daylesford day

Last Friday, we drove to Gloucestershire for a gardening course at Daylesford Organic's new Farm School.

The Daylesford Foundation has just launched a series of courses in cooperation with the Soil Association, covering everything from organic gardening to beekeeping to setting up and managing a full-on smallholding.

The Daylesford Farmshop and Cafe were just as beautiful as you'd expect:

But it wasn't all aesthetics: the course was fantastic. As there were only three of us that day, market gardener Jez Taylor (on the right, with G) tailored the course to our personal requirements. We told him about our allotment, and he provided us with detailed, practical advice and strategies. And his enthusiasm was simply contagious!

The day was cold and wet: an unwelcome break in the heat wave. But we still managed a complete tour of the extensive fields and polytunnels...

where we ran into one of the Daylesford chefs. And indeed, our lunch in the Cafe afterwards was lovely. The offerings were simple, yet so flavorful and beautifully presented, just like everything in the Farmshop:

Jez gave us a tray of salad seedlings and a few cuttings to take home, which we planted in the gaps on our plot. Now looking forward to the July gardening course, and keeping our fingers crossed for sun!