Mariam's Herb Garden, Shouf

Mariam doesn't call herself a farmer. "I'm a gardener," she says, standing in a terraced hillside plot overlooking the Shouf Cedar Reserve. "Farmers grow food. I grow medicine."

Her half-hectare garden produces the freshest herbs in Lebanon. Mint, parsley, basil, thyme, za'atar, sage, rosemary — all grown without pesticides, harvested by hand at dawn.

The za'atar is the real treasure. Wild Lebanese za'atar, dried slowly in the mountain air. She makes maybe 200 jars a year.

"My grandmother taught me that you don't pick a plant — you ask it," Mariam says. "If it gives easily, it's ready. If it resists, you wait."

Mariam's herbs are available year-round. The za'atar is seasonal and sells out within days.