Forrest Green Farm
Flora in Focus: Educational Herbarium Experience (Past Whole Living Class Participants Only)
2026 Herbarium Class now open for enrollment! Prerequisite is completing Whole Living Class.
Class is limited strictly to only 20 participants due to the hands-on nature of the class and table space needed for the class.
Botany is the study of plants. Learning the science of plants is very important if you use herbs as medicine and wild foods. Proper identification and connections to the plants will help you become more confident in your plant journeys.
In this class, we will cover basic botany for the herbalist, wildcrafters, or plant enthusiasts. You will learn to classify plants and group them by their botanical plant family. This knowledge will enable you to identify plants with similar uses that are good for specific conditions. You will develop a deeper understanding of the plant world and create a relationship with the plants by pressing and journaling them, all with the aim of using local plants for their health and medicinal properties.
When you identify, press, and journal plants, you must focus intensely on the details of the plant, such as learning leaf characteristics and arrangements, determining the plant family, and determining the Latin botanical name. Developing these skills will allow you to really “see” the plant world rather than just a wall of green when you look at plants, grasses, and trees.
Develop observation and identification skills through the use of guided classroom instruction, the use of loupes, microscopes, field guides, and games, as well as hands-on gathering and pressing of plants to build our own herbariums and journals. This class will be covering many of the plants that are taught in our Whole Living Course and that are found in our book Wellness Simplified! Herbalism From the Ground Up.
Connect with the plants by pressing the plants you gather from the farm herb gardens, fields, and woodlands at Forrest Green Farm. Krista will then teach you how to create a Herbarium for your plants and have you make a journal entries for these plants.
The class will be structured, providing a clear learning path. Each session will start with botany learning activities and a lecture. You will then collect plants from the farm gardens and fields, press them, and write out an identification for each, guided by Krista. In every session, Krista will lead you in enhancing your relationship with plants through journaling, flower essences, and additional practices.
Make Your Own Herbarium!
Develop observation and identification skills through the use of guided classroom instruction, the use of loupes, microscopes, field guides, and games, as well as hands-on gathering and pressing of plants to build our own herbariums and journals.
Plant Connections
You will develop a deeper understanding of the plant world and create a relationship with the plants by pressing, journaling, poetry, flower essences, crafts, and guided connection sessions. All with the aim of deepening your knowledge and connections to the natural world.
Preserving Techniques
You will learn various preservation techniques, including how to press plants using plant presses, silica gel, and a microwave. The presses are expertly designed and constructed by Forrest Green Farm. They are carefully tailored to deliver the best possible results when pressing herbs and flowers.
Learn the Plant Families
By the end of class your will have a binder full of extensive handouts with 30+ profiles for each plant family.
Flower Frame Craft
Craft your own pressed flower frame using flowers you pressed in class. Create a beautiful framed piece to display in your home, serving as a reminder of the connections and knowledge you gained during class.
2026 Class Dates
Thursdays 10am-2:30pm includes a half hour lunch break
May 21
June 11
July 23
August 6 & 20
September 10 (inclement weather makeup day)
Class Cost
PLEASE READ!
$1000, for 5 classes and includes all materials needed for pressing plants (paper, glue, sheet protectors, dividers, ID tags, etc.), loupes, two plant presses, plant journal, a binder full of extensive handouts with 30+ profiles for each plant family and you will leave class with a full herbarium to take home.
All credit card payments, whether made online or in-store, will be subject to a 3% processing fee. To avoid this fee, you have the option to pay by check, but only if you are paying in full. All payment plans must be completed online through this page. Each month, payment will be automatically deducted from the same card that was used for the initial purchase on the original date of purchase.
Payment Plan Options:
Option 1: Pay in full online or by check ($1000) in the mail to 2317 Evergreen Rd. Louisa VA 23093
Option 2: Payment Plans
6 Month Payment Plan: $171.66 every month for 6 months recurs on original purchase card on the same day of the month as when the initial order was made. A 3% processing fee is included for all payments made with a credit card.
3 Month Payment Plan: $343.33 every month for 3 months recurs on original purchase card on the same day of the month as when the initial order was made. A 3% processing fee is included for all payments made with a credit card.
You MUST be paid in full by the start of class.
Upon full payment or initiation of your first installment, you are acknowledging and consenting that the Flora in Focus Class is non-transferable and non-refundable.