Our Story

From the time I was about 8, I spent most summers with my Grandparents at their small cottage-like home in western Missouri. I remember it as an enchanting place surrounded by thick fruit brambles and wild gardens brimming with intriguing rare and mysterious herbs. My Grandparents used a variety of natural and organic methods in their gardens. There was no choice to do otherwise as today’s chemical pesticides and fertilizers did not exist.

Companion planting, regular weeding and rotating plant varieties were but a few methods used to keep the gardens healthy.

Grandma respected and honored the plants as if they were human. I watched as she communed with them, sometimes humming, sometimes singing, nurturing and encouraging each one to flourish. She was as unique as the plants themselves – a humble medicine woman whose wisdom had been instilled by generations of natural healers. She had been taught the secrets of preparing herbal salves, liniments, ointments, syrups, lozenges, tonics, tinctures, teas and more.

My Grandma, her Mother before her and hers before her had been the “Doctors” in their village for generations before degreed medical professionals were trusted. Big pharmaceutical companies did not exist then as they do now.  

Grandma was one of eight children in a family that arrived in America when she was 16 years old. They had roots deeply embedded in European soil for centuries before they escaped their oppressive life in search of freedom and opportunity. They brought treasured rare medicinal plant seeds with vast knowledge of their uses along with them on their journey. My ancestors continued to keep their old-world traditions alive when they settled here including making natural herbal remedies to be used by family members, friends and neighbors.

 Along with medicine-making, Grandma delighted in creating and sharing hand-made herbal body creams, oils and perfumes. She taught me so many things over the years. A herb that could heal a burn by rejuvenating skin cells could also soften skin and reduce the signs of aging. A herb could season a chicken for dinner and also be used as a hair rinse to add shine. That same herb could be pressed into an oil to keep rodents away. Her vast knowledge of uses and preparations for simple plants seemed magical and endless. Grandma instilled in me a knowledge and love of the herbs that had sustained the health of our family for generations.

Today at Wild Ivy Herb Farm I aspire to honor the memory of my beloved Grandmother and continue a family tradition of cultivating and creating natural herbal products from recipes centuries old. I am Lori Trojan, Master Gardener, Master Herbalist and naturalist with a love for the land and all things wild and natural. My small 3-acre Wild Ivy Herb Farm in Lawrence, Kansas grows a vast variety of culinary and medicinal herbs.

I wish you success in the design, planting and nurturing of your own unique and magical herb garden. Enjoy the hand-made quality of the past in the pure and natural herbal products we produce today.

I wish you love, laughter, peace and above all, good health!

Forever Grateful

 Lori

Steward, Wild Ivy Herb Farm