On Wednesday, May 1st one of Winnipeg’s summer icons opened for business. For decades St.-Leon’s Gardens located at 419 St. Mary’s Road, right at the corner of Carriere and St.Mary’s has been providing Winnipegger’s with the best in fruits, veggies, plants and locally sourced products. Now that the spring and summer is upon us, there is surely nothing better than stopping by St. Leon’s, perhaps on your way home from work, and picking up something delicious for dinner.

Because St.-Leon’s is so locally minded, they generally have a pattern as to how the summer progresses. As Co-owner Colin Rémillard says “It definitely depends on the weather, but there is sort of a pattern. The first thing to arrive after this weekend will be local asparagus, it is one of the first perennial plants that we grow in Manitoba that is going to pop out of the ground… then the next thing is probably going to be some greens…maybe some dill, or lettuce as well as radishes. After that is really is a bit of a mix, because it really depends on who, what, when you planted it, how lucky you are…if there is frost etc.”

In addition to delicious produce, St-Leon’s has a full grocery section of the store that comes from local makers. They deal with over 200 local producers and suppliers. As Rémillard states, “Our focus is on local. If there is a specific local product you are looking for, very likely we are going to have it in stock. We want to make sure that the local producers have a place to sell their goods, but we also want to make sure that we sell good products, so we kind of have to tow that line.”

Right now St-Leon’s has flowers available for your yard and for Mother’s day. “We have a tons of flowers. If you want a gift for your mother, we have hanging baskets, little flower arrangements, we also have an entire grocery store worth of food, so if your mom is peckish and she wants to eat while she is gardening, we’ve got what you need.,” says Rémillard.

Something new that St.-Leon’s Gardens is introducing is Tractor Miles. This is a loyalty card that gives you 2% of in-store credit with all you purchases. If you shop on Tuesdays, you can take advantage of their Tractor Miles Tuesday. This gives customers an opportunity to get double the rewards, so 4% off any food you buy on Tuesdays. The goal is to encourage patrons to shop during the week, and save money while doing so.

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The energy at St.-Leon’s Gardens is always sunny and bustling. This is partly created because of the fact that a portion of the store is outside, so customers are soaking up the sun while buying local, and getting the best in produce. The other reason the energy is so positive, is that the employees at St. Leon’s want nothing more than to provide customers with the best of what Manitoba has to offer.

Local is better, and knowing that you are eating fruits and vegetables that have been grown in natural conditions, and are purely organic, is good for the mind and body; plus it just tastes better!  Free of pesticides, GMO’s and other chemicals the food is allowed to grow naturally and deliciously satiate your taste buds.

St.-Leon Garden works on grocery store hours. They are open from 9am to 9pm Monday to Saturday, and from 9:00am to 6:00pm on Sundays. For more details, visit their website.

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