Native Culinary Herbs
Online Gardening Course
Do you love growing useful, tasty herbs--
and also wish your garden was home to more native plants?
The plants in most American herb gardens, spice cabinets, and nursery herb departments—oregano, basil, parsley, and more—are from the Mediterranean and Asia.
Which native plants serve as delicious culinary herbs?
Native Culinary Herbs will help you grow flavorful, nourishing food while supporting your local ecosystem with native species.
With a mix of short videos, written lessons, and simple recipes, this course takes you from seed to plate (or frosty beverage!) with 20+ native culinary herb species.
In this course, you will:
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Acquire the skills you need to plant thriving native species in your herb garden.
Learn each plant’s preferred growing conditions and get step-by-step guidance on purchasing plants and/or starting seeds.
View range maps to see which species are locally native where you live.
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Learn specific benefits these species provide to local wildlife.
Answer questions like:
Which herbs do native bees turn to for nectar and pollen?
Which are favorites of hummingbirds and butterflies?
Which benefit neighboring plants with nutrient accumulation and pest deterrence?
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Learn where to obtain plants and seeds you want to grow.
Receive a spreadsheet of nurseries and seed companies specializing in native plant propagation, and learn which species they carry from the course. The list will be updated each year.
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Prepare simple, tasty recipes that enhance your meals.
Recipes include sides and main dishes, a spice blend, culinary herbal salts and sugar, mocktails and cocktails, salads and salad dressing, herbal syrup, digestive bitters, and more.
Most recipes are gluten-free, dairy-free, and meat-free. Recipes that feature these ingredients offer variations for folks avoiding these foods.
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Support the WNY Native Plant Collaborative.
5% of every enrollment goes to the Collaborative’s operating and educational costs.
Learn more about this community organization:
Once you enroll:
All course material is accessed at your convenience. There are no live classes.
You’ll have access for the life of the course—a minimum of five years from your registration.
Enjoy all course updates at no additional cost.
This includes new lessons, videos, and expanded nursery spreadsheets.
Meet Your Instructors
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Sarah Sorci
Lead Instructor
Sarah Sorci (she/her) is an herbal educator, writer, and therapeutic gardening facilitator based in Western New York.
She offers educational resources for folks seeking empowerment, environmental sustainability, and ancestry connection by way of the plant world.
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Ken Parker
Supporting Instructor
Ken is a passionate Indigenous horticulturalist and member of the Seneca Nation of Indians. A New York State Certified Nursery Landscape Professional (CNLP) and a Green Infrastructure Program Trainer, Ken has spent much of his life devoted to growing, installing, teaching and promoting indigenous plants of North America.
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Ellen Folts
Guest Instructor
Ellen is the owner and operator of Amanda's Native Garden in Dansville, NY. Ellen has a degree in agricultural and natural resources from SUNY Cobleskill and has worked in the horticultural field for 31+ years. She is a Senior New York State Certified Nursery and Landscape Professional.
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Laurianne Fleming
Laurianne is the Nursery Manager at The Plantsmen Nursery in Groton, NY (near Ithaca). The Plantsmen offers “truly locally grown plants, many from seed we collect locally; big, healthy plants grown spray-free without toxic chemicals; complete custom landscape services; hardscaping with local untreated larch lumber and natural stone; exceptional and friendly customer service; and natural display gardens…all set on our peaceful, accessible retail nursery property.”
Recipe Gallery (Course includes 30+ recipes)
Enjoy a 20% pre-order discount until the course opens.
Course will open in late 2024 or 2025.
If you have an additional discount code, you CAN use it to double up on discounts.
I appreciate your early support of this project!
FAQs
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I am also not tech-savvy! I designed the course to be simple and streamlined. If you can log in to an online account (like email or Facebook), you have the skills you need to enjoy the course.
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The following plants will be featured when the course is released:
Common violet (Viola sororia)
Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)
Nodding onion (Allium cernuum)
Bee balm (5 Monarda species)
Mountain mint (4 Pycnanthemum species)
Wild mint (Mentha arvensis)
Pepperweed (Lepidium virginicum)
Native hibiscus (2 Hibiscus species)
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Wood sorrel (2 Oxalis species)
Wild garlic (Allium canadense)
Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens)
Toothwort (2 Cardamine species)
Spicebush (Lindera benzoin)
Ramps (Allium tricoccum)
Several more species will be added in 2025! 2024 registrants will enjoy the expanded course at no additional charge.
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Native Culinary Herbs is best suited to North American gardens east of the Rocky Mountains and north of Florida.
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Nope! Feel free to skip around as you please.
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Nope! Everyone will approach this course differently based on their unique gardening situation and time restraints. You know best what you need from this material and when.
You are here because you're genuinely interested in adding delicious, native herbs to your garden--supporting your local ecosystem in the process. Congratulations! That's enough.
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There is no time limit for completing the course. You will have access for as long as this course exists.
Should I decide to end enrollment, I am committed to keeping access open for all students for five years after the last student enrolls.
For updates on Native Culinary Herbs, join the Sweet Flag Herbs Newsletter.
Hibiscus moscheutos. Image source.