Women’s Health and Herbs Chelsea Physic Garden

Following on from their sold-out Women’s Health and Herbs Series in 2024, Maya Thomas (Herbologist) and Natasha Richardson (Medical Herbalist and founder of Forage Botanicals) will be back in London’s oldest botanical garden in 2025 with an exciting new four part monthly lecture series this spring and summer.

Perimenopause, Burnout, Blood-Sugar and Antibiotics are the four areas they will be delving into through the lens of hormonal health and herbs.

Each session will culminate with practical demonstrations on how to craft medicinal preparations from potent plants, helping you to build your skills in the art of herbal healing, in the setting of London’s original apothecary garden, where plants have been grown for healing for over three centuries.

To get the most out of this series, we recommend attending all four lectures. However, it is not essential and each session can be booked and enjoyed individually! If you plan to attend all four lectures in this series, we are offering a 10% discount (£126 instead of £140).

Here are the four lectures in 2025:

Tuesday 1st April, 6:30pm-8pm: Herbs & Perimenopause

The years leading to menopause are experienced differently by every woman, but there are underlying commonalities. In this talk Natasha and Maya will look at the herbs that have traditionally supported women during these years, and the research behind some of the most useful plants.

Tuesday 6th May, 6:30pm – 8pm: Herbs & Burnout

A term that describes a mixture of nervous system exhaustion and mental fatigue, it is a condition that human civilization has always come up against. But how does modern Burnout affect women’s health? And how can plant medicine be part of the toolkit to help support our nervous systems? Maya and Natasha will explore both these questions, looking specifically at plants that have been used for millennia to fortify, nourish and replenish.

Tuesday 3rd June, 6:30pm-8pm: Herbs & Blood Sugar

In recent years an increasing body of research is showing how crucial blood-sugar regulation is to every facet of health. This lecture will look at the impacts of how blood-sugar is linked to a host of hormonal imbalances, including links with histamine, allergies and autoimmune conditions – and how certain plants could play a role in supporting blood-sugar management.

Tuesday 8th July, 6:30pm-8pm: Herbs & Antibiotics

Antibiotic Anxiety (stress created from the overuse of antibiotics) is at an all-time high, yet these drugs are crucial to our survival. How can we navigate our way through the negative and the necessity of them? Looking at nature’s own antibiotics as well as surprising research into hormonal conditions that have been helped and hindered by antibiotic use, Maya and Natasha will also touch on how herbs are helping shape the future of this class of medicine.

About Maya and Natasha:

Maya Jayaweera Thomas

Maya Jayaweera Thomas is a herbologist, writer, workshop facilitator and creative consultant specialising in plant medicine, food and growing.

Maya’s background is in documentary filmmaking for Channel 4; ITV and the BBC, and script editing. Having left London a decade ago to pursue a life more closely connected to the land, she went on to gain a distinction from The Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh in Herbology. Maya then worked with growers, plant medicine practitioners and chefs across the UK. On returning to London Maya’s work has centred on finding innovative ways to connect people with their environments through the stories of plants.

Maya regularly collaborates with Chelsea Physic Garden and Toast, and has worked with the Garden Museum; Soho Farmhouse; Charleston Plant Festival; Rough Trade Books and Bloom Magazine.

Natasha Richardson

Natasha Richardson has a BSc (Hons) in herbal medicine from Lincoln University and a master’s in the history of women’s medicine from the University of Oxford. Having struggled with period pain, followed by an unsuccessful search for treatment, Natasha applied her scientific knowledge to create herbal remedies that finally resolved the problem.

Today, Forage Botanicals offers natural products expertly made by her, personalised 1:1 treatment plans and online courses for empowering menstrual education, menopause and more. Natasha ran a successful clinic for over 10 years helping with menstrual complaints from menarche to menopause before writing her book ‘Your Period Handbook’.

Now Natasha has a team that takes patients while she focuses on product development and community relationships.