TL;DR / Quick Answer: Christopher Smith is an Australian herbalist, medicinal herb grower, herbal conservationist, and speaker with over two decades of hands-on experience growing rare and at-risk medicinal plants. He is the founder of Herbology Hub - a community and learning space for serious herb growers - and speaks regularly on topics including sustainable herb cultivation, herbal conservation, and the future of plant medicine. His journey began as a teenager and has taken him from horticultural training to growing over 120 species of medicinal herbs on a farm in the Tinderry Mountains of New South Wales.
Most people find their way to herbal medicine through illness, or through someone they love. Christopher Smith found his way through plants - and he has never really left.
Who Is Christopher Smith?
Christopher Smith is a herbalist, medicinal herb grower, herbal conservationist, and speaker based at Cowra in New South Wales, Australia. He is the founder of Herbology Hub - a community and learning space for herb growers who want to understand medicinal plants at a deeper level.
Over more than two decades, Christopher has grown rare and at-risk medicinal herbs including species from the United Plant Savers at-risk list such as Golden Seal, Solomon's Seal, Osha, and Blue Flag. He has spoken to herbalists, naturopaths, herb growers, and health students across Australia, sharing hard-earned knowledge about what it actually takes to grow medicinal plants well - and why it matters.
How Did Christopher's Journey Into Plant Medicine Begin?
In May 2025, Christopher was invited to speak to students of Switched on Health - a talk he used to retrace his steps all the way back to his teenage years, and the moment a curiosity about plants first took hold.
You can watch that talk here:
Other Pathways Less Travelled - Christopher Smith speaks to Switched on Health students
What he shared in that talk is the kind of thing that does not often get said in professional settings: that following an unusual path takes courage, that the knowledge worth having is rarely the easiest to find, and that a life spent with plants is its own kind of education.
What Does Christopher Teach and Speak About?
Christopher's speaking and teaching work covers several interconnected areas, all rooted in his practical experience as a grower and herbalist.
Medicinal Herb Growing
How to grow rare and at-risk medicinal herbs in Australian conditions - from soil preparation and propagation through to harvest and basic processing. This is knowledge built over decades of trial, error, and careful observation, not theory from a textbook.
Herbal Conservation
The uncomfortable truth about wild harvest and endangered medicinal herbs - which plants are at risk, why it matters, and what growers can do about it. Christopher has grown more than 10 species from the United Plant Savers at-risk list and speaks from direct experience about what cultivation of these plants actually involves. You can read more about this in his post on what you can do to protect endangered medicinal herbs.
The Philosophy of Herbal Medicine
Why herbalists think the way they do - the conservative tradition, the whole-plant approach, the importance of relationship with plants over time. Christopher draws on the teachings of herbalists including Dorothy Hall, Matthew Wood, and Michael Moore, as well as his own clinical and growing experience.
Sustainable Herb Growing as a Livelihood
The case for growing medicinal herbs in Australia as a genuine right livelihood - for conservation, for supply security, and for the future of herbal medicine in this country. This is a topic Christopher has spoken about for years and continues to develop through Herbology Hub.
What Is Herbology Hub?
Herbology Hub is the community and learning space Christopher created for serious herb growers - people who want to go beyond the basics and build real, grounded knowledge of medicinal plants.
It is not a course in the conventional sense. It is an ongoing conversation between people who care about these plants, guided by someone who has spent decades growing them. Members get access to Christopher's knowledge, his webinars, his growing guides, and a community of like-minded growers.
If you want to understand what drives Herbology Hub, read Christopher's post on why he started growing medicinal herbs - it is the clearest statement of the WHY behind everything he does.
Frequently Asked Questions About Christopher Smith and Herbology Hub
Where is Christopher Smith based?
Christopher is based at Tinderry Mountain Herbs in the Tinderry Mountains of New South Wales, Australia. He grows medicinal herbs on the farm and runs Herbology Hub from there, with online events and resources available to members across Australia and internationally.
Is Christopher Smith available for speaking engagements?
Yes. Christopher speaks to herbal medicine students, naturopaths, herb growers, and health-focused organisations on topics including medicinal herb growing, herbal conservation, and the philosophy of plant medicine. If you are interested in having Christopher speak to your group or organisation, get in touch through the Herbology Hub website.
What qualifications does Christopher Smith have?
Christopher's background combines formal horticultural training with decades of practical experience in growing and using medicinal herbs. He has studied with and been influenced by leading herbalists including Dorothy Hall's lineage through Kim Dudley, and has built his knowledge through hands-on cultivation of over 120 species of medicinal plants over more than two decades.
Who is Herbology Hub for?
Herbology Hub is for herb growers and herbal medicine enthusiasts who want to go deeper - people who are serious about understanding medicinal plants, not just growing them as a hobby. It suits people who are already growing herbs and want better knowledge, as well as those who are just starting out and want to do it properly from the beginning.
How do I join Herbology Hub?
You can join directly through the Herbology Hub page on this website. Membership gives you access to Christopher's webinars, growing guides, and the Herbology Hub community. Find out more and join here.
Why This Matters
There are not many people in Australia - or anywhere - who have spent decades growing rare medicinal herbs, studying the tradition of herbal medicine seriously, and teaching others to do the same. That combination of horticultural skill, herbal knowledge, and conservation commitment is unusual. It is what makes Christopher's perspective worth listening to.
The path he has followed - the one he described to those Switched on Health students as "other pathways less travelled" - is not the easiest one. But it is the one that produces the kind of knowledge that cannot be shortcut. And it is the knowledge he brings to every webinar, every growing guide, and every conversation inside Herbology Hub.
Interested in Learning From Christopher? Join Herbology Hub
If you want to learn from someone who grows what he teaches - rare medicinal herbs, conservation-focused practice, and a deep respect for the plants themselves - Herbology Hub is where that happens.
Join Herbology Hub here and start learning from the ground up.
First published: June 2025 | Last updated: June 2026
