Juliet Blankespoor, a North Carolina farmer, teaches medicinal herb gardening on her farm. Emily Nichols took the photograph.

You may be wondering what it takes to become an herbist. You may be wondering whether an herbal career would be right for you, or even what an herbist does. One of the most frequent questions I get is "What's the best way to become an herbalist?" You may love herbs, but not necessarily be interested in the field of herbal medicine. You are fascinated by healing plants, want to know about their culinary and medicinal uses, and seek out natural alternatives to pharmaceuticals. You may be like me, and simply enjoy hearing other people's experiences.

It's impossible to learn about herbal medicine in one single way, so I have created a comprehensive resource for anyone who is interested in becoming an herbalist. Grab a copy of How to Start Your Herbal Career, The Ultimate Guide for Budding Herbalists and read about my journey from a herbal illiterate to founding one of the most prestigious schools of herbal medicine. The guide will be useful to all my herb-curious pals, since it contains links to some of my favorite herbal resources, including books, conferences and organizations.

How I trained as an herbalist

When I moved away from my childhood home, and discovered a community of Earth lovers and environmentalists who shared the same values as me, it was then that I became fascinated with herbal medicine. My new friends were all botanically inclined, and I caught the bug quickly. I changed my major to botany from languages. My first love affair with plants began when I met stamens, anthers, and stigmas. Today, I schedule my vacations to include botanical gardens. I also keep colorful pieces of bark in my pockets in case I find myself in an awkward situation. In my journey of three decades as a matchmaker between plants and humans, I have owned every type of herbal business you could imagine, including an herbal nursery, medicinal products, a clinic, and an online herbal course specializing bioregional, hands on herbalism.

But I was not always like this. When I was a kid, I loved books and the magic of the forest. But plants were not my thing. My grandpa Joe, a quirky intellectual and naturalist who was also a vegetable grower, was a close friend. Grandpa Joe, on his own initiative and to the benefit of all children, labeled the trees that grew along the path leading home from school with their scientific and common names. Both my Dutch dad, who is also an avid gardener, and my Grandpa tried to get me to take up gardening.

Grandpa Joe with Juliet, displaying the first signs of hypervigilance. (Safety First!) On his farmette on Long Island, NY. Joanna Simon.

The seeds that they had planted grew when I learned about the environmental crises, organic gardening and plant medicine. I wanted to know everything about plants. I was completely enchanted by the botanical world after my conversion. My first garden was a complete failure on every level, but it still filled me with joy and pride. Even though I did not have a green finger, I was now a gardening enthusiast. My growing love for plants saved me: at a time when I felt self-doubt, lost and alone, my passion for herbs grew. My connection to plants gave me a sense of purpose and belonging.

Let me assure you that my journey to becoming an herbalist included not only the plants but also those who taught and inspired me. My botany professor, Dr. Terry Lucansky at the University of Florida encouraged me to pursue science as a career and taught me the magic of plant microscopic anatomy. In the early 1990s, under his tutelage I earned my botany degree.

In the meantime, I began reading the few herbal texts I could find in the local bookshop (it was 30 years ago and there was no internet or herbal teachers and authors). I also started to learn about herbs and how to grow them. After learning about a new plant in botany, I would ride my bike to my home and read everything I could about it in my old herbal books.

In my class on native plants identification, my professor first introduced me to bayberry. In my research after school, I discovered that the root bark is the most medicinal part of the plant. I didn't know roots had bark. I dug the roots up with a shovel to find out for myself. I made decoctions from the bark when my friends had the sniffles or a sore neck. This way, I learned to harvest plants and make medicine (my botany degree had taught me how to identify them, so safety first! Always, my friends! ).

Three generations of herbalists in a long-standing lineage: From left to right, Chelsea Gomes; 7Song and Juliet Blankespoor. Photographer unknown.

7Song was my first plant medicine instructor after years of self study and botany classes. He ran a herbal school in his tiny cabin near Ithaca, New York. I was drawn to his practical approach to herbal medicine that focused on local plants. He has a wicked humor and a plant encyclopedia.

James Snow taught me clinical herbalism in California. After a brief encounter with seaweed in Washington State on Orcas Island, I sat down at the feet (the herbalist Michael Moore, not the film director) of Michael Moore in Bisbee Arizona. Michael Moore was an important player in the revival of herbalism in the 1970s, 1980s among white healers (many Blacks and Indigenous peoples never stopped using herbal remedies and didn't have a "resurgence", because their lineages were intact and they still had living knowledge). His irreverently humorous and informative Western herb books continue his legacy.

Juliet picking fresh seaweed at Orcas Island in Washington. Photo by Kalinda.

Michael studied the uses of Southwestern plants with Indigenous and Latinx healers whose practices focus on local remedies. Michael also studied extensively the works of the Eclectics - an influential group in North America of herbal doctors who flourished during the late 19th century and early 20th century. The Eclectic materia medica (study of the therapeutic uses of each herb) is rooted both in European herbalists' folkloric and studied knowledge, as well as Indigenous and Black healers of North America. The earliest herbal texts, primarily written by men, rely heavily on the knowledge of Black, Indigenous and white folk healers.

After Michael Moore's death, I had a dream that I and my apprentices tore some of Michael's old, musty herbals (Michael was a collector of historical herbals), and placed the faded pages into the freshly dug soil of a newly-dug garden bed. My dream-self was certain that the pages would nourish herbs that we would plant, and I would then teach my students about these herbs. The lineage continues to live on in thousands gardens and medicine cabinets, including yours.

A Titan Arum flower and its adoring companion. United States Botanic Garden. Photo by Joanna Simon.

Free Herbalist Training

In my quest to become an herbalist, i found creative ways to learn herbal medicine for free. In exchange for free attendance, I volunteered to help at herbal conferences. Flashcards helped me memorize scientific names for herbs, anatomy and physiology. I created flashcards to help me remember herbal actions as well as all of the systems in the body. While I was not quizzing myself, I went to plant nurseries to quiz myself about herbal plant identification. When I pulled out a potted plant, I would guess the name and then check the tag to make sure I was right. I also spent many days in botanical gardens, which are often free for the public.

In my 20s, I decided to live simply in order to spend my time doing what I love. It was a gift I received because of my health, the community, and lack of responsibility. I learned to gather and grow food, and how to make medicine. I lived in a tent on the back of my truck, a chicken shack that was refurbished, and structures inspired from Indigenous ingenuity, such as a teepee or wigwam ).

Juliet drying seaweed at Port Townsend in Washington Photographer unknown.

I spent many days in the library during this period (electricity and running water were available, as was air conditioning!). I read gardening and botany texts and took copious notes. I read every herbal book that I could find. I loved reading before the Internet, mobile phones or television. To be honest, I enjoy hot baths and sleep in a king sized bed, but also enjoy Netflix sessions every now and then.

When I wasn't reading or studying, I would spend the growing season harvesting seaweed, herbs, mushrooms or other plants. My teachers and books taught me most of the herbal knowledge I have, but my hands-on experiences were invaluable. (And my idea of fun!). When I was ready to start teaching, I chose to use hands-on instruction. My school began as an herbal apprentice. One day per week, my herbal apprentices worked in my herb nursery, apothecary, and gardens. Then, I would take my herbal apprentices out to the woods and teach them about botany, herb uses, sustainable wildcrafting and plant and mushrooms identification.

The exchange was a great experience for me as I did not have money to pay the workers and gained valuable knowledge as a herbal educator. My daughter, who was still a newborn at the time, accompanied us to all of our adventures. I was very keen to spend time with my daughter when she was young. I had a huge baby backpack that could fit her cloth diapers and all of my plant identification books, as well as her.

Ruby, a toddler, and Juliet teach their first group of apprentices at Leicester in North Carolina. Photographer unknown.

This arrangement eventually became an official business, when I opened my herbal medicine school. In exchange for their assistance, I accepted five apprentices each year. We offer need-based scholarship for social change, environmental healing and other areas of the Chestnut Herbal Medicine School. Since 2016, when the Chestnut school began offering online courses, it has given more than $744K to herbalists around the world. The majority of our scholarship recipients are BIPOCs (Black, Indigenous and People of Color), and LGBTQ+s (Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgenders, Queers or Questioning Plus). These are the groups from which many Western herbal medicines and practices are derived. They are also underrepresented in modern herbal settings. Our scholarship program also includes people with disabilities, refugees, immigrants and veterans.

You can study herbal medicine without spending any money. You can find more information about free ways to become a herbalist in Free Ways to Becom e an Herbalist 17 Resources for Herbalist Training.

Herbal Careers - A Legacy of Botanical Medicine

After years of studying botany and herbal medicine, I founded The Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine in 2007. I taught all-outdoor programs for a decade, focusing on bioregional herbalism: plant identification and harvesting, growing medicinal plants, medicine making. The school has moved online and thousands of students are learning to be herbalists.

The Chestnut Herb Nursery was my next project, an organic nursery of medicinal plants. We grew thousands of herbs babies every spring. This taught me how to propagate plants and control plant diseases and insects. We painstakingly recorded our nursery statistics--successes and failures--which informed the technical propagation data I included in my online herbal courses and my first herbal book (more on that later).

Juliet Stokes and Sarah Stokes from the Chestnut herb nursery, selling herbs during the Asheville herb festival. Photographer unknown.

Through their herbal businesses, our graduates from the Chestnut school of Herbal Medicine continue the legacy that I envisioned years ago. To inspire our students, we present the different ways that one can become an herbalist. Others choose to work in an established herbal company, while others start their own business. Some of our graduates are entrepreneurs who run herbal farms or own organic medicinal herb stores. Some are herbalists, while others are writers or teachers. Chestnut School Herbal Medicine graduates include massage therapists and physicians who integrate botanical medicine in their fields of expertise. Making and selling herbal products at their bioregional pharmacies is one of the most popular careers that our students pursue.

We offer a variety of exciting online learning opportunities in herbalism. These include the Herbal Medicine Making Course and the Foraging Course - Edible and Medical Wild Herbs.

Juliet with her students during a camping trip on the Suwannee River, Florida. Photographer unknown

The Healing Garden Handcrafting Herbal Remedies

In those early years, I didn't care much about technology. I bought my first camera around the time I founded the school and I learned how to type and use a computer. My first book The Healing Garden was inspired by my creative endeavors of writing and taking photographs for my Castanea blog and herbal publications.

In 2022 I published The Healing Garden: Handcrafting Herbal Remedies. This book is a culmination of all I have learned in my journey to become an herbalist. The knowledge I acquired from my teachers, and the experience gained through my herbal ventures are infused within its pages. My herbal journey began as a medicine-maker and I owned a herbal products line that featured homegrown and sustainably harvested herbs for almost a decade. Preparing Botanical Medicine & Healing Food is a chapter that weaves my love of medicine-making into its pages.

If you are interested in becoming an herbalist The Healing Garden will help you grow a lush herb paradise and create a pantry of herbal remedies and concoctions. You will learn how to grow your own herbs using seeds, root divisions and cuttings. This includes nurturing the plants throughout all four seasons. Learn how to harvest each botanical and bring it into your kitchen or medicine cabinet.

I'm sure you will make lifelong friends by growing the botanicals described in this book. Your life and health will also be more vibrant and beautiful.

Community Herbalists and Herb Gardeners

The Healing Garden is a book I wrote for herbalists and aspiring herbologists who want to grow herbs in their gardens or on their porches or patios. This book is equally useful for those who want to expand their vegetable gardens to include herbs, as well as for homesteaders or permaculturists seeking greater self-sufficiency. These pages are full of useful information for even the most experienced herbalists. They include seeding charts, techniques for propagation, and delicious recipes.

The class will teach you how to cultivate and harvest more than 30 different medicinal herbs. You can grow herbs even if you are new to gardening and don't have a green thumb. Anyone can learn to garden. Start small, and make sure you visit your garden every day to keep your herbal charges in your mind. It's okay to make mistakes. They will help you become a better gardener. You will be rewarded by the sweetest bounty - empowerment, plant friends, a beautiful, healthy garden, and a medicine cabinet full of potent medicines.

The Healing Garden is available wherever books are sold. You can register for the exquisite bonus materials that accompany the book once you receive a receipt. Visit The Healing Garden Portal to learn more about the book, and the additional bonuses.

Let your gardens grow and your relationship with the earth be strengthened through your kinship to healing plants.