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Anna Maria | Herbalist + Garden Designer

@beekeepingmama

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Creating landscapes that nourish people, ecosystems & planet
Farm @sunandbloomfarms
Consultations, design, classes
Mothering farm boys

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We are so excited to announce Anna Maria’s new online masterclass:

Create Your Living Apothecary: A Permaculture Approach to Growing, Processing, and Using Medicine at Home

Medicinal plants can be more than herbs tucked into the corner of a garden. They can become part of a living landscape — one that supports your family’s health, feeds pollinators, builds beauty, strengthens resilience, and deepens your relationship with the land.

In this 3-hour online masterclass, Anna Maria will guide you into the world of living apothecaries: gardens and landscapes designed to grow medicine, food, beauty, pollinator habitat, and ecological health all at once - just like the ones on our farmstead.

This class is for gardeners, herbalism beginners, homesteaders, permaculture students, pollinator lovers, small acreage owners, and anyone who wants to grow a deeper relationship with medicinal plants and the land.

You do not need to be an experienced herbalist. You do not need a large property. You only need curiosity, a willingness to learn, and a desire to begin creating a more healing and abundant landscape.

Join us for Create Your Living Apothecary.
More details and registration here:

https://www.sunandbloomfarms.com/store/p94/living-apothecary-masterclass.html

#LivingApothecary #Herbalism #MedicinalPlants #Permaculture #MedicinalGarden #HomeApothecary #RegenerativeLiving #SunAndBloomFarms by @beekeepingmama

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4 months ago

2026 SUN & BLOOM CSA

After six years of growing food for our local community, we’re choosing a simpler, more intentional path for 2026.

Instead of growing more, we’re choosing to grow better—with deeper soil care, fewer chemical inputs (none, actually), and food grown at a pace that nourishes both people and land.

The 2026 Sun & Bloom Full Farm CSA reflects this shift:
• Fewer CSA memberships
• Prepaid farm credit with priority access
• Member choice (or we can pack your box for you)
• Bi-weekly boxes, with weekly purchasing when available
• Earlier access to produce—even before April
• Truly nutrient-dense food grown with compost-based, low- to no-till methods

We’re also inviting CSA members onto the farm in new ways. In 2026, members will have access to member-only farm tours, both guided and self-guided—because connection to food deepens when you can see where it comes from.

At the same time, Sun & Bloom Farms is becoming a training ground—supporting a small number of ecologically conscious farmers and nonprofits learning to grow food regeneratively, without chemicals. We believe this strengthens the health of our entire region.

Enrollment is open now so we can purchase heirloom and organic seeds, plan the season well, and grow with intention—especially as we steward new soil this year.

Join the 2026 Sun & Bloom Full Farm CSA here:
https://www.sunandbloomfarms.com/producecsa.html

With gratitude,
Lucian & Anna Maria
Sun & Bloom Farms taken in Sun and Bloom Farms by @beekeepingmama

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9 months ago

We are happy to share our "origin story"...how Lucian and I came together and merged our passions, interests, dreams, and goals. There is so much to expand upon from these slides and we will do so in the coming months in the form of case studies, articles, Substack posts and more.
We are grateful to the many of you who have been following and supporting our journey from the beginning. Many of you being our own teachers, mentors, colleagues, friends, and collaborators.
Cheers to this life, the community, and work we are committed to!
- Anna Maria and Lucian by @beekeepingmama

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2 days ago

How do we actually fund #regenerative #agriculture in the United States?

It is a question that has become increasingly important in my #design and consulting work - and the answer is much more complicated than simply finding a grant.

Land acquisition, soil and water improvements, grazing infrastructure, agroforestry, livestock, equipment, storage and processing, research, and long-term stewardship can all require different kinds of funding from different institutions.

That fragmentation is exactly what pushed me to organize this research more clearly. If we understand what actually needs to be funded, we can begin asking a much better question: what kind of capital, program, lender, grant, cost-share, or institution was designed to support that particular part of the project?

To answer that, I’ve brought some of my recent research and project work together in a new Regenerative Field Note: "Funding Regenerative Agriculture in the USA - Which institutions fund what—from land and infrastructure to conservation, research, farm development, and stewardship."

The article organizes the funding landscape into seven major categories and includes a substantial resource section with direct links to USDA programs, agricultural lenders, nonprofit organizations, regenerative finance groups, conservation programs, research funding, and selected state resources so you can continue investigating the opportunities that may fit your own project.

If you’d like to read the full article, comment “FUNDING” below and I’ll send you the link. And if you know a farmer, landowner, designer, or organization working through these questions, feel free to tag them or share this post with them. by @beekeepingmama

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2 days ago

@cultivatehomesteadretreat has become something I look forward to every year. As the growing season winds down and the chill in the air returns, I am anxious to meet with friends for a weekend of rest, learning, and connection. I have been to many gatherings, festivals, conferences and such, but not many of them come close to the value and hospitality I receive when attending cultivate.
In the past years I have offered workshops on herbalism and beekeeping. This year in addition to helping coordinate the gathering, I am facilitating a masterclass on a homestead audit.
My masterclass will offer participants an opportunity to reflect on what isn’t working on your homestead and create a plan to move forward with clarity.
I am teaching alongside some other powerhouse ladies with years of experience in their own niche specialties. At the end of the day though, we are all women managing our dreams, families, children, and a desire to do good in the world.
I promise you won’t find many other retreats like this!
Check out the details in this post, the website, and lock in your ticket. Send me a message if you have any questions! taken in Pleasant Hope, Missouri by @beekeepingmama

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24 days ago

Fall is the perfect time to begin your journey with herbalism or pick up where you left off. This article I wrote gives you a great place to start. Enjoy the plants! by @beekeepingmama

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a month ago

Two soils. Same farm. Very different worlds. Which future are we cultivating?

An Educational Reflection from Lucian:
I recently spent the day on a client’s farm as part of our in-person regenerative landscape assessment. I brought my mobile soil-testing kit, collected samples from different areas of the property, tested them, and later put them under the microscope with the farmer.

The difference was striking.

One sample came from a less-disturbed area with diverse vegetation. Under the microscope, we saw bacteria, protozoa, nematodes, and lots of visible biological activity. We were watching soil biology at work. Organic matter is broken down. Nutrients move through the food web. Plants access those nutrients, capture sunlight, grow biomass, and feed the soil community again. Life supporting life.

The second sample came from a conventionally managed field. We saw dramatically less visible biological activity. Same farm. Very different management histories. Very different conditions below ground.

The point isn’t simply to say, “Look at the problem.” The better question is: What created these conditions — and how do we create the conditions for life to return?

That is where regenerative farming begins. Observe the soil. Test it. Understand the context. Then design the conditions for regeneration.

If you’d like to learn more, we’ve created a Soil Book, Master Soil Course, free resources, and regenerative land and soil design and consulting offerings.

You can find everything through our website and the links in our bio.
Learn the soil. Read what it is telling you. Then design the conditions for life.

Open to a dicussion in the comments if you are willing, able and excited!

#RegenerativeAgriculture #SoilHealth #LivingSoil #RegenerativeFarming #Permaculture #SoilBiology #RegenerativeDesign #SunAndBloom by @beekeepingmama

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a month ago

Nature is art. Late summer colors and harvests by @beekeepingmama

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a month ago

Not every #regenerative land project needs to become a business. But every regenerative land project has an economic reality — and every one of them has to fit the life of the people carrying it.

That land project may be a family homestead or farm, or a school, church, nonprofit, company, retreat center, or municipality project. The principle is the same: a regenerative vision still requires investment — money, labor, staff, volunteers, infrastructure, knowledge, relationships, or income generated by the project itself. And if healthier soil, biodiversity, local food, water resilience, education, or community impact depend upon continually exhausting the people responsible for the project, something important is missing from the design.

That is why in our work we don't only ask: What should we put on the land? We also ask:
• What is the project meant to accomplish?
• Who will carry it?
• What capacity do they have?
• What will it require over time?
• How will those resources be renewed?
• What kind of life — or organizational reality — will it create?

Some projects need a business model. Others may never sell a single thing. But they still need an economic model that can sustain the vision.

This LAND + PEOPLE + ECONOMICS relationship is built into the regenerative design process we use at Sun and Bloom, and we are beginning to bring the Life Design and Business Design sides of our work forward more intentionally.

If you're developing a land-based project, we've put together a short Regenerative Project Alignment Check based on questions we use in our own design work.

Comment ALIGNMENT and we'll send you the link to download it for free.

You can also tell us (and we will respond): What are you trying to create (or refresh) — and which piece feels hardest to align right now: the land, the people, or the economics?

We're also opening a small number of 15-minute Project Clarity conversations for people actively developing or refreshing a project - if that is something you want to tap into, let us know. by @beekeepingmama

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a month ago

Grateful to Lebanon-Laclede County Library for giving my children years of fun through their programming and reading. The library has been a beacon of community for families with young children, especially those who have moved to this town.
Also grateful to Erica Lynn who knows me well and picked up this book for me. ❤️
I can count on two hands how many times I missed reading to them at night before bed in 7 years. Many many days spent reading and looking at books as toddlers. As they grow older I am so excited to see them cultivate their reading adventures through their lives.
Books, reading, literature, writing, it is so important for developing minds. And as I am far from perfect as a mother, I’m proud I made this a priority for them. by @beekeepingmama

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a month ago

A season of rest, redesign & renewal.

After a demanding season that included health challenges, farming pressures, and the continued growth of our teaching, writing, design, and consulting work, we had to listen to the feedback our own system was giving us.

And so, we are taking a sabbatical from commercial farm production. The farm isn't disappearing. We will continue stewarding the land, growing food for ourselves and those close to us, caring for the systems we've built, and determining what the next chapter of the production farm should become.

One of the deepest lessons regenerative design has taught us is this: A regenerative system must support the people responsible for sustaining it. So this season we are creating space for work that has existed alongside our farm for more than a decade to move back toward the center.

We are expanding Sun and Bloom Regenerative Design.

Over the years, our work together has included much more than growing food.
We have taught permaculture, designed landscapes, worked with farmers and landowners, developed educational programs, supported organizations and community projects, built soil and fertility systems, and helped people turn scattered ideas into coherent, resilient projects. At the heart of that work is something we have learned repeatedly: "The land plan, the life plan, and the business plan must support one another."

We currently have capacity for additional design and consulting projects through the remainder of 2026 — locally, remotely, and through travel when appropriate.

And fall is a powerful time to work with us - so if you are trying to understand what should happen next on your land — or know someone who is — visit the link in our bio. And if our work resonates with you, please share it.

This has never simply been a job for us. We remain committed to helping build healthier land, stronger communities, resilient livelihoods, and lives capable of sustaining the systems we create.

#RegenerativeDesign #PermacultureDesign #RegenerativeAgriculture #LandDesign #HomesteadDesign #FarmDesign #SoilHealth #Permaculture #RegenerativeLiving #SunAndBloom by @beekeepingmama

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a month ago

The intensity of living in these times is palpable. The recent fire in my hometown brought a lot of reflection for me as well as a call to share about healing plants that help us move through times of fire and destruction.

Read about my experience with fire in my latest Substack. Please share with anyone who might be interested, I’m actively growing my Substack community and would love your support.

xo
AM by @beekeepingmama

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2 months ago