in Herbal Medicine and she is currently studying towards a Doctorate in Health.
With colourful slides illustrating how to incorporate these hardy plants into a variety of garden settings, the speaker selected her current favourite 10 essential herbs for her discussion. She explained that many of the plants we consider to be weeds today such as dandelions, were in fact favourite plants lovingly brought to the country by our European ancestors. Outlining the requirements of these plants, she noted that all herbs require five to six hours of sunlight, enjoy good drainage, limited competition, organic matter in the soil and a protective mulch covering during the winter. Her presentation proceeded through her selections which included the perennials Marshmallow, St. John’s Wort and Lavender as well as familiar annuals including Calendula and Cayenne. For each plant Ms. Hackett provided details regarding preferred plant conditions, the useful parts of the plants and their specific applications, all accompanied by colourful slides to help the audience recognize the plants.
In addition to enjoying a home-made meal in the company of their neighbours, audience members left with food for thought and inspiration for the upcoming gardening season. KG
