Favourite things...

Borage, Heartease, Malva Sabrina, Roses, 'Night Sky' Petunia, Bee Friendly flowers

Raised beds and Bee ing friendly!

Much of the early Springtime was spent preparing new areas of the Seedlings Woodland Garden. We cleared the old chicken run and moved it to a new location next to the walled garden. The soil is very fertile now and so in it's place, we put up a new veggie raised bed and a row of canes for climbing peas. In June, all of the Bee friendly seeds that were grown and watered in the greenhouse have been transplanted into the raised bed. There is a variety of herbal plants including: Borage, Clarysage, Bergamot, Heartsease, lavender and Poachers egg flower(named so for it's yellow and bee friendly appearance). The Bees love Borage flowers, which continually flower over the summer and also host medicinal properties such as alleviating depression and an natural aphrodisiac! There is a large healthy area of purple brocolli - which we are keeping an eye on as it could do with thinning out a little, but is growing large and well at present. In order to give the Summer a real bloom, we planted over 100 summer bulbs in the raised bed, a varity of Anemones, Gladioli, Lillies and smaller flowers.

Open Farm Sunday 2016 at Brattleby Farm

We were happy to have bright skies and good weather on Sunday 5th June. David took local children around on tractor rides, much to their delight. This is proving a main stay of our annual event that is part of the NFUs campaign to invite local community and schools into farms and rural education. Ruth made teas & coffees and provided Willow craft workshops, using a variety of willow. Our friend Pat O'Carroll (Greenheart) brought his woodcraft skills and set up tent with wood lathe and tools for families to enjoy learning new woodcraft skills. Local friends and neighbours contributed to the day: Derrick Bowser provided hot food and Caroline Moore provided carrot cupcakes for the children. All in all it was a friendly afternoon with around 70 local visitors. We will be repeating it again next year and working with schools for Open Farm School Days.

Sunshine on our faces!

Continuing the work from last Summer, we have spent the Springtime 2016 getting underway in the Seedlings Woodland Garden, we have put in tomatoes, planted carrots and climbing peas and nurtured the herb bed. Nothing makes me happier than having the children in muddy wellies, feeling the sunshine on our faces. We've contined to work on the wildlife area that included planting calendula, poppies, cornflowers, wildflower seeds and hosts a fantastic Bug House made by artist Julie Driftwood Dunlop! The chicken run has been moved into a bigger space and in place of the old one, our good friend Andy has helped build a raised bed for veggies such as our purple broccoli and surrounded by Bee friendly flowers and summer bulbs. The Greenhouse is our daily stop off point, watering the seedlings and watching how magically nature works. Every child should have the opportunity to enjoy such delights.