Apothecary Inn: Working Mini-Ranch & Bed and Breakfast
We now sell our famous Peach-Rosemary Jam!:
APOTHECARY INN ART GALLERY
What are people saying about the Apothecary Inn?: "Wonderful! Very peaceful! The food is awesome!" |
About the Inn
A Brief Note From the Innkeepers:
APOTHECARY INN: Named after the antique Apothecary Rose
The Apothecary Inn began as a humble dream in the early years of Ryan & Jillian Garrett's marriage. Through a completely unexpected course of events, they found themselves bringing that dream into fruition in the fall of 2007. The house, formerly an alpaca ranch, was nicknamed "The Project" for the sheer number of changes that the Garretts wanted to make to the home. From a new kitchen (as seen above) to new bathrooms, the home was completely remodeled in 2009 to create the Inn that now resides.
Breakfast is served every morning at 8:00 am sharp - with coffee & snacks set out by 7:30 am for earlier risers. Breakfast consists of two courses: the first course is generally a lighter, sweeter course, and is followed by a second, more hearty course. Generally, no sugar is used to create the breakfasts - instead, the innkeepers rely on herbs and fruit juices to add sweetness and flavor! Examples of breakfast include the following:
When in season, the ingredients for breakfast come straight from the innkeepers' very own dairy farm (milking season is generally from February/March to September) & garden, and the eggs come from their flock of chickens. The goal of the innkeepers is to be as self-sufficient as possible, and in that manner they try to produce as much of their own food as possible. Homegrown tastes better anyway! The coffee served with breakfast comes exclusively from the local Jacksonville coffee shop the Good Bean. For those morning tea drinkers, the innkeepers produce their own line of herbal teas available for your drinking pleasure! Among the selections generally available are wild (sustainably harvested) chamomile, sweet lemon mint (a combination of spearmint, chocolate mint, moroccan mint, stevia, catnip, and lemon balm), & raspberry!
The philosophy at Apothecary Inn is "Returning to the Simpler Way of Living." In that respect, the innkeepers try and conserve energy, grow & produce as much of their own food as possible, and use hand tools instead of electric devices. There are ceiling fans in every room, and this helps cool the house - along with the AC! - in the summer. In the winter time, the fireplace and wood stove provide much of the heat needed to warm the house.
The Apothecary Inn is proud to showcase a respectable art collection as well! The inn is decorated with over 40 oil paintings (all but 3 are originals), as well as several watercolors and sketches. The inn's newest acquisition - a painting by Y.W. Leung measuring roughly 7 feet long by 3 feet tall - is proudly displayed in the living room over the antique couch. It depicts Chinese Junks (or sailboats) at sea.
In maintaining the tradition of self-sufficiency, the innkeepers also grow & process almost all of their own herbs in order to make their line of Sangue di Dragone botanical products. Each guest bathroom is stocked with a sampling of their all-natural homemade soaps, bath oils, hair & body products, etc. This is just another way that the Garretts strive to make your stay a unique and enjoyable experience!
The Apothecary Inn consists of two guest bedrooms - the "Apothecary Suite" & the "Duchesse de Portland Room" - as well as a library/sitting room for everyone to enjoy. Sit, relax, and pick a book to read from the inn's extensive book collection! There is a fireplace in the "Great Room" on the main level of the house, and a large enclosed sun room where Jillian grows her plants during the winter & spring. Each of the guest rooms uses an old-fashioned skeleton key to unlock the antique door hardware! The door knob and face plate of the Apothecary Suite came from a 1910 San Francisco mansion!
The landscaping around the bed and breakfast is still a work in progress. When the Garretts first moved into the home, there were no plants to be found on the property, only some scraggly old oak trees and hundreds of fake plastic flowers (a special parting gift from the previous owners). They have worked hard over the years to create pretty gardens around the house, and though the grounds have come a long way, there is still much work to be done. The current landscaping is maintained by Jillian Garrett, whose specialty and passion involve the growing of old roses (those roses found/created before about the mid-1800's). The gardens and rose beds were lovingly created by Jillian (Ryan helped!). Currently, the innkeepers are working on constructing a formal herb garden out of the old baby goat pasture (directly behind the Solarium). They have constructed 3 raised beds (only one more to go!) using river rock hauled from the other end of the property, and have filled them with their own "homegrown" compost. Two of the beds will be devoted to Jillian's medicinal herbs, one bed will be a culinary herb bed, and the final raised bed (yet to be completed) will contain the herbs used in natural dyes.
The Garretts have a menagerie of 4-legged & feathered friends. You can watch the goats, donkeys, and llamas at play in the pasture, and the chickens loitering near their coop. Jugi, the old tomcat, has free reign over the house (Sadly, we lost our beloved Jugi to cancer in November 2009). The innkeepers ask that guests do not enter the pasture or the barn.
The innkeepers are more than happy to provide suggestions for things to do around the area during your visit. Applegate Lake is only a 15-mile drive away! There are also numerous hiking trails nearby, and paragliders love the Applegate Valley! The Garretts are also one of several local nigerian dwarf goat and miniature donkey breeders. Sale information is provided on the Kidding page. For more information about other local breeders, please visit the Things to Do page. Now, how about we...
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