Saso Herb Gardens
Saso Herb Gardens St. Fiacre, Patron Saint of Gardens
Saso Herb Gardens St. Fiacre, Patron Saint of Gardens
In early February we will be speaking at the Herb Growing and Marketing Network’s annual winter herb conference which will be held in Baton Rogue, LA. Check out www.herbnet.com for more information.
This past year, our experiment in semi-retirement worked out very well. As a result we have decided to continue in the same direction his year. Our apprenticeship program has attracted many very enthusiastic gardeners. They have been a tremendous help in the nursery and especially attacking the weeds in the herb gardens. Pictures of our garden appeared in a Japanese garden book which was published last year. As a result of seeing photographs of our gardens a young Japanese woman came from Japan for a special two week apprenticeship. She owns a bakery and restaurant in Japan and wanted to be able to grow herbs for use in her restaurant. It was a very interesting and enjoyable two weeks. Fortunately for all of us she spoke English quite well. Those of you who signed up for the apprentice program last year will be getting a call soon to see if you are still interested. The day set aside for this program is always Tuesday, 9AM to 2PM. Please call or send email if you are interested.
We will continue our free lecture tours of the gardens, one Sunday a month during April, May, June, July and September. Special group tours are available for a fee Monday through Friday. We are also available for speaking engagements for a fee. Virginia’s specialty is a talk entitled "Designing Magic from an Herb Garden." Louie will be offering his "Planning an Herb Garden Workshop" and Virginia will be offering her usual wreath and craft workshops. A new holiday decorations workshop has been added this year. I guess Virginia doesn’t know the meaning of "semi-retirement." We are happy to offer medicinal and health seminars by author and herbal practitioner Christopher Hobbs L.AC., and new seminars by Jim Mutch, B.S.R.PH., Marshall Riley L.Ac., and Josie Riley L.Ac. Jim Mutch is an herbal pharmacist and will help you learn how to choose herbal and dietary supplements. For those of you who are interested in acupuncture, and would like to know more about this, Marshall and Josie offer a free talk on acupuncture. Check the 1997 schedule of events for details on these workshops.
We have narrowed the list of herbs that we carry in an attempt to lighten the load in the nursery. We are concentrating on growing traditional medicinal herbs as well as an assortment of Chinese medicinal plants. Ornamental salvias, lavenders, ornamental oreganos and brugmansias (angel’s trumpet) are our specialties. Of course there are always Virginia’s pet plants that she must plant and the same goes for Louie. To answer many who have asked, we do not mail order. You will just have to take a trip to our beautiful Saratoga area! Our nursery and garden will be open April 12, 1997 through September 14, 1997, Saturdays only from 9:00 to 2:30. You are welcome to come during those hours to purchase herb plants, browse through the gardens or purchase wreaths. If you cannot come during those hours you may call for a special appointment to visit the gardens. We are looking forward to sharing our gardens with you in 1997.