Phytofarm Herbal Learning Garden | Okuti Valley, Banks Peninsula

autumn

If summer has been hot and sunny, autumn is the next favoured season. The days are sunny and warm but the night temperatures are cool, making for very pleasant harvesting conditions.

Harvesting in the autumn is about climbing trees for elder & hawthorn berries, searching dry river beds for rose hips and digging roots and rhizomes. The aerial parts of the plants lose their vigour, as the plant delivers all the active constituents to the roots.

It is interesting to note that plants communicate via their roots, sending out chemical messages to warn of pest invasions and the sharing of resources. This is now fashionably termed the “Wood Wide Web”.

Fungi is the other food/medicine that becomes prolific in the autumn, once soil conditions are perfect: moisture with warmth. They are both creators (providing food) and destroyers (involved in the decay of the forest)— neither from the plant nor animal kingdoms, but in the middle.

Fungi are the original social networkers; the creators of underground networks— super highways of communication, engaging with many plants and trees. Autumn takes us underground for a look at life in the soil.

products

Enjoy our luscious herbal body butters and creams, delightful tasting teas, infused medicinal oils, tonics and healing salves.

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medicinal oils

Our signature range of rich and colourful infused medicinal oils from carefully selected plants.

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workshops

Seasonal workshops and tours designed to explore the changes in the garden and use of plants to make fabulous products.

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apprenticeship

This programme offers a thorough instruction in the growing, harvesting, processing & manufacture of herbal products.

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our popular tisanes

BERRY NICE WARMING TISANE

A warming blend to fortify yourself for seasonal change.

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IMMUNE BOOST TISANE

Improves the function of your immune system.

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AROMATIC DIGESTIVE TISANE

A fragrant tisanes that calms the digestive system and refreshes the palate after eating.

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SLEEP WELL TISANE

The benefits of quietening, calming and sedative plants that help empty the head and prepare you for sleep.

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events and dates

Phytofarm Apprenticeship Programme
We are taking expressions of interest for a November 2025 intake. Full details of the tutor and dates will be announced by the end of June 2025. You can download the Apprenticeship Prospectus 2025/26 here and the Apprenticeship Application 2025/26 here.

• Spring: 14th – 17th November 2025

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Workshop programme: LEARN

In autumn, the workshop will focus on the value of roots and how berries provide valuable medicine.

Autumn garden walk, the plants grown for the healing properties in their roots are dying back, and the garden view changes from the aerial perspective to the examination of roots and berries in the trees.
Drying room experience and blending a decoction from roots and berries.
We will have a discussion on the importance of gut flora as a key to our immune system function.
Make and take home products with recipes:
Blend a tisane
A medicinal vinegar
An oxymel
A nutritional syrup

Sunday 27th April: 10 am – 2 pm BOOK HERE

Dyeing to make an impression

Fashion is our social skill, it manifests in the market trends as well as our beliefs. Come and make your own Eco one-off printed creation

Where: Phytofarm Medicinal Plant Farm is excited to host this fantastic natural dyeing workshop, with plants onto fabric. 166 Okuti Valley Road, Little River, Banks Peninsula – 50 mins drive from Christchurch.

When: Sunday 4th May, 11.30 am – 4 pm. Maximum of 10 participants

What we will do: A mindful walk in the garden and forest to collect our dye ingredients. Make your own eco-printed scarf with a plant- a permanent wearable impression of your particular plant. Extract organic colours from fallen leaves and enjoy the permanent impressions on natural fibre.

Make an imprint on a scarf & an A4 printed paper design.

The Artist/Teacher:

Artists Philosophy: “To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield’.

Arina Senior is an Architect/Artist who made Christchurch her home in 2002. She currently works on the Christchurch rebuild and is involved with heritage buildings. Apart from her architectural design work,she is a passionate urban forager and makes forays into local parks and nature surrounding Christchurch to collect ingredients for her dyeing projects.

Arina describes herself as a concept artist, who loves to use what is on hand to create beauty from natural materials and not control the process, but go with the flow of what nature presents.

More information:

Cost: $240, all materials to make your garment provided. Phytofarm will provide herbal tisanes, crackers and fruit. Bring a snack for lunch.

To Book: Email info@phytofarm.co.nz to check availability, then pay into: Phytofarm Trading 01-0653-0554449-00. Please identify payment with your name & Dyeing W/S.

Workshops that are booked can be canceled three days prior to receive a full refund. After this time, no refunds will be given, but an alternative date can be booked for a 50% discount.

Customized workshops and garden tours can be created. Please contact Valmai at info@phytofarm.co.nz to discuss.

new products

the tisane sample box

Discover the fresh flavour and benefits of Phytofarm favourites. A collection of four tisanes to develop a daily ritual of tisane indulgence: Immune Boost, Aromatic Digestive, Sleep Well and Berry Nice Warming!

$ 25.00

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cough syrup

A rich and soothing blend for irritating coughs. Take one teaspoon 4x daily for three days and then morning and evening until the bottle is finished.

Ingredients: Glycerine, water, thyme, liquorice and marshmallow. 100ml bottle.

100 ml $ 18.50

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sleep & de-stress balm

Sleep is essential to every process in the body, affecting our physical, mental and emotional ability to function. Getting enough quality sleep is vital for our immunity, metabolic function and to resist chronic disease. Use this balm for tight neck muscles, tension and spasms. Massage into the temples, around the base of the neck or across the forehead for inducing sleep and headaches.

40gms $18.50

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