We’ve just delivered sixty, metre-long staves and sixty pairs of claves – all from hazel – to a very well known environmental charity. They are apparently destined to be given to children at a school in North London. A lovely present I thought – I can’t recall anything even vaguely similar happening to us when I […]
Ah the bluebell – that beauty of our ancient woodlands, that brilliant woodland welcomer of spring. They are flowering right now in our tiny bit of ancient woodland and they look gorgeous in the fragile April sunshine. So welcome in a sea of vivid green, after months of grey and damp. As we all know, […]
I’ve spent a couple of days recently building a rabbit net around a Bedfordshire veg patch. I was fairly skeptical to begin with, when my client suggested building a rabbit net that would be supported by hazel stakes and decorated with willow. However after some experimentation and discussion, we’ve developed a fence that I’m pretty […]
Cut down trees. Do it now; you know you want to. It’s great therapy even when some swearing’s required when the poor old saw doesn’t start first time. I managed only two hours cutting hazel yesterday before needing to get back to other things on the farm. Actually it’s still a bit early in teh autumn because the […]
It would be great to have more time to… well for all sorts of things. Spending time with spouse, children and friends comes top even though I know I’m luckier than most in that regard. Playing music, singing, walking, cooking, cycling, reading. That list could be a long and pitiful one so let’s stop there!A […]
We’ve been very busy since February and particularly in April and May, making structures for gardeners – obelisks, cloches, hurdles. At the same time, demand for hazel bean poles and pea sticks has been very strong and we’ve just about sold all our stock this spring.I think Monty Don may be behind the increase in […]
Great to be back at farmers’ markets for the spring!Yesterday Woburn and for the hour it didn’t rain we did well. After that there was a little dampness in the air and by about 12.30, all but the most die-hard shoppers had retired, either home or to the many warm, snug and dry hostelries in the […]
One of the pleasures of doing this job (and there are several), is meeting our customers. It may be that an interest in sticks makes people laid back and interesting or that we often sell sticks to basket makers and gardeners, and that they are particularly friendly. I’m sure there’s a connection. Yesterday I delivered lots of large […]
I’ve spent a couple of days helping lay a hedge on a neighbour’s farm over the last fortnight which has been good if extremely cold. It’s an excellent example of the benefits of the environmental grant schemes that have been and are still available to farmers. This hedge was planted along with a couple of small […]
In the usual run of things, I wouldn’t usually have much to say on the subject of ‘the toilet’. Poor hygiene or a complete absence can of course be irksome, but that’s about as far as I would usually go. However, for some months I’ve been searching the net for bog blogs and tales of alfresco pooing. Suddenly I’m fired up […]