One of the Herb Capital of Ohio’s BEST assets is located in the heart of Gahanna! The Ohio Herb Center is the perfect place to experience the world of herbs – gardening, culinary, aromatic, health and wellness. The Nafzger-Miller house (110 Mill St. Gahanna, Ohio 43230), is home to the Herb Center. It is listed in the National Register of Historical Places, with the earliest part of the house dating to 1855. Take a class or workshop on a variety of classes, ranging from Tea Blending and DIY Herbal Cosmetics to Thrifty Herbal Homecare. Or rent the center for a small meeting, baby or wedding shower or group event. Call (614) 642-4372 to learn more. 

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Meet the Staff

 

Amanda Ferguson / Ohio Herb Center Coordinator

Amanda’s experience with herbs started in 1996 after she read Rosemary Gladstar’s Herbal Healing for Women. In 1997 she decided to start making soap after her daughter wasn’t able to use commercial soap. That put her on a path to start her own small soap-making business, Thymeless Apothecary, that she ran for 6 years. She develops classes and instructs at the Ohio Herb Center. One of the great joys of learning herbs is sharing that knowledge. She has created and taught over 25 classes, workshops, and outreach events at the Ohio Herb Center. Currently she is taking courses through the Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine.

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Amanda has extensive herb gardens at home and loves spending time in the garden. As an outdoor enthusiast, she is also interested in plant ID, taking classes on Native Medicinal Plants at Rural Action, Sovereignty Herbs and United Plant Savers. Amanda is a Certified Ohio Pollinator Advocate, has raised/released monarchs and swallowtail butterflies. She loves to talk and teach about the insects that come to our gardens.

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Listen to Amanda on the Herbology Talk Podcast, Episode 2: Finding Inspiration in Herbalism w/ host Mary Colvin.

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Lilly Doughty / Ohio Herb Center Coordinator

Lilly started her herbal journey while living in Colorado after graduating at Ohio University. Like many others, Lilly felt a little lost in life after leaving school as well as her hometown here in Ohio. She started working in a law office and quickly found that she was not passionate about what she thought she was supposed to be doing. This eventually caused her to experience severe reactions in her body, telling her she was not living in her alignment. Lilly started researching how she could support what she was going through in a natural way, and completely fell in love with studying, experimenting, and surrounding herself with herbs.

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Lilly completed an extensive herbalist program in Denver and worked in an apothecary where she held one-on-one consultations and created custom formulations for her ongoing customers. She then decided to take some time to travel and carry on with her studies in Costa Rica for three months. She is now back in Ohio ready to share her continuing knowledge and experiences with her community. Lilly truly believes in mind-body alignment and beams with life when connecting and being present with others. When she is not at the Herb Center, you can find Lilly at a local bookstore, a morning yoga class, spending time with her friends and family, and running around barefoot in the park.

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