Kathy Blakeslee's passion for organic living, indigineous cultures, plant medicine and medicinal herbs gave birth to Ashbury Herb Gardens, this organic herb farm is tucked away in the rolling hils of Baraboo in Sauk County, Wisconsin.  Kathy was the former owner of Spring Valley Garden's and was published nationally in numerous horticulture magazines and trade publications in the 1980's and 90's. 

This diverse herb farm featured over 300 unique varieties of medicinal and culinary herbs in addition Kathy featured a gourmet cooking school in which customers could gather their own organic vegetables and fresh herbs from the extensive gardens on her herb farm to prepare in their recipes held in Kathy's cooking classes she held at her cooking school.. Spring Valley Gardens was featured in many national publications including being on the covers of the professional trade journal 'Grower Talks' and 'Horticulture' magazines this business has since been sold. 

 Kathy and her husband Joe now spend part of their time in Baraboo where she created a new organic herb farm called Ashbury Herb Gardens and sells in the Spring season at the one of this country's largest Farmer's Market in Madison, Wisconsin where she has held a stall for over 20 years and also crafts her own medicinal healing ointments and salves.  The remainder of the year Kathy now lives, teaches and is an organic consultant in the San Francisco Bay Area where Kathy also travels worldwide where she is a an Ethno-Botanist and works with indigneous cultures of the world. Her passion also lies in sharing the wisdom she learned from her French grandmother who trained Kathy how to hunt for wild roots and berries along with healing herbs in the woodlands of Wisconsin and France where she immigrated from the South of France where Kathy still travels and learns the healing ways of the elders in the local villages.

Kathy is also a botanist, horticulture teacher, herbalist, author and phyto medicine specialist working with The Harmony Project in Tanzania, Africa www.harmonyproject.biz  among other regions of the globe.

Her passion is in herb gardening and cooking, consulting, organics,  indigenous cultures with teaching sustainable living.   She has been focused on the organic and environmental movement in this country for years  along with Marin Organics, Bioneers, the Panchmama Alliance, Slow Food Nation the Herb Society of America all in the San Francisco Bay Area 

KATHY'S MISSION:

  My interest and enthusiasm in healing, natural medicine and herbal alchemy started at an early age growing up with my grandmother from Provence, France. I helped her gather healing herbs in the wild that she  crafted into healing salves and ointments at her apothecary .  She was the local village 'doctor' or healer.  Her teachings remain with me to this day. My passion is in  continuing her life legacey, developing upon her teachings, and sharing it with those who  desire  to learn more about the ancient wisdom of Alchemy.