Backyard Medicine 2025

There are so many wonderful plant friends in your backyard waiting for you to get to know them. Not just as weeds, or annoyances, but as nutritious powerhouses, everyday medicine and dear friends waiting to help you find moments of calm, peace and ease. 

Join Lisa Estabrook and herbalist Abbie Gross in the Soulflower Sanctuary Gardens in Yarmouth, Maine for this special, small group offering (only 6 places) to help participants deepen their relationships with some very special plant friends that likely already grow right outside your back door. 

We will gather one Saturday per month from May to October from 10:30am to 2:30pm to greet, celebrate and truly get to know our backyard community. 

This is a hands-on, heart opening experience where we will explore how to listen to and build lifelong relationships with the plants. Connecting with the rhythm of the lunar cycle we will work deeply with only one plant per month so that by the end of each gathering participants will feel comfortable connecting with, identifying, harvesting and preparing the plants in a variety of ways to easily incorporate them into your kitchen & home apothecary for every day wellness. 

Nature is dynamic and always changing and we trust that the best plants for the group will make themselves known. Most certainly we will get to know Dandelion, Nettle and Rose but some other plants that may step forward include Self Heal, Red Clover, Calendula, Chickweed, Chamomile, Hawthorn and maybe even White Pine. 

The exchange is $840 and includes light refreshments, handouts and all materials required. There will also be an optional online private “Greenhouse” in the CommUNITY Garden for connection, questions and community between our physical gatherings. All you need to do is say yes and show up! Nature is abundant and generous and you will always receive more than you give.

Please secure your place with a $140 deposit. The balance will be due May 1st. Payment plans can be organized if necessary. 

Gathering Dates: May 17, June 14, Jul 12, Aug 16, Sept 13, Oct 11

See you in the Garden! 

🌸 Lisa & Abbie

P.S. The intention is for the Garden to be accessible to all. If your heart says "yes" but your wallet says "no" then please reach out via email at Sanctuary@MySoulflower.love and we can find alternative arrangements

Lisa Estabrook is a human being remembering how to live a heart-led, healthy and joy filled life with the loving guidance of the Soulflower plant spirits.  It is her heart's deepest desire to empower others to "see" with their own hearts the beauty, joy and love in the Earth garden around us AND within us, as she does the same, so that together we can remember how to create a world where all beings seen & unseen can coexist in connection and commUNITY and thrive rather than just survive. Lisa's belief is that the more we learn about ourselves the more we will empower and support our own wellbeing and by extension our families, our communities and ultimately the Earth we all call home. Lisa stewards the Soulflower Sanctuary in Yarmouth, Maine and is also the founder of the CommUNITY Garden virtual sanctuary.

Abbie Gross is a herbalist, postpartum doula and holistic natural foods chef. Abbie has been cooking professionally for over 12 years, offering health supportive and nutritious meals to families and individuals. The path to her interest in herbal medicine began with utilizing plants for natural dye. She began to see that the plant world around her held so many secrets and magic within. It was from this deep curiosity that the path of herbal medicine began to unfold. She has been studying clinical herbalism for over 5 years and offers herbal consultations both virtually and in-person. After the birth of her daughter, Abbie felt passionate about becoming a postpartum doula to help support others during the fourth trimester. Abbie brings her unique background to her doula work, as she is passionate about using food and herbal elements as a tool to heal during the postpartum period. The common thread throughout all the pillars of Abbie’s offerings is that she is passionate about supporting women in all phases of their lives and helping them to achieve their specific wellness goals. You can find out more about her offerings at illustriousherbal.com