Learn the secrets of growing abundant plants and vegetables. Explore the fascinating natural world around us. Delve into a “hands-on” subject like beekeeping or mushrooms.
Gardening & Homesteading Classes
Explore The Studio
The Folk School Garden
A destination unto itself, The Folk School’s garden produces a diverse array of crops and supports the programming of many classes and studios with broom corn, basket willow, and more. Vegetables and flowers are harvested for use in our cooking classes and dining hall, and the Cory Brown Memorial Dye Garden is filled with dye plants that create every color in the rainbow. This is an excellent classroom for gardening and nature studies classes, as well as a wonderful place to unwind after a long day.
News & Stories: What's Happening in Gardening & Homesteading
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December 10, 2024
Browse our 2025 classes digitally...
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November 26, 2024
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November 21, 2024
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September 26, 2024
Linda Chapley has been a...
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July 23, 2024
Browse our 2025 classes digitally...
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June 28, 2024
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March 27, 2024
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March 27, 2024
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March 5, 2024
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March 5, 2024
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February 29, 2024
Renowned blacksmith and bladesmith Elmer Roush regularly teaches at the Folk School. Watch a video featuring Elmer produced by CRKT as part of their Forged by War program featuring veteran. Elmer talks about his time in the service and how he got started in blacksmithing.
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December 8, 2023
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November 9, 2023
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July 24, 2023
Browse our August 2023–June 2024...
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February 14, 2023
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February 14, 2023
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August 29, 2022
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July 25, 2022
Building on your feedback, we're...
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July 22, 2022
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May 19, 2021
We would like to extend a warm welcome to our new Gardener, Jason Ebinger! Jason has an extensive history managing farm and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Folk School. We look forward to seeing how the garden flourishes this year. Read more to learn about Jason and his goals in this position.
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July 13, 2020
Welcome to the new Folk School Dye Garden. Natural dye comes from the leaves, flowers, or roots of plants. In this video, we will take a look at Nankeen cotton, indigo, coreopsis, yarrow, French marigolds, madder, chamomile, and purple gromwell.
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October 20, 2019
Have you always been drawn to the idea of using herbs to make your own products, teas, drinks, and food? Immerse yourself in weeklong class, Shaker Herbs, Roots, Barks, and Lore, taught by herbalist Jamie Sparks during Shaker Week, November 3–9. Explore how Shakers used plants to be self-reliant and to connect to the natural world. Jamie has a lot of wisdom to share, so let’s learn a little more about her experience and what’s in store for the class.
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August 24, 2017
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July 3, 2017
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May 31, 2016
Learn a little bit about Tim Ryan the gardener, auctioneer, medicine showman, raconteur, kettle cooker, blacksmith, instructor, former Folk School Board member, bibliophile, and storyteller. We recently sat down over lunch to talk about many things. Enjoy our interview!
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May 24, 2016
I just finished teaching a weekend class on pollinators and gardening at the Folk School. My class was a great group of folks. We learned about seeding starting and growing native milkweeds for monarch eggs and caterpillars, planting flowers, native shrubs and trees for bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, the challenges of neonicotinoids and herbicides. The weekend exhibited beautiful May weather! Enjoy our photo album:
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March 30, 2016
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March 11, 2014
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February 14, 2014
It’s Valentine’s Day here at the Folk School. I caught up with some friends and classmates this week to hear more about what folks are doing to mark the occasion.
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October 23, 2013
AARP has written an article called “Culinary Travel” featuring the Folk School in AARP The Magazine!
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June 27, 2013
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June 14, 2013
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May 7, 2013
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March 7, 2013
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March 7, 2013
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August 30, 2012
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August 22, 2012
The Folk School has been making efforts to use native plants in our landscapes and there is a very interesting one in bloom right now at the Field House. Franklinia alatamaha, or the Franklin Tree, is a rare shrub or small tree of the Tea Family which was discovered in Georgia in the 1700’s by naturalists John and William Bartram. They brought specimen seeds and plants back to Philadelphia where it was propagated and named in honor of the Bartrams’ friend Benjamin Franklin. However, the Franklinia has never again been found in the wild (since 1803) and the remaining plants are descendants of the Bartrams’ collected specimens.
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November 29, 2011
The cast of color has changed greatly from earlier this month, from the hillsides around us which showed mostly the deeper russet reds and burnt oranges. A few individual trees around the Folk School campus still glowed with vibrant oranges and yellows. In this glorious fall, those who were here to study and play were surrounded by landscape colors changing and twirling to the ground every day. Work-study students prepared the garden for wintering over. November brought the mists again when the rains came. Patches of sunlight on the mountainsides revealed soft grays topped with pale burnished golds polished by the sun.
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May 18, 2011
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March 24, 2011
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July 1, 2010
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April 27, 2010
Last Friday, Folk School students, staff, and community members excitedly
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February 12, 2010
Resident Artist in Gardening & Homesteading, Nature Studies, Soap Making, Storytelling
Karen Hurtubise
Karen and her husband have a small farm and grow diverse crops including native plants, berries, tomatoes, mushrooms, turmeric, and ginger. They began a large organic vegetable, flower, and herb garden over 30 years ago in Hayesville, NC, and won a Southeast Regional Rodale Organic Gardening Garden-of-the-Year contest. Karen is a passionate advocate of healthy agriculture, local food, and forest farming. She has been teaching at the Folk School since 1994.
Cooking, Gardening & Homesteading, Nature Studies, and Soap Making Coordinator
Susannah Thompson
Susannah found the Folk School while looking for contra dance in western NC. Shortly after moving to the area, she earned her striped tights and wooden clogs as a member of Dame’s Rocket, one of the Brasstown Morris Dance teams. She has also been a teacher for over 20 years. In forests and on camera, in school libraries, and in the kitchen, she enjoys creating new adventures for students of all ages. She started teaching at the Folk School in 2017 and is best known for her British Baking class. When she’s not in the cooking studio or on the dance floor, you can find her searching for salamanders, paddling local lakes, or assisting with wildlife monitoring projects.
Images from the Studio
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Housing & Meals
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A Typical Week or Weekend
A quick glance of what you can expect when you take a class as the Folk School.
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