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An inspiring day at Deans Court.

September 20, 2016 By Jill Anderson Leave a Comment

Well it’s back down to earth this week after spending a lovely day last Thursday at Deans Court in Dorset, hosted by William & Ali Hanham & Lottie Sharland. It was one of those special days that you don’t want to end, I honestly speculated about camping out in the kitchen garden, but at the end of the day I came to my senses & headed home.

I met Ali some time ago via Instagram & dropped in to see her last April when we were passing through on our way for a weekend with the family in Dorset, and being the generous, friendly person that she is, she invited me to join a group of people for a ‘Honey & Harvest Day’ last week.

An inspiring day at Deans Court.

Deans Court.

We spent the day experiencing some of the things that happen at Deans Court like being kitted up in a bee-suit & getting up close to the fascinating little creatures. Amongst other things we where treated to a baking demonstration of gorgeous cakes by Lisa Osman of All Hallows & we were shown how to make chai latte by Dorset Herbals, which was so delicious it was like a pudding in a glass.

And joy of joys we had a tour of the vegetable garden, which I last saw when I was there in April. It was so nice to see it at this end of the growing season, looking so lush & blousey.

vegetable garden-pleached-tree

the glorious vegetable garden at Deans Court

 

dc-chard-row

rows of chard

dc-chard-close-up

dc-greenhouses

dc-onions

dc-tomatoes

dc-aubergine

Dahlia cafe au lait flower

Dahlia cafe au lait

It was the first organic garden in the country to be accredited by the Soil Association. The honey, fruit & vegetables are used for the boxed vegetable scheme & in the cafe, so it’s all perfectly fresh and the journey is measured in food-steps rather than food-miles.

We were fortunate to be served a delicious lunch with most of the ingredients coming from Deans Court.

An inspiring day at Deans Court.-dining-room

Deans Court dining room

If you happen to be remotely near Wimborne then do drop in to the cafe & visit the shop, which is full of tempting garden & homeware, & there are lovely cottages to stay in.

An inspiring day at Deans Court.-Apple & Plum cottages

Directions to Deans Court & more information here.

Find more about All Hallows here & Dorset Herbals here.

Enjoy the rest of the week.

Jill

all photos: Jill Anderson

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squash growing at the allotment, uchi kuri squash,What’s growing at the allotment in July. What to do in your garden in September, hedge, www.growingnicely.co.uk, HedgeWhat to do in your garden in September Default ThumbnailBook Review: The Half Hour Allotment by Lia Leendertz Growing Vegetables In Containers
Filed Under: Blog, Gardening, Growing Food, Plants Tagged With: All Hallows Farm, Deans Court, Dorset Herbals

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Hello, I’m Jill Anderson.
This is where you’ll find good, solid information about gardening, growing fruit & vegetables and how to keep it all looking good.
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