Wednesday 3 September 2014

The Secret Herb Garden

Recently I was whisked off on a surprise adventure by Google #CityExperts (who, seriously, throw the best parties! It's definitely worth taking a look at signing up if you haven't already). They didn't say where we were going... just promised a unique, hidden venue with botanical surprises.

I (super unfairly!) assumed they were going to take us to the Royal Botanic Garden, which is beautiful, but not that hidden... so was pretty surprised when we headed off to the edges of town, and turned into the Secret Herb Garden.

Photo from City Experts Botanical Bash
Based just outside of Edinburgh, the Secret Herb Garden is a super cool gardener's treasure trove (one googler described it as a "hipster's dream garden centre", which sums it up pretty well). The herb farm is spread over seven and a half acres, and also houses a cafe, shop, vintage furniture, and a railway carriage that's been converted into a bee observatory.


Dotted around the greenhouse and grounds are places to sit - it just looks like the most perfect place to spend an afternoon with a book.

We were taken on a wander round by owner Hamish, who is the most inspiring plant-lover you'll ever meet (I've never heard anyone talk so enthusiastically about dandelions, but I am a total convert). He showed us around a small section of the grounds, and paid equal attention (and enthusiasm) to the spots of wild herbs and flowers that peppered the place, as he did to their new rose garden and orchards.

Photo by Chris Scott
As well as being a wonderful world of herbs, the Garden also hosts courses and workshops. You can learn the basics of beekeeping, learn about herbal health, try a watercolour class, candle making, wreath making, cooking, and more. 

They also have a herbalist treatment room where you can get aromatherapy massages and all sorts of nice-sounding things. Oh, and did I mention they make their own beer?

Photo from City Experts Botanical Bash
When we went, we got to try out a few things... including making candles with the resident beekeeper (which is surprisingly easy to do, and they smell amazing), making flower crowns with visiting florist Lotte & Bloom, exploring the gardens, and eating dinner that was scattered with beautiful edible flowers.

It was just beautiful, and you should go (I'm already planning my next trip).

The Secret Herb Garden is open every day from 10am - 4pm, and can be found just off the Edinburgh Bypass

1 comment :

  1. Oh wow this sounds like heaven on earth. Thank you so much for blogging about it!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for commenting, it is lovely and really makes my day!

If you have any questions I will do my best to answer them quickly, or you can also tweet me @eversojuliet

Ta!