Author and teacher Joyce Prince will discuss how medicinal plants were used by women of the colonial era in “Backdoor Colonial Gardens” on Wednesday, May 11, at 2 p.m. at the Kelley Chapel in Yarmouth Port. She will describe the culinary, medicinal and household uses of plants and herbs at the time.

Prince taught Hispanic Studies at Thayer Academy in Braintree and at Wheaton College before turning to writing books. She wrote a prize-winning bilingual book that is used to teach children in the Middlesex County Family Court.

Prince, who lives in Yarmouth Port, stressed in an interview that she is not a gardener but is most interested in the stories and folklore around the use of plants and herbs for various uses in New England colonial times. She does not promote any current uses of the plants.

The lecture and slide show is sponsored by the Historical Society of Old Yarmouth where reservations for $10 can be made at www.hsoy.org/events or on the HSOY Facebook page.