Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Our Story
Kinfolk Botanica was founded by Summer Vernon, a Black American herbalist and medicinal herb gardener who resides on Tongva Land (Los Angeles). Summer is deeply inspired and moved by the natural environments of her upbringing, including the majesty of the pacific coast, the arid, wild beauty of the high desert of northern Los Angeles county, and her ancestral home of northern rural Lousiana.
Her practice is navigated through a western herbalism and Southern Black folk medicine lens, with a deep reverence for the indigenous people, plants and medicine traditions of her bioregion in Southern California.
Summer’s herbal philosophy is rooted in the belief that it is our birthright to (re)connect to our ancestral plantways. This is what inspires and guides all the offerings created in her shop, in tandem with the intention of improving our individual and collective mental, physical and spiritual vitality through herbal wellness, all while ensuring that joy, above all, remains at the forefront.
We’re so honored that you stopped by and invite you to explore our family of potent plant potions and vintage offerings created and curated to hold and heal, enliven and enchant, and protect and nourish.
Welcome.
“Kinfolk Botanica is a living altar devoted to supporting our herbal + magical kinfolk on their journey to connecting more deeply with plant and spirit medicine.”
— Summer Vernon, Founder
Intuitive herbalism informed by skilled plant people
Summer’s herbalism and plant stewardship experience is guided and informed by her intuitive and ancestral plantways, and the knowledgeable teachers, plant scholars, books and institutions that she’s crossed paths with along her herbal journey. These include, but are not limited to:
Avghi Constantinides, Los Angeles School of Homeopathy
Intern (2012)
Florence Nishida, Los Angeles Green Grounds
Dig-In & Teaching Garden Volunteer
(2012-Present)
Sade Musa, Roots of Resistance
Herbal Medicine Making: Salves & Oils (2017)
Herbal Teas for Mental Wellness (2017)
Herbal Syrups for Immune Support (2018)
Ancestral Tea Turn Ups (2020)
Berenice Dimas, Hood Herbalism
Intro to Herbalism (2020)
Julie James, Green Wisdom Herbal Studies
Green Wisdom Apprentice (2021)
Nicholas Hummingbird
California Native Ecology (2021)
California Native Plants for Tea (2021)
California Native Plant Propagation (2021)
Los Angeles Community Garden Council
Good Earth Community Garden Manager
(2021 - Present)
The School for Aromatic Studies
Foundations of Aromatherapy: Level One Certification Program (2021 - Present)
Community Nature Connection
Outdoor Coastal Access Leadership Institute - Cohort 1 (2022)
University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources
UC Master Gardeners Program (2022 - Present)