wiksunds garden and apple factory

I haven't forgotten the Stockholm, Sweden Q&A, where I have still at least one post to go on nice things to experience here. I will not write a long long list of things to see and do, but I will give a few hints, more personal favourites, the gems, the walks that give great views and such, than the very obvious tourist attractions (since they can be found in any guide-book anyway). That said, this will not be that post.

However this post will be about a new gem I've found, one which I highly recommend a summer visit (as it is a garden/nursery) to. Though in order to get there, having your own car/driver is recommended. It felt like we drove forever (despite it being suburbian Stockholm, I keep forgetting how long the distances between the suburbs on different sides of the city can be) and the nearest bus-stop was quite far from the garden itself. The name of the garden with a café is "Wiksunds trädgård", with an apple jucie factory called just that "Äppelfabriken" plus a cat boarding house. Their websites do leave a lot to be desired on many levels and they are only partially available in English. But they give a notion of the place.

My main reason for going there was a tip I got from my sister-in-law about the garden being the Swedish retailer of the organic Scottish super-fertilizer called Rockdust (which I have still to spread in garden. Super-sized plants and growth not expected until next year).

~ I hadn't heard of the garden beforehand in any other way, strangely enough as it seems to be one of those trendy, well-known eco conscious garden/cafés that seems to be popping up here and there over these past 10 years or so. I'm very pro the idea of eco conscious garden/cafés, obviously, I'm just very no-pro the hip-factor. Places I've found to be gems before they get all trendy most often no longer interest me when they start to attract a certain kind of über-hip-anxious clientele. They play in the same league as the infamous pram-mob. The places that attracts those groups are places I prefer to shy away from. End of side note ~

The garden is tucked away far out at the island/suburb Ekerö - you pass the royal palace Drottningholm on the way, the castle that made bobbaloos swoon - you can get there by car, bus (and a long walk) or boat.

I loved the pretty unpretentiousness. And the fact that they had mugs in different sizes, for big cuppa lovers as well as the more modest tea-drinkers. The food and drinks in the café were organic and fairtrade, there were vegetarian light dishes and a fair amount of different coffee bread to chose from. I chose rubarb pie. It was heavenly. Sweet and sour, crunchy, toffeeish and smooth in a delightful blend. And a generous serving at that. As usual it was the boobaloos who ate most of it of course, but the spoonfuls I got were wonderful.

Their own apple juice didn't impress none of us. But it was a sweet touch with the offer of a small glass for 5 sek. Yes, overall the café prices were appealing.

What I didn't like was the lack of seatings for guests. I can see it being a popular place to visit and to have a café with that few chairs and tables struck me as very strange. Nor did I appreciate the many sheepskin hides thrown on the garden chairs.

Apart from the Rockdust fertilizer I didn't get any stuff for the garden - but I will definitely be back for at least the digging dog - the cat boarding house (situated as a part of the garden) looked very sweet. The current guests seemed pleased with the accomodation.

What we did get get though was a jar of rhubarb vanilla jam - which turned out to be lovely - and a bottle of rhubarb nectar - which the proprietor said was nice to mix with vanilla vodka. I'm sure it will be nice just as it is too.

Needless to say, we'll be back. Hip or not.