Newsround
JENNY THORNHILL
As I write this I’m looking out from my kitchen to the garden and the field beyond and am distracted because it’s all so green and vibrant under a moody grey blue sky; it’s raining and everything looks so alive. I’m not sure if it’s a Farrow and Ball colour yet but it should be. I love this time of year and May is definitely my favourite month. The colours, the smell of bluebells and hawthorn, and nature is changing daily.
On the growing front, the local and seasonal favourites are appearing with something new almost every week. The beauty of working with other local growers means that if we don’t have something yet (or enough) then they just might.
It’s been great this past week or so to fill in some gaps with produce from Hankham Organics, in East Sussex - true spinach, perpetual spinach, chard, and three varieties of kale, and this week we’ll add to that some spring greens. No one need go without their greens.
We love to discover new things about our customers but even I’ve been surprised by how many of you watched BBC 2’s Great British Train Journeys presented by Michael Portillo. Last week, which was episode one of the new series, the Ashdown Forest area was featured and that included a visit to Plaw Hatch. In the episode, Michael Portillo was harvesting red cabbage with Nir, our gardener at the time, and so enthusiastic was he that we didn’t have to harvest them again for a couple of weeks as we had ample to keep us going! The filming on the farm really showed what a beautiful spot this is. This was also evident if you saw the drone filming of the cow turnout in April, it’s a beautiful farm.
Now is a good time to take a walk on the farm and I always think that one of the nicest things to do is to visit the garden. Take a walk around the poly tunnels; it’s so peaceful and inspiring. Don’t miss spotting the first few cucumbers and sweet peas which before we know it will be coming in their hundreds.
If you make it to the bottom of the farm you might get a glimpse of the new farmhouse: ‘Spring House’, which is nearing completion and looks so comfortable in its position.
Walking back up the track can be thirsty work so don’t forget to call into the shop (fingers crossed there’s no queue!) and get an ice cream, and while you’re there take a look at our new and exciting range of natural wines, there are some fantastic ones, my personal favourite being ‘The Supernatural’, it’s a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand and I think the label is really cool (always helps), and look closely and you’ll see a picture of Rudolph (Steiner) on it too!
