Every May the Horticulture program and the Master Gardeners in Boyd County host a Garden Shed Herb Day that is aimed at educating participants on the many uses of herbs as well as how to raise them and incorporate them into everyday landscaping.  This year the focus was on the benefits herbs play in the landscape as plants but also as natural deterrents for wild life that destroy our landscaping.  They learned what plants to use and where to place them to be the most effective. There was also a hands on lesson they were able to participate in to make their own herbal tea and learned what benefits each herb they had to choose had on their health and well being.  Each participant received an Anise plant (the 2019 herb of the year)  that was raised from seed by Master Gardener volunteers and given information on not only how to grow their plants but also how to harvest and use them and they were treated to a lunch buffet of dishes all made with herbs and many with the herb of the year (Anise) and given a cookbook with all the recipes for these dishes.  The attendance to this program has increased from 12 to 97 since it has started with the largest increase in participation being in the last year going from 55 to 97 in one year.  Approximately 25% of these participants noted that they are actively raising and using their own herbs thanks to the information they have been taught at this yearly program.