About the Gardeners

Wild Yam, mother of the pill,
Changed us more than most herbs will. ~Jim Duke

Helen Lowe Metzman, Director

Helen has tended to and educated others about the medicinal plants of Jim Duke’s Green Farmacy Garden since 2006. In addition to her time spent in the garden, Helen worked part time for the Howard County Maryland Department of Recreation and Parks in the Natural Resources Division as a Natural Resource Specialist and an Environmental Educator. The study of natural history, botany, and art has been her lifelong passion, and she is able to integrate these passions in her work in the garden and for Howard County. Helen is a graduate of the University of Vermont and the Tai Sophia Institute’s Master of Science Program in Herbal Medicine.

Annie-Sophie Simard, Garden Curator and Medicine Maker

My intrinsic passion for nature has been evolving ever since I was a young child. Growing up I spent my time in the backyard or surrounding woods, exploring every rock, plant and creature that crossed my path with amazed curiosity and wonder. Enchanted by all things wild and free, I hold a strong connection to nature and can never get enough of it through experimenting, playing, learning, and Being. Decades into my deepening appreciation, my zeal for all things ancient & wild continues to grow. I am forever enthralled by the magic of nature among us witness by exploring the land, gardening and nurturing my own plots of plants, brewing botanical medicines, and herbalism studies. I am filled with gratitude and joy to be a member of The Green Farmacy Garden team on this next step along my plant path. It is a great honor and delight to spread Jim Duke’s vision to bring The Green Pharmacy to life and continue to inspire and touch the hearts of countless to come.

May we keep the gardens lush, medicine in the people’s hands, and curiosity & appreciation in the hearts❦