Broome Park Farm, Farmhouse Bed & Breakfast Accommodation Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire

There has been so much blossom this year and all the hedgerows have been stunning - beautiful white clouds for weeks on end. Last week I managed to make some elderflower cordial - one of my favourite summer drinks - ad elderflower champagne. This is only the second time I have made champagne and I am a bit wary as 2 bottles exploded last time and the plastic bottles expanded until almost twice their original size! This year’s brew doesn’t look so fizzy so fingers craossed - it will be ready to drink in 8 days time!!

Having muddled along for several weeks with the bees I had a message to say Michael was coming to mark the queen - neither Sandra nor I had been able to spot her! He duly arrived yesterday morning and we opened the hive. Michael was immediately concerned about the number of bees! No queen - she had swarmed - probably only on Saturday, due to the hot weather and the number of bees in the hive. John was dispatched to trawl the hedgerows to see if he could find them - they initially only fly upto 100 metres, until the scout bees find a suitable home - but to no avail. There is a new queen cell in the hive which will hatch out in about a week, then it will be 2 weeks before the new queen starts laying eggs again - Michael will then return to mark her!

The gardens in the photo are at Orleton House which open in aid of the National Garden scheme - the final open weekend is 24-25th July - do go along - it is well worth a visit.

Haymaking at Broome Park Farm

The weather has been perfect for haymaking and today the team are baling here at Broome Park. This field is being made into small rectangular bales - these are easily handled and very popular with horse owners and smallholders who don’t have the machinery to feed the big round bales that are often seen. The beautiful hot weather has allowed us to make more hay than usual - often we have to make silage when the weather is unpredictable and it certainly doesn’t smell as sweet as freshly made hay!

I have 2 more piglets, both are Gloucester Old Spot crosses but as you can see 1 is all white and 1 is all black!! The white one I have called Crinkle as she has a crinkley ear and the black one is Blaze as he has a white stripe down his face. The are a bit nervous and scatter at the smallest noise - the only time they are still is when they are eating.

The bees are doing well - we check them every weekend and they are drawing out the foundation in the Super and starting to fill it with honey. The only problem is we haven’t yet spotted the queen but as there is plenty of brood we know she is busy!

Today I have enjoyed a visit to Astley Vineyards, about 10 miles from us in Worcestershire but definitely a hidden gem. The Vineyard produces award winning wines and is endorsed by inclusion in Rick Stein’s Food Guide. The latest award being a Silver Medal in The Decanter World Wine Awards 2010 for Veritas 2007. Customers are encouraged to visit the vineyard shop for a free tasting and a leisurely stroll around the vineyard and beautiful valley surroundings - I shall certainly be recommending a visit to guests in the future!

Naturally I couldn’t come away empty handed - as shown in the photo - my particular favourite being the Late Harvest dessert wine made from Siegerrebe grapes.