Our Story
Motherwort Apothecary is a woman-owned herbal apothecary rooted in Baltimore, Maryland. We craft small-batch teas, elixirs, and balms using organically sourced and homegrown botanicals that are gentle on your body and kind to the earth. Beyond the bottle, we gather people together to taste, make, and celebrate the magic of plants.
Grown from a spirit of curiosity, connection, and discovery, Motherwort Apothecary began in founder Lisi Stoessel's kitchen as a personal practice of tending to plants, experimentation, and sharing herbal creations with friends and family. In 2025 she brought that passion to the wider world, envisioning the apothecary as a creative gathering ground for Baltimore's plant-loving and herb-curious community.
We believe in slow medicine, shared moments, and the enduring magic of the natural world.
Meet Lisi
Greetings! I'm Lisi Stoessel, founder of Motherwort Apothecary, and I'm so glad you're here. I'm an herbalist, artist, and mother to a garden of plants and a spritely child. I live in the middle of Baltimore city, where I'm inspired daily by the vibrant presence of the green beings in our urban environment.
Growing up in the New Age scene in Virginia in the 80s and 90s, alternative medicine was woven into the fabric of my childhood. My parents were avid gardeners who took me and my sisters on many nature walks, teaching us to identify local plants and instilling in me a deep connection with the green world from a young age.
As a young adult I studied visual art at MICA and spent many seasons painting at Renaissance Festivals. I went on to complete my MFA in Scene Design and embark on a long career as a multidisciplinary theatre artist with a focus on designing, performing, and teaching immersive theatre.
The plants started calling me back after the intense and transformative experience of having a baby during the pandemic. Since then I have studied herbalism formally and on my own, engaging in online coursework, attending conferences, experimenting in my kitchen and garden, and learning about our local plants at Eclipta Herbal and Foxhaven Farm. I am a graduate of the Community Herbal Foundations program at Collective Wonder Herb School.
My passion in the herbal realm is the same as in theatre: to help people find wonder, presence, and embodied connection through their senses. Connecting with plants and herbs has brought so much magic into my everyday life, a constant companion through both light and dark days. The plants have truly brought me home to myself, and my hope is that Motherwort Apothecary will be a portal for others to discover that magic too.
Why Motherwort?
As a new mother, I developed a deeply personal connection to this plant, and continue to work with her in my daily life. Her spiky calyx and soft pink flowers embody fierce protection and tender comfort all at once, soothing us into a state of calm and grounded presence. She has a special affinity with the heart and is known as Leonurus cardiaca — the lionhearted one.
There are many times in my life when I have needed a lion's heart to get through the day, and just seeing her in my garden or tasting her fortifying bitterness in my cup heartens me. This image of motherwort leaves and a central heart was drawn by my own mother, an illustrator of plants and the first person who taught me to love nature. It is my intention with this symbol to honor her, the mothers of the world, and all those who live from the heart.
-Lisi