One of our favourite outings is a trip to our local garden centre, Sage Garden Herbs. It’s not just a garden centre. It’s really so much more. Evelyn and Dave grow organic herbs, flowers, shrubs and trees and have a beautiful gift shop full of treasures for gardeners, cooks, and kids. Our little ones love the thought taken to make the visit special for them while mom and dad shop. There’s a little play house with tools, a train set, a small table and chairs… and a huge and lovely outdoor space with pathways, little birdhouses, and other treasures to find.
This weekend we visited in search of seed garlic and some herbs to grow inside over the winter. We were surprised with a treat of spiced cider made by the staff using plants from their greenhouse. Oh my, this cider hit the spot on a chilly fall day! Below are the plants that were used in a base of pure apple juice or cider. Play with the amounts to find a combination perfect for you and yours.
We purchased a Galangal Ginger plant. The leaves can be used for cooking, as well as the roots. How cool is that? We’re looking forward to picking up the other plants as well, so we can make the full recipe over the winter…
Thanks to Evelyn and Dave for sharing the ingredients.
This post was shared as a part of Thank Goodness It’s Monday at Nourishing Joy, Natural Living Monday at Modern Alternative Health, Fat Tuesday at Real Food Forager, Simple Lives Thursday at My Humble Kitchen, Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade, and Unprocessed Fridays at Girl Meets Nourishment, and Simply Natural Saturdays at The Pistachio Project.
Hi Kris – Thanks so much for posting this! Really “delicious” article, and your photos are amazing! – Dave
Thanks, Dave. And thanks for that amazing space you’ve created for our community. We love it there, and are excited to have fresh herbs over the winter.
Oh Kris, you’re making me crave the greenhouse experience. These cold days already…
Thanks for the post. I’ve never heard of a Galangal Ginger plant. I love my Lemon Verbana. Hope it lives to the next year. It is currently loosing all it’s leaves for the season.
But picking up some herbs is a wonderful idea since growing from seeds takes some time! Even though we froze some herbs, fresh is always so much better:)
I think Sage is open into mid or late November… Evelyn mentioned they are planning some kids’ craft days. Maybe we can get to one together.
Yeah, fresh is great – to be able to rub them between your fingers and smell them as you walk by. And I am hoping the kids will each adopt a plant to care for. A great montessori activity is to cut off the dead leaves with scissors, clean the leaves of the plant with a spray bottle and sponge, or even a q-tip…
What a lovely recipe for plant spiced cider. This is a great idea for the upcoming holiday dinners I am planning. Your photos are so amazing which makes this cider all the more appealing. Glad I found your post on Unprocessed Fridays.
Hi Deborah, thanks so much for your kind words. I hope your dinners are a hit!
Looking forward to reading a bunch on your blog – it looks full of great info…