Rain or shine, April is here!

March was a busy month with Mothering Sunday at the beginning and Easter at the end. Thank you to you all for supporting our small business.

April brings us longer days which we so easily fill with spring activities. Tending to young plants, sowing seeds, waiting with anticipation for fresh seasonal crops and taking a moment to enjoy tulips in full bloom. The weather is always a big topic of conversation with us- the fresh produce, the plants and flowers, and of course, our watercress and our mood are so heavily affected by weather. We are keeping our fingers crossed that April showers don’t turn into downpours and that the sun shines through the clouds.

Saturday, 11 May is Surrey Day, we will be celebrating 170 year anniversary of growing watercress! To start the ball rolling we have a new ‘Kingfisher Kid’s’ Competition & the Watercress Soup Competition too! All is revealed in this monthly post.

Aprils green shoots…

With winter crops naturally finishing for their season, there are some fresh flavours to add to the plate and bright florals to enjoy.

Design a Commemorative Mug …

We are calling on all the little Kingfishers to get their pencils, paints and brushes out to create a beautiful piece of art for us. We are celebrating 170 years growing watercress. We would like you to design a mug to mark the occasion. Commorative mugs have marked many historic occasions in British history.

All entries need to be A4 in format. On a separate piece of paper write your name, age and contact details. Please write a sentence or two to explain your design.

Entries to be handed in by 9 May.

All entries will be displayed on SURREY DAY 11 May and the winner will be announced!

Good luck little Kingfishers!

Calling all soup chefs, we need you!….

As part of our celebrations, we thought it would be fun to ask you to make your favourite watercress soup recipe. There are 2 categories - the Classic Pure Watercress Soup or for those of you who have their own recipe and like to add a secret ingredient, then enter your soup in the ‘Watercress Soup With A Perfect Companion’ class. Why not have a go at our tried and tested classic watercress soup recipe on our website.

All entries to be brought to the farm shop for judging on Saturday 11 May by 10 am. Entry forms are available on our website or in store. Please make sure your entry is in a sealed container and clearly labeled with your name.

Good luck everyone!

Come join us around the pond …

When: Saturday 11th May 2024 | Where: Kingfisher Farm & Flower Shop |

Time: 10am - 4pm

10 am - 2pm - As part of Surrey Day, we are bringing together some of the best local producers around, for a day of tastings! Come along to pick up a few goodies and to get to know some of our wonderful suppliers.

We are opening up the Watercress Beds for tours… find out how we grow the crop from seed to shelf and learn a little Kingfisher history. The tours will last approximately half an hour. Start times 11am and 2pm. Book you place on our website on the SURREY DAY page. 100% of your £5.00 spent on the tour, will be donated to RABI - a national charity that provides local support to the farming community across England and Wales.

For all history enthusiasts, you can delve more deeply into the Kingfisher archives presented in the Old Bunching Shed museum. Where you can learn all about our watercress world!

12 noon - 4pm Kingfisher Picnic! Join our celebrations around the pond with family fun & games, treasure hunt, Silent Pool gin bar, Surrey Hills Woodfired Pizza and music. Book your picnic spot and Kingfisher picnic packed with lots of watercress treats.

For more details visit our Surrey day page on our website.

Find out what else is happening near you on Surrey Day - www.visitsurrey.com

Meet some wonderful artisans at Kingfisher….

Spring Reach Nurseries

Not very far from the heavy traffic of the A3, Wisley, you can take a turning down Long Reach Road,Ockham and tucked away you will find a treasure for plant lovers, Spring Reach Nursery.  Nick and Lisa Hourhan created this nursery from a bare 5 acre plot around 25 years ago, and like true horticulturists have tended, and nurtured their business with passion, dedication and a huge amount of honest hard work.  The nursery prides itself on offering homegrown plants (80% of perennials and 50-60% of shrubs), fair pricing, horticultural knowledge and customer support.  Looking for something a little different in the offering of a perennial, then Spring Reach has it!  This is why we asked Nick to supply the farm shop with perennials over 15 years ago!  Each delivery never disappoints.

Nick shared his story whilst on his morning inspection of the stock beds and polytunnels.  “Multi-tasking is a necessary skill of a nurseryman” he said. 

What inspired Nick to follow a horticultural career?  He had shared a love of biology with his mother, growing up.  “It was a newspaper article”, Nick recalls, that his mother had read.  “Horticulture will always provide one with work, whether its in crop production, farming or as a nurseryman”.  During summer holidays Nick gained some experience on Mizen’s Farm, now MaClaren’s HQ.  Although it was fun, Nick learnt he didn’t want to do commercial horticultural but did go on to study horticultural at Bath University.  He gained further experience at Hilliers Nursery on tree production and took the opportunity of a work placement on Doris and Bruce Briggs Nursery, Seattle, West Coast USA,  micro propagating azaleas,camelias and other acid loving plants.  On graduating he worked for 10 years as a production manager for Plants Ltd. He and Lisa met, Nick’s parents bought a house with 5 acres, that came with a horticultural license and one polytunnel. The rest is history, as they say!

The business has changed with the ebb and flow of market demands and a journey that has shaped the business in to what it is today.  The product line is broad to give appeal to a wide audience with a specialism in some unusual and eye-catching perennials and an extensive range of rose bushes, which is Lisa’s domain!

Climate change is an obvious focal point for Nick.  There is less seasonality which impacts on planting programs.  The season for native root ball hedging plants is disappearing.  Leaves remain on the trees until as late as November.  Lifting the plants later, due to wetter autumns, delays the planting stage.  This means there is less time for the root ball to settle in and establish themselves in their new ground before the winter, adding additional stresses to the plants.  There is far less predictability with the weather now.

Although Nick is happy to point out that as a small business, they can be far more flexible and adaptable as problems arise.   As a horticulturalist you require an attention for detail, keeping an open mind and to never cease learning.  For Nick there is nothing better than striking a cutting, rooting it, potting it on and seeing it sell and leave the nursery gate. 

A job well done.

Dear Grace…..

On a Monday morning, November 2023, a bright light went out in our world.  Grace, one of the flower shop team tragically had her life cut short.  She died living her life, fulfilling her dream on her travels in Australia.

We are fortunate to work in a team where the age scale runs from 15 to beyond 60 years. Working with many of the teenagers we have had the pleasure to watch them grow, go off to university, come back in the holidays, return momentarily, travel, pursue careers, marry, have children and visit us with their families.  It is a privilege to be part of their lives.  Grace was no exception.

From the moment Grace joined us in 2019, to follow her love of flowers and learn floristry, she made her impact on us.  A strong artistic eye, a quiet confidence, great style and taste, exceedingly willing and a huge appetite to learn. Oh, and humour too! For those of us who worked with Grace, she stole our hearts.  It’s an unbearable, impossible pill to swallow, to accept that she will no longer  be around.

A cherry tree has been planted by the pond, in memory of Grace, where we will gather to remember her on her 21st birthday.  The cherry tree symbolises life and death.  As the coming of spring promises new life, its blossoms bring a sense of vitality and vibrancy.  At the same time, their short lifespan is a reminder that life is fleeting.

Photography Credit: @chloe.hardwick & henrycatling.com @henry.catling