Celebrating 10 years of Sweet Flag Herbs

Harvesting sweet flag (Acorus calamus) in my garden.

In June 2015, I went to the county clerk’s office in Buffalo, NY to officially start Sweet Flag Herbs. It felt a little like going to the courthouse to sign marriage papers. Like a great partnership, I’m more in love with this work now than ever.

To celebrate this milestone, I’ll share a bit of my Sweet Flag story and lessons learned over the past decade.

Herbalism sidled up to me slowly. Childhood smelled like my parents’ marigolds, grandma’s lilacs, apple mint, fallen maple leaves, and fresh basil. I learned to make tea by watching grandma steep her Lipton tea bag, wrap the string around the bag + spoon to squeeze the goodness out, and add a splash of milk. Cheers to plants being universal to the human experience.

Visiting Rainbow’s End Herbs with friends

While running a Cooking & Nutrition Program at the Chautauqua County Rural Ministry (2010—2013), we hosted Jackie Swift of Rainbow’s End Herbs for an “Herbal Medicine Chest” class. Jackie kindly gifted me a copy of Common Herbs for Natural Health by Juliette de Bairacli Levy—my first herbal book. Cheers to community connections and mentors.

A few times in my life, I’ve “heard” a voice that feels different than my usual thoughts; it catches me by surprise and stops me in my tracks. While working at CCRM, my morning commute was a 10-minute walk along a Lake Erie harbor. One morning, the voice said:

“You connect people and plants.”

I haven’t consciously based my choices on this directive. But the work that’s been most satisfying—work that brings out my natural strengths and delights me—has involved just that. Cheers to “letting the soft animal of your body love what it loves” (Mary Oliver).

CoreyPine Shane leading a plant walk (Blue Ridge School of Herbal Medicine, 2014)

In 2013, I left CCRM to complete a Horticultural Therapy (HT) program in North Carolina. At my HT internship, my supervisor happened to be enrolled in a weekend herbal medicine program. She gushed about what she was learning. Asheville, NC is a hotbed for herbal schools, and I felt led to enroll while I was in the area. Cheers to following our curiosity—for curiosity’s sake.

At the Blue Ridge School of Herbal Medicine (BRSHM), I was introduced to dozens of medicinal plants “in the flesh” on plant walks and in the garden. Making tinctures and identifying wild herbs shined a spotlight on my cerebral habits. I was confident about writing a paper about yarrow, but filled with doubt when it was time to identify and prepare it. Hundreds of tinctures later, I make them without thinking. Cheers to learning to trust our hands, our bodies.

I started the BRSHM Holistic Herbalism Program right after a sad breakup. I did my best to shine on friendliness with fellow students, and I swallowed my grief throughout the day. During the cardiovascular system unit, Director CoreyPine Shane introduced us to hawthorn—a gentle tonic for the physical and emotional heart. I drank hawthorn tea before work one morning (at a local veggie farm). I found myself weeping while weeding hothouse tomatoes. “Huh. Guess hawthorn works.” Cheers to learning through experience. To telling our own stories.

Sweet Flag Evolution

Herbal CSA products from 2015

When I started Sweet Flag Herbs, I planned to run an herbal CSA. For the first couple of years, I grew and sustainably harvested herbs, made herbal products, and created an extensive catalogue for members to choose from.

Letting members pick herbal tinctures for themselves didn’t feel quite right. I was the one with the herbal training, after all. The CSA catalogue was getting novel-length with my product explanations. I let go of the CSA and focused on offering herbal consults.

I enjoyed crafting personalized formulas for clients and having one-on-one, in-person time with people. Seeing dozens of clients let me see a broader range of herbs in action—in bodies that weren’t mine. It also showed me that my herbal “bread and butter” is education.

Harvesting a Home Apothecary program, 2019. This session generously hosted by Greystone Nature Preserve.

I love showing folks how to make their own tinctures, grow their own anise hyssop, sustainably harvest their own goldenrod. I’m inspired when I see people trust their own hands and bodies with something new. I’m honored by your bravery and openness every time you come to a class!

Living Ancestry booklet, 2023

COVID showed me that creating mailable educational resources and online courses is a wise way to diversify—and wildly satisfying for my introverted self.

COVID also showed me that in-person time helps us gain confidence with new skills, and to feel connected and well. I still love teaching in-person classes, and new ideas keep coming.

Sweet Flag Herbs has been a creative outlet with a mind of its own. Losing my grandpa in 2022 sparked the Lumia Box project—exploring ancestry through plants and nature. Delight at seeing native insects and birds visit native plants in my garden led to Native Culinary Herbs: Online Gardening Course.

I traditionally have trouble quitting things I’ve started. If I make a commitment, I feel I must follow through to the death of me. My business has been a safe space to play, experiment, and change course when it feels right.

In a trial-and-error process, changing course isn’t failure. If we’re open to learning, feedback, adjusting to conditions, and the whims of our muses, we can’t predict how the path will look. Cheers to surprises, and to growing in community.

2015 - Present:

Thanks to Jessica Cunningham Photography, Katie Schneider Photo, @hivecomb.designs, Ally from Greystone, beHealthy Institute, Erin, and Patrick for photos <3