Welcome to the Herb Society of America, Baton Rouge Unit
March 16, 2023, 6:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Note change of date! We're a week earlier than usual because of a scheduling conflict with Burden
LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens, Ione Burden Conference Center
4560 Essen Lane, Baton Rouge, LA
Monthly Meeting: Medicinal Herbs of Louisiana
Jen Blanchard, horticultural graduate student and former HSABR garden intern, will speak about Louisiana native herbs and their medicinal properties.
As always, visitors and guests are welcome. Admission is free for HSABR members, $5 for all others. Please bring small bills if possible.
Note change of date! We're a week earlier than usual because of a scheduling conflict with Burden
LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens, Ione Burden Conference Center
4560 Essen Lane, Baton Rouge, LA
Monthly Meeting: Medicinal Herbs of Louisiana
Jen Blanchard, horticultural graduate student and former HSABR garden intern, will speak about Louisiana native herbs and their medicinal properties.
As always, visitors and guests are welcome. Admission is free for HSABR members, $5 for all others. Please bring small bills if possible.
HERB DAY 2023!
Our first big Herb Day since 2020 was held Saturday, February 25, and it was a huge success! Thanks to all who came and supported HSABR and local vendors!
Watch this space for a full write-up and photos!
Our first big Herb Day since 2020 was held Saturday, February 25, and it was a huge success! Thanks to all who came and supported HSABR and local vendors!
Watch this space for a full write-up and photos!
EdCon 2023 Update (see main listing below)
Herbal Friends, we’re into the home stretch with EdCon 2023, the big national educational Herb Society of America conference here in Baton Rouge April 26–29. It’ll be at the Crowne Plaza hotel.
We need several things from you:
1. Really good donations of arts, crafts, antiques, garden-related things for the raffle. These should have a value of at least $25 (for instance, I am making an herbal-themed quilt for the raffle). Talk with your local merchants and ask them to donate nice items. Download copies of the letter soliciting donations and the receipt for you to give donors below. We will list all donors as Sponsors so keep track of the donations you solicit.
2. Can you volunteer to staff the registration table or the raffle tables for an hour or two? Can you be a friendly greeter for our out-of-town guests at the Welcome Reception on Thursday, April 27 starting at 5:00 p.m.? Can you be a friendly face for our guests at meals?
3. If you want to volunteer a couple of hours, contact me at 414-526-3016 or druidmary1809@gmail.com and we'll find a time that suits you.
I’ll be at the meeting on the 23rd just before Herb Day if you want to talk about this.
Be sure to register for EdCon! We have a wonderful program of speakers and presenters that spotlight South Louisiana. If you have friends who are interested, non-members can register for EdCon, program, meals, entertainment, etc. Registration information is on the Herb Society of America website.
— Mary Williams, Baton Rouge co-chair of EdCon 2023
Herbal Friends, we’re into the home stretch with EdCon 2023, the big national educational Herb Society of America conference here in Baton Rouge April 26–29. It’ll be at the Crowne Plaza hotel.
We need several things from you:
1. Really good donations of arts, crafts, antiques, garden-related things for the raffle. These should have a value of at least $25 (for instance, I am making an herbal-themed quilt for the raffle). Talk with your local merchants and ask them to donate nice items. Download copies of the letter soliciting donations and the receipt for you to give donors below. We will list all donors as Sponsors so keep track of the donations you solicit.
2. Can you volunteer to staff the registration table or the raffle tables for an hour or two? Can you be a friendly greeter for our out-of-town guests at the Welcome Reception on Thursday, April 27 starting at 5:00 p.m.? Can you be a friendly face for our guests at meals?
3. If you want to volunteer a couple of hours, contact me at 414-526-3016 or druidmary1809@gmail.com and we'll find a time that suits you.
I’ll be at the meeting on the 23rd just before Herb Day if you want to talk about this.
Be sure to register for EdCon! We have a wonderful program of speakers and presenters that spotlight South Louisiana. If you have friends who are interested, non-members can register for EdCon, program, meals, entertainment, etc. Registration information is on the Herb Society of America website.
— Mary Williams, Baton Rouge co-chair of EdCon 2023

edcon2023_sponsor_letter.pdf | |
File Size: | 82 kb |
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edcon2023_receipt.pdf | |
File Size: | 78 kb |
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EdCon 2023
The Herb Society of America is celebrating its 90th Birthday in 2023 and we’re going to help make it a great celebration!
HSABR is hosting the big Educational Conference in April and our whole focus is on south Louisiana: its history, culture, cuisine, development, plants, healing traditions, music, and more.
Local artisans, businesses, and artists will be at the Marketplace for the entire EdCon 2023 weekend. We have six excellent speakers lined up, and one outside very important guest—William Bartram himself (aka Kirk Brown, well-known Bartram reenactor; you've seen the tall metal signs marking the Bartram Trail all over Baton Rouge). "Mr. Bartram" is coming to talk about his travels from the Atlantic across the Gulf Coast and inland in the 1700s, and what he saw and learned.
The venue is the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Baton Rouge, and our committee members have worked closely with the hotel chefs to create a menu of delicious south Louisiana cuisine for all meals. We'll have a raffle, a cooking demonstration, and book signings in addition to the other events. Attendees may also take a bus tour to Houmas House on the Thursday before the official start of the EdCon 2023.
The very last event will be a gourmet buffet dinner and an irresistible Cajun band with dancers to teach us the steps.
Click here to download the schedule for the weekend or see it on the HSA website. Register HERE.
The Herb Society of America is celebrating its 90th Birthday in 2023 and we’re going to help make it a great celebration!
HSABR is hosting the big Educational Conference in April and our whole focus is on south Louisiana: its history, culture, cuisine, development, plants, healing traditions, music, and more.
Local artisans, businesses, and artists will be at the Marketplace for the entire EdCon 2023 weekend. We have six excellent speakers lined up, and one outside very important guest—William Bartram himself (aka Kirk Brown, well-known Bartram reenactor; you've seen the tall metal signs marking the Bartram Trail all over Baton Rouge). "Mr. Bartram" is coming to talk about his travels from the Atlantic across the Gulf Coast and inland in the 1700s, and what he saw and learned.
The venue is the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Baton Rouge, and our committee members have worked closely with the hotel chefs to create a menu of delicious south Louisiana cuisine for all meals. We'll have a raffle, a cooking demonstration, and book signings in addition to the other events. Attendees may also take a bus tour to Houmas House on the Thursday before the official start of the EdCon 2023.
The very last event will be a gourmet buffet dinner and an irresistible Cajun band with dancers to teach us the steps.
Click here to download the schedule for the weekend or see it on the HSA website. Register HERE.

If you haven’t already renewed your membership in HSABR...
It’s time! Our membership year runs from October to October, so please get your renewals in as soon as possible. And if you’re not yet a member, now is a great time to remedy that situation!
Your membership in the Herb Society of America, Baton Rouge Unit (HSABR), includes all of the benefits of the national organization as well as our local unit. There are many wonderful benefits to membership, including numerous opportunities to learn and delight in the use of herbs. Our programs include lectures on a wide range of topics related to growing, cooking and using herbs. We also spend time tending to our community gardens in companionship with other members who are passionate herb devotees!
Membership in the Herb Society of America gives you access to the members-only area on the website and many HSA publications, including the HSA Quarterly Newsletter, Unit Connections, HerbalBytes, and GreenBridges™ newsletters, among others. HSA also offers informative webinars that provide our members with the opportunity to share their knowledge, delight, and use of herbs, as well as their varied experiences with a larger herbal community. Members can browse HSA's unique herb-related library, with over 3,500 volumes with topics ranging from vintage books on horticulture to modern fiction. Plus, you get exclusive discounts for online herb products, magazines, online herb classes, and reduced or free admission to public gardens and arboreta through AHS' Reciprocal Admissions Program.
Please visit the HSA's Membership page for a full list of benefits. In addition, being a member of HSABR puts you in contact with a pretty fine group of local folks who can help inspire you, assist you, and sympathize with you in your herbal pursuits!
Dues run from October to October, so the fee will be prorated if you join (not renew!) in a different month (click here for proration chart). You may pay by PayPal or check. The PayPal link will be on the confirmation page that comes up after submitting the membership application form, but if possible, please mail your check (payable to HSABR) to the address on the membership form, as that saves us PayPal fees and saves our treasurer a fair amount of hassle.
Please note: Your renewal/application is not complete until payment is received.
It’s time! Our membership year runs from October to October, so please get your renewals in as soon as possible. And if you’re not yet a member, now is a great time to remedy that situation!
Your membership in the Herb Society of America, Baton Rouge Unit (HSABR), includes all of the benefits of the national organization as well as our local unit. There are many wonderful benefits to membership, including numerous opportunities to learn and delight in the use of herbs. Our programs include lectures on a wide range of topics related to growing, cooking and using herbs. We also spend time tending to our community gardens in companionship with other members who are passionate herb devotees!
Membership in the Herb Society of America gives you access to the members-only area on the website and many HSA publications, including the HSA Quarterly Newsletter, Unit Connections, HerbalBytes, and GreenBridges™ newsletters, among others. HSA also offers informative webinars that provide our members with the opportunity to share their knowledge, delight, and use of herbs, as well as their varied experiences with a larger herbal community. Members can browse HSA's unique herb-related library, with over 3,500 volumes with topics ranging from vintage books on horticulture to modern fiction. Plus, you get exclusive discounts for online herb products, magazines, online herb classes, and reduced or free admission to public gardens and arboreta through AHS' Reciprocal Admissions Program.
Please visit the HSA's Membership page for a full list of benefits. In addition, being a member of HSABR puts you in contact with a pretty fine group of local folks who can help inspire you, assist you, and sympathize with you in your herbal pursuits!
Dues run from October to October, so the fee will be prorated if you join (not renew!) in a different month (click here for proration chart). You may pay by PayPal or check. The PayPal link will be on the confirmation page that comes up after submitting the membership application form, but if possible, please mail your check (payable to HSABR) to the address on the membership form, as that saves us PayPal fees and saves our treasurer a fair amount of hassle.
Please note: Your renewal/application is not complete until payment is received.