From Garden to Apothecary: A Tennessee Homestead herbalist Journey
🌿This is my visual journal. From the early days of family gardening, vegetable harvests, and sunset-watching barefoot in the dirt, to my present-day herbal apothecary work, infused oils, and quiet creek walks on our Tennessee homestead.
Life Evolves - And so do the gardens that nurture us.
It's all still the homestead—just with different seasons, different rhythms, and a deeper connection to the earth.
From Football Fields of Veggies to Botanical Batches
Back when my sons were younger and life on the farm was a group effort, we grew rows upon rows of vegetables—tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, corn. Our homestead land stretched like football fields across this 180-acre Tennessee property. Our family garden was about the size of a baseball field.
Now, I tend smaller gardens rich with intention: herbs for healing, aloe for soothing, lavender for calming. I may move slower these days (fibromyalgia + life = reality), but I'm more present in every leaf I harvest.
🌿 The Gardens: Then & Now
Our gardens have evolved from food production to medicine-making. Here's a glimpse into both eras of growth.
Recent walks through my herbal gardens — lavender, chamomile, and the plants that become your skincare.
Vegetable Gardens Over the Years
Before I became a master herbalist, we were vegetable farmers. We grew enough to feed a small army — and processed, canned, and preserved everything ourselves.
Images from 2015-2022: Our family vegetable gardens and homesteading traditions.
🌿 Homesteading Rituals: How We Live & Preserve
The traditions evolve—but the soul remains.
We used to process meat together in February, can enough veggies to feed a football team, and gather around the firewood pile like a family assembly line. Now, Michael and his dad still do the meat, and I preserve what I grow in tinctures, infused oils, and herbal salves.
I may no longer wield a canning funnel weekly, but I do bottle up my love in every salve, scrub, and serum I create in my Tennessee apothecary.
Photo Albums from the Tennessee Homestead
📸 June in the Garden 2017
See our vegetable gardens at peak summer growth →
📸 Garden 2022
The evolution to herbal and medicinal plants →
🌿 Sunsets + Solace on the Tennessee Land
The golden hour is still sacred.
Some things don't change. The sunsets still stop me in my tracks. After a long day of creating, packing orders, or just managing chronic pain, I walk down to the creek, breathe in the quiet, and let the colors remind me: this is why I stayed.
A recent sunset over the creek. This land heals me as much as I try to heal with it.
Sunset Gallery
Every evening is different. Every sky tells a story.
Sunset 🌅 tonight. Nice and clear, sound up to hear the birdies. Spring is only a couple weeks awayyy 🎶🎵🎼 to my 👂
Posted by Jennifer Bueschel on Wednesday, March 2, 2022
🌿 The Witchy Way Forward: From Homesteader to Herbalist, with roots still in the soil.
I'm still here—on the same land, in the same 1903 farmhouse—but the way I live and work looks different now. These days I trade bushels of beans for bundles of lavender and hours of garden labor for moments of quiet apothecary magic.
I've stepped into my role as a healer, a kitchen witch, a master herbalist, and a teacher. And I'm so glad you're here walking this path with me. This Tennessee homestead herbalist wouldn't have had it any other way.
Join Me Behind the Scenes
Come into the apothecary, see what I'm making today, and join our community of herbalists, homesteaders, and natural living enthusiasts.
JBHomemade's Holistic Natural Group
A space for natural skin care, holistic living, herbal wisdom, and real food consumption. Come share your journey with us.
