HARVESTING & DRYING HERBS. A program by Patty Bailey, owner of Patty’s Herbs in Milton, WI, showing different methods of preserving your bounty.

HERB LEAF PRINTING WORKSHOP with Nancy Welch. We’ll print herb leaves on tote bags, tee shirts, sweatshirts or whatever fabric you want to print on, and note cards. You’re going to have fun creating beautiful art and great gifts. The workshop portion will follow a short business meeting (workshop limit: 25). Feel free to invite a friend. You must preregister with Marge or Rosemary by October 1st. The cost is $22 and includes cards, paints and printing supplies. Supplies for you to bring include: tote bag or other fabrics, 1 or 2 1/4” bristle brushes, brayer (if you have one), fresh herb leaves – not dried, newspapers, tweezers, and small scissors.

THE 29th ANNUAL HERB FAIRE This will be an all-new FREE event focusing on Herbal Education. We’ll have speakers including Nino Ridgeway on gardening, Jane Hawley Stevens on medicinal and cosmetic products, and a culinary demo featuring MINT. Our new MINT cookbook will also be available. The Commons at Olbrich will have a festive air with live music, herbal vendors, and the ever popular Madison Herb Society Booth with homemade products and bakery items.

Highlighting the day will be our first-ever Herb Activities Room. Here visitors will get hands-on herbal experiences. There will be stations where you can make your own Thanksgiving herb packet or Bay Laurel kitchen ornament, or see how herbal household products are made. We’ll have demonstrations on herbal wreaths, nosegays, tussie mussies and a Q & A station with herb growing information. Join the fun on Saturday, NOVEMBER 5th and invite your friends and neighbors.

Click here for the 2011 Herb Faire poster. See a list of vendors here.

For more information click here. Please consider volunteering to help with the Herb Faire. We need help setting up, working with the public and at various stations, and of course with clean-up.

HOLIDAY POTLUCK Bring a dish to pass, your own table service and a few small personal hygiene items for our Women’s Shelter donation box. Please consider bringing a copy of your recipe to share and feature in our newsletter.

HERBS OF THE WORLD: INDIA. Harsha Keister will present a program on medicinal properties of Indian herbs and spices.

Garden Expo at the Alliant Center. Please consider volunteering for a shift at the Madison Herb Society Booth.

CARE AND MAINTENANCE OF GARDEN TOOLS A program by Stephenie Homan of the FISKARS company.

OUR ANNUAL TEA with a short presentation on Planting and Using a Tea Garden with Lauri Lee. Join us for a morning of relaxation and pleasure. Bring a guest and a tea dainty to share. Hats and gloves are optional, but welcome.

PLANT EXCHANGE, ANNUAL MEETING AND OFFICER ELECTIONS This is one of our most popular meetings and a great way to add to your garden plant collection. It’s FREE. Bring herb plants and cuttings, all labeled, and share with other members.

ROAD TRIP To Michigan. Overnight bus trip to Chicago’s Millennium Park for lunch and a tour of the Lurie Garden, then to Lavender Hill Farms in Niles, MI. Saturday we’ll visit the Frederick Meijer Garden & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, MI and have lunch at the beautiful Prairie Trail Herb Farm in Goshen, IN. More details later.