NC Unit of The Herb Society of America

09/24/2025

Ready for harvesting

Wondering when to harvest? This guide makes it easy! 🧑‍🌾

09/24/2025

Good primer on drying herbs to preserve them.

09/24/2025

10 “Messy” Garden Habits That Actually Help Wildlife
✨ Sometimes less work = more life in your garden.

1. Leave the Leaves
🍂 Butterflies + fireflies overwinter in leaf litter.

2. Keep Seed Heads Standing
🌻 Natural food for birds all winter long.

3. Don’t Pull All the Weeds
🌼 Clover, dandelions, and violets feed pollinators.

4. Don’t Mow Too Short
🌱 Taller grass = insect habitat + soil protection.

09/16/2025

Who wants to try this?

Dyeing textiles with butterfly pea flower is an ancient practice that's gaining renewed interest as an eco-friendly alternative to synthetic dyes. The process involves extracting the vibrant blue anthocyanins from the dried flowers through various methods, with the most common being steeping them in hot or boiling water. To create the dye bath, you bring a large pot of water to a boil, add dried butterfly pea flowers, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the water turns a deep blue color, then strain out the flowers and let the liquid cool. For stronger concentrations, some dyers use microwave-assisted extraction techniques, which can extract colorants in as little as 10 seconds to 2 minutes.

The actual dyeing process requires careful attention to mordanting, which helps the dye bond permanently with the fabric fibers. Professional textile dyeing with butterfly pea involves stages of pre-mordanting and dyeing, simultaneous mordanting and dyeing, then post-mordanting and dyeing, which allows color particles to unite well and results in various color shades. Recent research has focused on optimizing dye extraction temperature and dyeing parameters for cotton fabrics to evaluate butterfly pea's potential as a natural textile dye. While the natural blue is beautiful, it's important to note that natural dyes generally produce lighter, more muted colors compared to synthetics, and the color may fade over time without proper mordanting. Simple experiments can be done by steeping butterfly pea tea and letting fabric soak overnight in the dark blue liquid, though professional results require more complex mordanting processes to achieve colorfastness.

Photo credit: peaflowerindonesia.com

09/08/2025

If you are heading out to the NC coast this month or live in Brunswick County, stop by our friend Shelton Herb Farm for their Native Plant Sale!

09/08/2025

Ready to grow your garden year-round? 🌿

Join us for a fun and informative day with The North Carolina Unit of the Herb Society of America at Piedmont Triad Farmers Market!🌱😊

🗓 Thursday, September 25th
⏰ 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM
📍 2914 Sandy Ridge Road, Colfax, NC
✨ Meet herb-growing experts
🌱 Enjoy live demos & talks
🎁 Score free gardening giveaways!

Whether you’re a beginner or a green-thumb pro, this event is packed with tips and tools to make your indoor or outdoor herb garden thrive!🙌🌿

Don’t miss it! You’ll be surprised at what you might find!😏😉

See less
— at Robert G. Shaw Piedmont Triad Farmers Market.

NC Unit of the Herb Society of America, meeting schedules, activities, herb information, Notable Native Herbs, invasive species, herb gardening with climate change, pollinators, members garden photos

09/03/2025

Herb of the Month

Butterfly pea flower is packed with antioxidants, particularly anthocyanins, which give the flower its vivid blue colour.

Butterfly pea flower is known for its calming properties. It can help reduce stress and anxiety, promoting a sense of relaxation.

One of the most unique features of butterfly pea flower is its ability to change color when the pH level is altered. When mixed with an acidic ingredient like lemon or lime juice, the blue tea turns a beautiful purple.

09/03/2025

Our volunteers are preparing for Herb Education Day Thursday, September 25.

Please share!

08/27/2025

Road trip anyone?

We are excited to announce a new addition to the Arboretum’s permanent art collection: Nature’s Throne, a vibrant mosaic sculpture generously donated by Asheville artist Linda Pannullo 🎨

Located in the Education Center Plaza, Nature’s Throne invites visitors of all ages to explore its intricate design through an interactive scavenger hunt 🔎 The piece showcases 44 representations of southeastern biodiversity, including 15 North Carolina state symbols 🐻

If you haven’t yet explored the creativity and meaning behind Nature’s Throne—or snapped a photo in the chair—be sure to stop by the Education Center Plaza on your next visit!

To see more of Linda’s work visit: lindapannullomosaics.com

08/27/2025

An amazing plant to grow.