On Thursday 7 March, Slow Food East Cork hosted Maya Thomas, Herbologist, Dip Royal Botanical Gardens, Edinburgh who spoke about growing your own herbs. Here is a report of that event.

Coming from a mixed Sri-Lankan-Anglo background, it was Maya’s mother who instilled in her a love of herbs from an early age. A cook for the likes of The Cure and Stevie Nicks in the 80’s, she’d cultivated her own extensive herb garden so that she could always have the best ingredients to hand. Five years ago Maya left her job, her flat and her family and friends and moved from London to rural Scotland.

Inspired by the memories of the herb garden her mother had created when she was a child, Maya set about making her own. From here she started to work with local gardeners and herbalists to expand her knowledge of the plants she’d known since childhood. Maya graduated from the RBGE Herbology diploma in 2017. She works as a writer, consultant and travels the country interviewing and learning from those that have dedicated their lives to herbs.

Her blog: www.themodernherbal.com

For further details on which herbs to grow, see our Recipes page.