What do you call a glut of Medlars? Our Head Gardener James suggested a “medley” which I quite like the sound of. Maybe the tree has now reached maturity or maybe it was the careful and thoughtful pruning we did last year (I will admit that there was a lot of standing around looking at … Continue reading A Medley of Medlars
Honey Harvest
On 23rd August the Bee Group spun the first batch of honey from the Standen Apiary. This was taken from 'Pear' Hive which is the only one which has enough supplies for us to take from, whilst still leaving some food stores for the bees to use during the autumn/winter months. Hopefully next year if … Continue reading Honey Harvest
Cooking up Colour ~ experimenting with Natural Dyes
Synthetic dyes were first discovered in 1856. Before then all dyes were made from natural sources such as flowers, vegetables, berries, bark, roots, lichens, insects, and shellfish. Preferring the softer tones of the natural dyes over the harsher colours of the new aniline dyes, William Morris first started experimenting with vegetable dyeing of embroidery silks … Continue reading Cooking up Colour ~ experimenting with Natural Dyes
Murder in the Barn Cafe – Whodunnit?!
Wow! What a night. I can’t think of another occasion where the Barn Café was the scene of such excitement - or such mayhem. Moneypenny Productions staged their Murder Mystery event Dead over Dinner on 29th July to a packed room of guests dressed variously in colours appropriate to their table’s Cluedo character, in 20’s … Continue reading Murder in the Barn Cafe – Whodunnit?!
New Bee Group creating a buzz at Standen!
Standen's Apiary In April 2016 Standen’s General Manager decided to re-introduce bee-keeping at Standen. Margaret Beale kept an apiary in the orchard which extended far beyond the current orchards boundaries. (Margaret and James Beale were the original owners of Standen). The funding was initially through the National Trust with the aim that long term, the … Continue reading New Bee Group creating a buzz at Standen!