The Herb Society of America - South Texas Unit

Our Program

8:00 am - 8:50 am

Registration, Refreshments, Shopping at the Herbal Marketplace and with Vendors, 

Proceeds from the Herbal Marketplace  fund the Herb Society of America, South Texas Unit, Madalene Hill Scholarship

8:50 am - 9:00 am

Welcome Address and Introductions by Unit Chair and Program Chair

9:00 am - 9:45 am 

The Gardener and the Cook: From Pruning to Preserving

This enlightening class is about pruning, cultivating and harvesting herbs, produce, and useful weeds and how to use this garden bounty. Determined gardener, Tina Marie, is all about the gardening during the dogdays of summer—she gets so hot and busy—that she often feeds the compost pile instead of making use of the prunings and wild herbs that she extracts. On the other hand, Susan is a practical cook, who is always thinking of ways to use the harvest, bringing it into the kitchen to preserve in many ways, for the cold weather months.

In this practical, matter-of-fact, and fun presentation, this dynamic duo will discuss what is actually happening in the garden this time of year; how to keep yourself comfortable in summer heat; how to prune herbs for the health of the plants and people; and then utilize the harvest.

They will give practical tips as well as hands-on guidance on the best ways to preserve herbs from drying and freezing to infusing them to capture their essence in vinegar, honey, oil and tincture. They will cover the how and when to harvest, how to keep the harvest fresh until it gets to the kitchen, and how to make infusions for the kitchen and apothecary.

9:45 am - 10:05 am

Refreshment Break

10:05 am - 10:50 am

(cont'd)  The Gardener and the Cook

10:50 am - 11:15 pm

Refreshment Break

11;15 am - 11:45 am

Bunches, Bouquets and Kitchen Wreaths

Jacqui Highton and Benée Curtis demonstrate bringing  your fresh herbs into the kitchen and artfully preparing them until they're used.

11:45 am - 12:45 pm

Door Prize Drawings, Lunch, Herbal Marketplace, Visit Education Tables, Book Signing by Susan and Tina Marie

12:45 pm - 1:45 pm

Alliums: Chives, Garlic, Onions, Leeks, & Shallots

Susan Belsinger and Tina Marie Wilcox will delve into growing, harvesting and cooking these mild and wild edibles.

1:45 pm - 2:00 pm

Concluding Remarks; Door Prize Drawing, Final Herbal Marketplace Shopping Opportunity

Our Speakers

Susan Belsinger is an herbalist, specializing in culinary herbs. She teaches, lectures, and writes about gardening and cooking, and is a food writer, editor and photographer who has authored and edited over 25 books and hundreds of articles. Recently referred to as a “flavor artist,” Susan delights in kitchen alchemy—the blending of harmonious foods, herbs, and spices—to create real, delicious food, as well as libations, that nourish our bodies and spirits and titillate our senses.

Growing vegetables, herbs, and flowers organically, harvesting them at their peak, and bringing them into the kitchen to create healthy recipes is a way of life for Susan. She is passionate about herbs & her work - sharing the joy of gardening & cooking through teaching & writing - & inspiring others to get in touch with their senses of smell & taste. She has documented a long-awaited cooking journey, in her new book The Perfect Bite now available for your sensory delight. 

She travels around the nation, as well as Canada and Europe, sharing her passion for herbs – teaching, giving herbal workshops and demos. Susan uses the green plants every day in recipes for healthy meals and to create tinctures and oils to bitters, shrubs and fermentations. She taught at L’Academie de Cuisine, an accredited cooking school in Bethesda, Maryland, for more than 25 years.

Tina Marie Wilcox has been the head gardener and herbalist at the Ozark Folk Center's Heritage Herb Garden in Mountain View, Arkansas, since 1984. She tends the extensive gardens, plans and coordinates annual herbal events and workshops, and facilitates the production and sale of plants, seeds, and herbal products for the park. She also gives lectures and workshops throughout the United States in herb growing, living history, and herb use.

Jacqui Highton is originally from the UK but has made her home in the States for over 30 years, first in Houston and now Asheville, NC. She’s been a member of the HSA for most of those 30 years, and held the posts of Secretary, Day Group Program Chair, Education Chair and Chair of the South Texas Unit. She has a Masters in Micropaleontology. ​

She has gone from a tiny city yard to a huge garden that she is filling with herbs and veggies and natives. Instead of dealing with Houston's fire ants and squirrels, she now has regular visits from bears and bobcats. Her main interests are crafts, cooking and herbal folklore.

Benée Curtis has been a member of the South Texas Unit since 1990 and has worn many hats within the organization including Unit Chair, Treasurer, Herb Fair and Herb Day Chair. Her small urban garden is almost exclusively edible herbs and vegetables with a few treats added for the bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Her main herbal interest is growing and cooking with herbs. She's trained as an engineer, but living her best life as a fairly recent retiree. 

Questions about registration? Contact us at southtexasunit@gmail.com

$67 Early Bird Discount through March 31, 2025. 

$75 April 1 to April 21, 2025.