The Story Of GivingTree Farm Herb Company
GIVINGTREE FARM HERB COMPANY BEGINNINGS | |||
This story, like many stories, begins with a cat. Mira, my kitty of 16+ years was born under my supervision to her beautiful mother Samantha in May of 1985. Along with The Mirskies came her brother and sister. I decided they all needed some fresh catnip in their diets so I bought and planted a catnip plant. That began my first focused interest in herbs. By Mira's one year birthday I had moved back up to Oregon from California, enrolled at Oregon State University, and started a small but very diverse herb garden at my Grandfather Pat's house in Albany. Soon, my mother, Karen, moved back as well, to nearby Corvallis. It wasn't too long before she got involved and we began selling herbs, Elephant Garlic, pesto, flavored mustards and vinegars and many other creative herb-based items at the local Farmer's Markets in the Willamette Valley. After moving my base of operations a little farther south to Eugene in 1988, I realized that I had reached the limits of what I could teach myself about herbs. I needed to learn more. I needed a teacher. So, in 1991, I became an herbal apprentice for a couple of years with Howie, a local master herbalist and wildcrafter, Director of (at that time) Columbines and Wizardry Herbs. (Now it's just "Columbines" - which is celebrating it's 40th year in 2024! Congratulations!) During this time I also had an urban herb and vegetable truck garden going that helped feed me, my friends and family and any surplus I grew I sold at the Farmer's and Saturday Markets in Eugene and Corvallis. I stayed connected with Albany and Corvallis and in fact taught my first herb class (called Power Plants: The Spiritual and Shamanic Uses of Herbs) in Corvallis during the summer of 1992 to an enthusiastic audience. Since then, I have been offering all kinds of herb classes, from herb walks, to workshops to apprenticeship programs. | |||
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My first foray into selling something more complex than a bundle of dried herbs began during the summer of 1993. I had just moved to 400 wooded acres about two miles south of Eugene and I needed to pay the rent. My friend Ann suggested we go to the Grateful Dead concert at Autzen Stadium and sell something. She made up some herb tinctures and I bagged up a pretty rough-looking assortment of herbs I'd recently learned to gather for smoking and off we went. Thanks to the Deadheads, we both had a great time and even made enough to each pay our rents -- such a deal! That was the beginning of what would become GivingTree Farm Herb Company. Ever since then, I've made and sold a variety of well-received natural herbal products (my Herbal Smoking Mixtures were always very popular!) ~I completed a year-long Shamanic Apprenticeship under the guidance of Shamanic Counselor and Practitioner Alida Birch in 1998. ~In 2000 my friend Wendy and I completed Master Herbalist Michael Moore's 500 hour clinical herbalism program and began a professional clinical herbalism practice. For people who have health issues and would like information from an herbal perspective, I offer one-on-one consultations either in person, online, or over the phone. (Please see my CONSULTATIONS page for more information.) ~In 2003 I graduated with a BA in Art: Painting from the University of Oregon. ~I taught Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology at Lane Community College's Massage Program starting in the fall of 2005 through summer 2013. ~In 2010 I relocated to Albany and Corvallis. ~In 2012 and again in 2013 I created and directed The Sustainable Herbalism Conference on The Benton Center Campus of LBCC in Corvallis with dozens of different presenters and vendors all centered around The Green Arts! ~For about five years, from 2015-2020, I divided my time between Oregon and Southern California, where I taught classes, worked in a New Age Metaphysical shop as a psychic and tarot reader, and started a live weekly podcast with my friend Michael J. Espinoza called The Psychic Funhouse ~During the pandemic I stopped traveling to California except occasionally, and now can be found -most of the time- in Corvallis. ~I run a seasonal Farmstand with my mother Karen (called Viewmont Gardens Feel free to contact me with any of your herbal interests and questions! Thank you for visiting my website! Enjoy my offerings, have fun looking around and I hope you learn something useful about the plant people. One of my earliest products: an herbal smoking mixture called "Cascadia"  |
