Progress Report....

Dear All,

Sorry we have been incommunicado for the past month almost, but things have become very hectic, what with juggling work and Willowbrook. Over the past month we have been working hard to fence the farm properly. All the temporary fencing has been removed, and the 10 acre farm block has been divided into 7 paddocks, all fully fenced, with lovely 12 foot wooden gates; and a post and rail cattle yard for rounding up the stock and inspecting them / drenching, etc. We have done all the work ourselves, which although time-consuming, and physically draining, has given us a great sense of pride and satisfaction.

Then in the middle of that [fencing] mission, one of our Dorset Horned Ewes got a facial wound (however, following minor surgery and some tender ministrations twice daily, she is now bleating and leaping like before). Then our prize Suffolk Ram, Mr Darcy, came down with an infection in his stifle. I had to carry him over my shoulders the full length of the farm in the pelting rain to the barn, where he too, after a week of TLC, made a full recovery and has been released into the rest of the flock for the first time to 'do his thing'.

I mentioned the rain. My Word, it has not rained as hard or as long as it has for the past 2 weeks for years. Never mind, it has been great for the plants.

Meanwhile Peter, along with our friends Darin and Richard, has been making all the raised potager beds (36 beds, all 1 foot high, 10 feet long and 5 feet wide). He is due to finish those next week, so we can get them filled with the top soil and compost. Some of our plants for the potager have already arrived. They include medicinal herbs for our natural remedy range, and herbs for making natural cosmetics and hand and body creams. There are also many culinary herbs and seeds, including 10 Camelia sinensis trees (used to make Chinese black tea). Others include:

Aloysia triphylla (Lemon Verbena)
Anethum graveolens (Dill)
Apium celeriac (Celeriac)
Arnica mantana (Arnica - good as a natural bruise remedy)
Asparagus officinalis (Asparagus)
Chamaemelum nobile (Roman Chamomile - a relaxing infusion)
Crocus sativus (Saffron)
Echinacea purpurea (Echinacea - a natural immune booster)
Foeniculum vulgare dulce (Florence Fennel)
Helianthus tuberosus (Jerusalem Artichoke)
Juniperus comunis (Juniper for the berries - for making our own Gin!)
Melaleuca alternifolia (Tea Tree - for medicinal oil, and the wood shavings are great for smoking trout and salmon)
Melissa officinalis (Lemon Balm - for teas and ointments)
Mentha citrata (Eau de Cologne Mint - for tea)
Mentha x pip. citrata basil (Basil flavoured Mint)
Mentha x piperita (Peppermint - for tea and ointments)
Manarda Cambridge scarlet (Bergamot, hot pink)
Manarda didyma (Bergamot - red)
Manarda didyma fistulosa (Wild Bergamot - Purple)
Nicotiana tabacum (Tobacco - useful as a natural insecticide)
Ocimum basililcum (Sweet Basil)
Ocimum tenuiflorum (Sacred Basil - perfumes)
Oenothera biennis (Evening Primrose - medicinal oil)
Origanum vulgare (Marjoram)
Pelargonium capitatum (Rose scented Geranium)
Pelargonium chocolate (Cocoa scented Geranium)
Pelargonium nervosum (Lime scented Geranium)
Pelargonium Rober's rose (The finest Rose scented Geranium)
Physalis alkekengi (Chinese Lanterns - ornamental pods for arrangements)
Physalis peruviana (Cape Gooseberry)
Polianthes tuberosa (Tuberose - used in perfumes)
Rosmarinus off Blue Lagoon (Blue Rosemary)
Rosmarinus off Remembrance (Pink Rosemary)
Rosmarinus off Tuscan Blue (Light Blue Rosemary)
Salvia off Pink form (Pink Sage)
Salvia off. Purpurascens (Purple Sage)
Salvia officinalis. (Sage - for culinary use)
Satureja montana (Winter Savoury)
Tanacetum parthenium (Feverfew - natural migraine remedy)
Thymus 'lemonspreader' (Lemon Thyme)
Thymus vulgaris (Common Thyme - for culinary use)
Thymus Westmoreland (Turkish Thyme - strongly flavoured)
Valeriana officinalis (Valerian - used as a relaxant)

We have also planted up our citrus grove, in the middle of the orchard, leaving enough room in the middle of it for the Orangery.

This coming week I am placing all the water troughs in the paddocks and finishing the stock yard. I am then moving on to making the jetty for the lake. The lake liner was finally finished last week and shipped down from Auckland. I have to get the jetty built in the next fortnight so that the liner can be installed around it (with large rubber 'boots' welded around each of the jetty posts, into one continuous form with the rest of the liner).

Last week I also drove to Wellington and back (a 16 hour trip!) to collect a boat which we had bought for the lake. It is a traditional styled row boat, which I am going to restore with lovely brass fittings, and varnished wooden seats. We are going to call her "The Lady of The Lake".

That should take us up to the great planting weekend of July 10-11, when a group of friends are gathering for the weekend to help us plant nearly 3000 trees around the park. I need to start putting in markers and border-lines, so that everything is ready to go on the big day.

So, there will be lots of before and after photos and progress pictures to share in the coming weeks. Once all that is done, order and sanity may once again prevail, and I may be able to return to the gentile art of blogging more regularly.

Till next time,

Dx

The Great Country Estates of Britain Series. Part Six: Wrotham Park

Wrotham Park, Hertfordshire is a Palladian English country house, designed by Isaac Ware in 1754 for Admiral John Byng. It is set within a 2,500 acres estate seventeen miles from Hyde Park, making it one of the largest private houses inside the M25.

Originally part of an estate known as Pinchbank, first recorded in Middlesex in 1310 and owned in the 17th and early 18th centuries by the Howkins family, the property passed to Thomas Reynolds, who renamed the estate Strangeways. His son, Francis, sold the property to Admiral Byng, who changed the name to Wrotham Park in honour of the original family home, Wrotham, in Kent. Admiral Byng never had an opportunity to live in retirement at Wrotham, being court martialled and executed first. It remains in the family today.

A disastrous fire in 1887 burned slowly enough to permit retrieval of the contents of the house, but gutted it. It was rebuilt precisely as it had been.

Scenes for Robert Altman's Gosford Park were shot at Wrotham Park, including exterior scenes and the staircase, dining room, library and living room. Scenes for the ITV Jeeves and Wooster series were also shot at Wrotham Park. Both the interior of Brinkley Court and the interior and exterior of Chuffnell Hall (Episodes 4 & 5, Series 2) were filmed there.

Other film and television sitings include The Line of Beauty and Peter's Friends.

Wrotham, however, is more important to me for inspiring the idea to provide disabled access to Willowbrook Park via two ramps on either side of the front entrance, as per the twin set of steps at Wrotham...

We had been searching for a way to enable the less-abled (and ourselves in our dotage) to find ingress and egress without breaking a hip. If instead of a magnificent twin set of steps, one had a twin set of ramps of a suitable gradient, one could have disabled access without spoiling the overall aesthetic of the front entrance...

Wrotham's steps remind me of another building - Keddleston Hall...

But Keddleston will have to wait for another exciting installment of The Great Country Estates of Britain series.

Beds and Bedrooms...

Willowbrook Park will have 5 guest bedrooms in total, each with its own theme. There will be:

• The Brideshead Suite


• The Chatsworth Suite


• The Blenheim Suite


• The Carriage House Apartments


• The Royal Suite

The Brideshead Suite is the largest of the bedrooms suites, measuring 10m x 5m (32' x 16')

The Chatsworth Suite is the next largest, measuring 7m x 5m (23' x 16')

The Blenheim Suite is the smallest of the bedroom suites at 6m x 5m (20' x 16')

The Carriage House Apartments are 17m x 4m in total, comprising several separate rooms.

The Royal Suite is 13m x 5m (42' x 16')

Each suite has a unique character and colour scheme. The Brideshead suite will be decorated in beiges and golds. It has two distinct reflected ceiling mouldings to define the bedroom area from the lounge area, and a separate marble en suite. Below is an example of the sort of colourscheme and layout the Brideshead suite will have. Note the use of reflected ceilings, and the traditional furniture layout. I like the way one can break a long room up into several different spaces, whilst keeping it open and light:

The decor that will typify this suite: light and classical...

Other examples of light and open suites:

I also love fireplaces in bedrooms. It is so Luxurious!

There is a fireplace in the Royal Suite and also in the Chatsworth Suite.

I also like the idea of beds in custom built alcoves, however none of the suites at Willowbrook would be suitable for this.

Other beds and bedrooms...

Above and Below: Muted Shades. I like the paneling.

I am not a fan of the colour yellow, even if it is a warm colour.

Green is peaceful, though slightly cool.

Above and Below: Empire Day beds. I Like the canopies. Perhaps in the Blenheim Suite.

I love the bed below. Unfortunately, New Zealand being a million miles away from anywhere, is an expensive place to ship to.

Above: A flamboyant statement. I like the red walls with the purple and green silk canopy.

Below: Too much. I wonder if Marie Antoinette suffered from frequent migraines?

Our First Harvest for The Country Store...

We are starting to reap the fruits of our labours in our Orchard, which is only 6 months old. Our Crabapple trees, (Malus 'Gorgeous' and Malus 'Wright's Scarlet') are starting to produce some colourful apples which will soon be ripe for making Crabapple Jelly.

Crab apples are unlikely to be on sale, but go foraging and you'll find them. Wild trees thrive on country roads and in abandoned homestead gardens and are occasionally found dropping fruit onto city streets. Raw, the tiny apples are hard and tart and seem more stone than flesh, but boil a potful into jam or jelly and they make a lovely treat for morning toast. Even better on a buttery, rich croissant. And should a wild duck wing its way to your larder come the month of May, glaze the cooked bird with your crab- apple jelly and wait for compliments.

CRAB-APPLE JELLY

Quarter-fill a large saucepan with washed and dried crab apples. Completely fill saucepan with cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer briskly for 40 minutes until the liquid is reduced by about half (the crab apples will soften and burst). Put a new Chux cloth or similar in a colander over a large jug or bowl and tip in crab apples and liquid. Leave 3-4 hours to drain. Discard crab apples. Measure juice by the cupful into a large clean saucepan. Add the same number of cups 78 filled with sugar (in other words, not quite as much sugar as liquid). Over a low heat stir to dissolve the sugar. Gradually increase heat and bring to a boil. Boil briskly for 10 to 15 minutes, then test for setting by dropping a spoonful of the jam/jelly onto a cold saucer. If it wrinkles, or better, if it stays separate when you drag a finger through the puddle, it is at the jelly stage. Pour into clean, warmed jars, drop 2-3 whole peppercorns into each jar, cover and leave to cool. The peppercorns give the jelly a savoury fillip but this step is optional, especially if the jelly is to be used as a breakfast spread. - Recipe from The Press.

The Willowbrook Park recipe is slightly different, and will be available in our Cookbook, on sale this Christmas.

Apart from the Crabapples, we have some other fruits starting to develop in the orchard...

Figs

Bramleys

Fejoas

And soon some Blackberries on our thornless hertiage canes

Introducing Bracken and Bramble, and Chestnut...

Yesterday we went to a place called Hunua, east of Auckland to pick up the lastest addtion to the Willowbrook Park Rare Breeds Farm - 3 Boer goats: a Buck - Bracken, a Doe - Bramble, and a little Wether called Chestnut...

Above: Chestnut

Above: Bramble

Below: Bracken

Boer goats developed in South Africa from an indigenous breed with the addition of some European, Angora and Indian breeds. The name comes from the Dutch word “boer” meaning “farmer” and was used to distinguish them from Angora goats which were imported into South Africa during the nineteenth century.

The present day Boer goat appeared in the early 1900s when South African farmers started selecting for a meat type goat.

The Boer goat is a large animal and is a specialized meat-producer. Landcorp first imported embryos of the breed into New Zealand in 1989 but they did not become commercially available until the mid-1990s when they were released from quarantine.

In New Zealand, purebred bucks are often used in grading-up programmes: many dairy goat farmers use a boer buck over some of their dairy goats does to produce kids that reach their goal weight faster than a purebred dairy goat kid would.

Each purebred is tagged, and registered with the NZ Sheep breeders association (previously the NZ Boer Goat Breeders assoc).

We can now start our own Boer Goat Stud, with a Buck and a Doe, but best of all, the Doe is already pregnant, and possibly expecting twins. We will keep you in touch this September. They are very cute animals, very agile, and ever so intelligent. They don't stop following you around the field all day, and aren't aggressive, like many goats are portayed. But, they are challenging our hitherto fine fencing, so before we loose our orchard to a midnight goat rampage, we will have to start doing some reinforcing.

Other species of goats can be very cute as well...