About Us

Barbara, Priscilla and Michael met for the first time on a Saturday afternoon in June 2006 at a workshop Michael was giving on Biodynamic Beekeeping in Sonoma County. Barbara and Priscilla found themselves sitting next to each other. It was a destined and fortuitous crossing of paths as each was a beekeeper wanting to take care of their hives in the most natural, conscious way possible. The friendship between these three provided fertile ground for conceiving the The Melissa Garden. All feel blessed and happy to be beekeepers and seek to renew awareness of the sacred role of honeybees in healing, culture and the landscape. Kate, they quickly realized, was the perfect garden designer for The Melissa Garden as she is known widely for her pollinator gardens.

Barbara Schlumberger

The Melissa Garden is located at Barbara’s home ranch. Barbara works as a psychotherapist, and is a process painter. Some of her art has been used in the design of this site and additional paintings will soon be available to view online. She found beekeeping through her many years of personal work in the spiritual school, The Diamond Approach. The school is a continuation of the ancient, mystical school of the Sarmouni (the Bees), based for hundreds of years in the Hindu Kush of Afghanistan. The motto of the Sarmouni is, “Work produces a sweet essence.”

Jacques Schlumberger

Jacques is Barbara’s partner in life and many interesting endeavors. With family roots in France and centuries of wine-making there, he is the owner of Michel-Schlumberger Wines in Wine Creek Canyon at the western edge of Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County. The winery is known for its distinguished wines produced from organically farmed grapes, as well as many innovative ecological practices. Jacques personally manages the bee hives at the winery. He is involved with the overall ecological management of the ranch The Melissa Garden is nested in.

Priscilla Coe

Priscilla started gardening as a child, and has studied many aspects of holistic healing. She has been a longtime advocate of organic and biodynamic gardening methods. She works in food public relations, and educates and writes nationally on the subject of apitherapy. Several of her articles can be found on the web site of the American Apitherapy Society (AAS). She encourages people to become members of the AAS.

Kate Frey

Kate is an internationally distinguished garden designer who has been awarded two gold medals at London’s Chelsea Flower Show. She worked for 18 years at Fetzer’s organic gardens in Hopland, CA which was used as a test plot for pollinators by Dr. Gordon Frankie at U. C. Berkeley. She now specializes in creating beautiful habitat and pollinator gardens.

Michael Thiele

Michael grew up on a farm in a tiny village in central Germany. He has been deeply influenced by the German biodynamic beekeeping movement and now teaches classes on natural and holistic beekeeping in the United States. He worked for seven years as the beekeeper at Green Gulch Farm, a Zen center just north of San Francisco. He takes care of the hives at The Melissa Garden – including several “alternative” hives.

Juan Rodriquez

Juan is the gardener at The Melissa Garden, where he says his favorite thing is the peacefulness of the landscape. He grew up on a ranch in Juanajuato, Mexico, northwest of Mexico City, where he was the shepherd of the family’s goats. He milked the goats as a child and early teenager, while his grandmother made cheese. His bucolic roots prepared him well for The Melissa Garden’s holistic and sustainable endeavors.