While the days are still short and the sun tries desperately to beat the rain and the clouds it is fun to look back and remember Spring and Summer last year. Here are a few highlights from Bewl Rookery’s 2019.
The big news for us in 2019 was the arrival of our six alpacas. Rameses, Sinatra and Emmy are all Huacayas then their dreadlock friends are Rudy, Suzette and Monique who are Suris. They arrived in April all full fleeced and fluffy. Then in May after shearing they shrunk in size with less coat and ready for the summer. You can find out more about them on this page.
Here they are before and after …
We extended our garden vegetable and flower patch to allow more space for growing cutting flowers for all the rooms. Inspired by Pashley Manor’s tulip festival I also planted lots more tulips in various beds and pots around the garden. For a bit of fun, I also entered my Dahlias into the local Wadhurst Gardening Association competition and amazingly my Blitzer Dahlia came first!
Springtime tulips Bewl Rookery flower patch
As I make my first batch of 2020 marmalade, on a quiet January morning, it reminds me of the busy breakfast season and providing guests with our wholesome breakfasts, which include my home made jams and of course marmalade plus my Bewl Bircher. Guests often ask for the recipe to my bircher so I thought I’d share it with you here.
Our paddock has provided us with an ever growing offering of natural wildflowers and grasses. Fifteen different species of grasses stand tall and float around in the summer breeze along with various wildflowers (all of which are self seeded). These include Meadow Buttercup, Birdsfoot Trefoil, Common Sorrell and grasses include Sweet Vernal Grass, Meadow Fescue, Rough Meadow Grass.
With a few more months of winter to come and perhaps even some snow, here are a few memories of summer at Bewl Rookery – hanging out in our hammocks in the meadow with alpacas peering over the fence and arriving to the sweet smell of lavender and the blue blast of hydrangeas.
We look forward to another busy year in 2020 and meeting new guests and welcoming back those who have stayed before.
