...with celebrations ahead

The jubilance of Spring.  We begin our days in the light with an overture of bird song.  It makes such a difference to our souls.

March and April bring us Mothering Sunday and Easter,  encouraging us to come together and celebrate around the table and share in the delights of the season.  There will be wild garlic, the first tender tips of British Asparagus (if we are lucky), leeks and purple sprouting to name a few.  Spring flowers, branches of blossom and spring bulbs make perfect gifts for both occasions.  The Flower Shop will be overflowing with beautiful bouquets and planters, that can be ordered in advance for collection or local delivery.

There are more celebrations ahead. 9 May is ‘Surrey Day’!  Come and meet some of our wonderful producers and sample their fayre.

The Bunching Shed Museum doors will be open again with a special focus on celebrating the Farm Shop’s 55th Anniversary.  If you have a memory you wish to share with us please do get in touch.  It may be your first visit to us, a conversation had or a food discovery.

In the meantime here is our news as we skip, hop and leap into Spring!

and the winners are …

Thank you to everyone who has taken part in this year‘s marmalade competition.  This year

,. Theywe had 48 jars of marmalade across all classes - we love receiving your entries.  Thanks to your contributions, we were able to make a generous donation of £48 to the Phyllis Tuckwell Foundation in loving memory of Fanny Maiklem and our dear Margaret Arminson.

Judging was by no means easy, Judges were Debbie of Debbie’s Preserves,  Joanna of Two Many Cooks and our very own marmalade connoisseur Ian Oakley. They spent several hours tasting all of your lovely preserves for appearance, taste, texture and aroma.

We are thrilled to announce our 2026 marmalade winners are ...

and a wealth of wonderful suppliers ...

Come and join us on Saturday 9 May for our annual Surrey Day celebrations around the pond.  We’ve invited some of the best local food and drink producers to be with us for tastings from 10am - 2pm, so come and get to know some of our wonderful suppliers and select a few delicious treats to take home.

We have another cause for celebration this year as the Farm Shop will be 55 years old.  Our Watercress Museum will be open on Surrey Day full of Farm Shop memorabilia and shared memories of those who have worked and shopped here over the years.

Tours of the watercress beds will run from 11am and take about half an hour. Please book via the Surrey Day page on our website.  All of the £5.00 ticket price will be donated to RABI, a national charity providing much needed support to the farming community across England and Wales.

As part of our celebrations on Surrey Day we are running our Watercress Pesto competition again as it proved so popular last year.  The recipe can be found on our website or picked up from the Farm Shop, with a class for adults and one for children under 12.  All entries should be named and brought to the Farm Shop for judging on Saturday 9 May before 10.30am in a sealed, clearly labelled container.  Entry Forms are available to download on our website or from the Farm Shop.

A walk on the wild side….

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Brighter spring days brings a carpet of wild garlic (Allium ursinum) to The Surrey Hills. It can be found in damp wooded areas and is easily detected by its garlic aroma and short white flowers.  It is better to eat the leaves before the plant finishes flowering as they loose flavour and become more fibrous after blooming.  If you are foraging, please be mindful of the beautiful surroundings you are in, only collect from plentiful populations, and leave plenty behind.

We have our own sustainably foraged supply, but it’s possible to grow your own wild garlic from seed, or by ordering young plants from specialist growers.  Once established, it can spread quite freely, so it’s best to keep it contained if you don’t want it to naturalise.

Wild garlic leaves are an extremely versatile addition to culinary favourites such as pesto, risotto, cheese scones and ravioli, or can simply be added to a colourful stir fry at the last minute for a subtle garlic flavour.

Here’s a simple recipe for Wild Garlic Butter that can be frozen and cut into slices to use on fish and steak, or rubbed over the skin of a chicken before roasting.

Take 200g of wild garlic and wilt for 30 seconds in boiling water.  Pat dry with a clean tea towel and add to a food processor along with 500g soft salted butter.  Blitz until smooth and spoon onto greaseproof paper.  Roll the butter into a log shape inside the paper, twist the ends and freeze.  Cut slices as required.

The Flowerpot Forager is a beginners' guide to growing wild food in pots, making foraging easy.

The Flowerpot Forager details 30 wild edible plants that can be grown at home in containers with as much effort as you’d put into your tending your herb pot from the supermarket, plus a very simple recipe or two on how to use them – think pink clover lemonade, water mint pesto and dandelion salad.

Foraging is a perennially aspirational hobby for gardeners and cooks alike, but it’s now entering the mainstream; from supermarkets stocking wild garlic to Fever Tree spiking their tonics with elderflower, wild food is everywhere. Historically, location has hampered the accessibility of foraging – if you don’t live near a wood, riverbed or meadow, it can be difficult to find those lusted-after ingredients in cookbooks and on TV shows. But The Flowerpot Forager is here to solve that.

Mother’s Day, Sunday 15th March

It's time to celebrate the wonderful mothers and those that mother in our lives, and thank them for all they do to nurture and care for us.  We've some lovely foodie and floral ideas on our website that can be delivered along with your personal message, or you can pop in and order flowers ahead of time from our small but mighty Flower Shop.

As a thoughtful and sustainable idea, why not bring us your mum's favourite vase before the day, & let us fill it with glorious spring flowers?  We'll be taking orders for flowers online until Friday 13 March and over the phone until Saturday 14.

We offer a delivery service on Mother's Day itself, and the Flower Shop will be open for collections from 10am - 2pm on the day.

Joy Farm Eggs

Our relationship with Joy Farm in West Horsley goes back 20 years.  Read on to find out why Adrian’s hens are the happiest hens in the Surrey Hills.

Three generations of farming, one simple aim: to produce the best-tasting eggs we can. 

For nearly 100 years, the Joy family has been farming in the Surrey Hills, producing food with passion and tradition.  Today, our specialist flocks lay eggs for taste and not

volume.  The care and attention our hens receive results in richer yolks, stronger shells, and most importantly, flavour.

At Joy Farms, our hens live in small, contented flocks of just 60 to 200, not the 16,000 you will find in large-scale production.  They’re outside from dawn to dusk if they choose, with the freedom to shelter under the shade of trees or handmade field shelters, bask in the sun, display natural behaviours like dust bathing or simply explore.  At night, they return to safe, cosy sheds where every hen has plentiful water, food, lots of space and comfort.

By keeping our stock numbers low, we give each hen the space, stimulation, and natural lifestyle she deserves — because happy hens lay the tastiest eggs.

The Eggs

We chose our breeds for flavour, welfare, and beauty.  Their brown and pale blue eggs look as good as they taste.  Our traditional slower-laying breeds producing fewer eggs per year (250 vs 350), reducing stress on the hens and resulting in more flavour.

Looking After the Land

As farmers, caring for the environment is ingrained in our history, sustainability running naturally through the core of our business.  From our farming methods to the renewable energy supplier that we charge our electric delivery van through, we know that every decision we take has an impact on the environment.

We strive to keep waste to a minimum.  Left over fruit and vegetables go to feed local chickens, sheep and goats, and Flower Shop waste goes on our huge compost heap. Egg boxes and glass milk bottles can be returned to us for reuse, plus we endeavour to choose products with recyclable packaging wherever possible.  All of our bags are made of paper, except our freezer food bags which are compostable, and we offer our own ethically made denim tote bag available to purchase at the till.

We could go on.  The way we operate today is not part of a new green initiative, but is the result of caring for the land that we farm and the community that we support with the goal of leaving as little impact on our beautiful planet as possible.

Kokedama Workshop

Join Lisa on 22nd April at the Old Bunching Shed at Kingfisher Farm Shop for a hands-on Kokedama workshop, where you’ll learn the beautiful Japanese art of creating moss ball plants. In this calming, creative session, you’ll make two kokedama plants to take home, perfect for hanging or displaying in your living space.

Lisa will guide you step-by-step through the process of shaping the soil, wrapping the roots, applying moss, and securing your plants using traditional techniques. You’ll also learn how to care for your kokedama to keep them healthy and thriving.

During the workshop, we’ll also take time to enjoy and explore a variety of Japanese teas, adding to the peaceful and cultural experience.

This workshop is a lovely way to slow down, connect with nature, and experience a beautiful piece of Japanese culture.

All materials provided, just bring your curiosity and a sense of calm!

www.hinokiforestbathing.co.uk/sessions/japanese-culture/