2025 Garden Apprenticeship

From seed to apothecary, our apprenticeship is a chance to deepen your connection to nature and plant medicine through a hands-on, working exploration of medicinal herbs.

Join herbalist and farmer, Sunshine Dawson, in tending our Garden of Life - a 120+ species medicinal garden designed around the body systems and the herbs that work with them. There is also a moon garden, a tea garden, and a bed for natural plant dyes.

Apprentices will be working outside with the plants themselves from planting the seeds, cultivating and caring for the herbs, harvesting and processing, to bringing them into the kitchen apothecary to create food and medicine with the plants they have lovingly tended.

Our work & learning will focus on:

 
 

Propagation

  • Techniques used for various plants like seeding, root divisions, cuttings, layering

  • Soil mixes, nutrients and proper watering

  • Sourcing seeds and plants

Spring Bed Clean Up & Planting

  • Common weed ID, beneficial uses and removal

  • Perennial herb maintenance

  • Fertilizing and mulching existing beds

  • Planting annuals

Harvesting & Processing

  • How, when, and what plant parts to harvest for maximum potency

  • Drying and garbling techniques

  • Properly storing herbs

Herbal Preparations

We will use fresh and dried herbs to make a variety of medicines for our farm Apothecary including tinctures, infused oils, salves, and acetums

 

Our focus will be working with the plants in the garden and apothecary, and while we will talk about how to apply herbs and herbal preparations in daily life, we will not be going over “what is this herb good for” with every species. There is so much more to learning about plant medicine than just what the plants can do for us. This is a chance to connect with and learn from the plants themselves through their cycles.

Apprentices will be given ideas for self study outside of our garden time to further their learning, including books and other resources. There will be ample opportunity to take fresh herbs home to begin or expand home apothecaries and gardens. Apprentices are welcomed to come early or stay late on our work days to spend time on their own with the plants.

Sunrise over the
Garden of Life

 

Apprenticeship Details

Who is this for:

  • The apprenticeship is open to 7 individuals who wish to expand their connection to and knowledge of medicinal plants by getting their hands into the soil and actively cultivating and caring for our medicine gardens and working in our apothecary.

  • We will be getting dirty, spending hours on our knees weeding or spreading mulch, in the cold or hot sun or occasionally some drizzle. Please make sure you are up for that!

Where & When:

  • The Spring session will begin on March 3rd and end on May 26th.
    We will meet every Monday 3pm - 5:30pm

  • Our meeting place each afternoon will be at the Garden of Life at Maple Spring Gardens -
    9779 Allison Rd, Cedar Grove, NC. —> MAP
    We will also visit other parts of our farm such as the greenhouse and drying shed.

  • In case of a super rainy day, we will focus on inside/apothecary work.

What to bring:

  • Apprentices should be prepared for hot or cold, sun or occasional drizzle and hard work. We recommend wearing pants, sturdy shoes, and a hat. A lightweight long sleeve shirt is good in the hotter season for sun protection. A change of clothes is sometimes helpful!

  • Please bring a refillable water bottle and snacks if you wish. Other items recommended are garden gloves, sunscreen, a notebook, and bags to bring herbs or plants home in, plus anything else you may need to be comfortable working in the garden for 2.5 hours, or at times indoors with our cohort.

  • We will supply all tools needed, but if you have home tools you prefer, you are welcome to bring them.

How much does it cost:

  • The apprenticeship fee is $500 to be paid at registration. There is an option to pay half as a deposit when you register and the other half by March 1st. This includes 30+ hours of hands-on instruction in growing and cultivating herbs from seed to apothecary, fresh herbs and plants to take home to stock your own apothecaries and gardens, hand-outs, guidance for self study, and personal time in the garden before and after on apprenticeship days.

  • We have 1 additional full scholarship available for a BIPOC community member. If you would like to apply, fill out our scholarship application below. For consideration, please submit by January 31st.

  • As space is limited, we do not offer refunds after February 15th. Refunds before February 15th will be minus a 10% processing fee. We rely on our apprentices’ work to care for our Garden of Life, our community teaching garden, and want each person to get the most out of the experience. Please make sure you are able to make the commitment to each day in the session before you sign up. We understand “life happens”; if your ability to commit changes after February 15th, please let us know. We may be able to honor a refund IF we have someone else on our wait list who can take your slot, minus a 10% processing fee.