Welcome

I was lucky enough to move to Holt Farm in the Yeo Valley 20 years ago when Tim and I married. I was born and brought up in London and had no interest or knowledge of gardening whatsoever, having trained as a dancer.

The garden I inherited from Roger and Mary at Holt Farm was lovely, smaller and more traditional than it is now, with wonderful views to the Mendips to the south. There were, however, numerous farm buildings blocking the view of Blagdon Lake to the rear.

For the past 18 years I have had a ball learning “on the job”. It’s been a great and sometimes very steep learning curve; catastrophic mistakes have been made, changed and made again, but senses of humour have been retained by everyone involved: it’s been really hard work but good fun.

Five acres of contemporary organic garden have been created thanks to a team effort. Everything from the cakes and scones through to the potting compost is home made.

Crocosmias FlowerThe design of the garden is done in-house and is constantly evolving. The energy and enthusiasm of everyone involved gives the garden its unique personality.

It was in the beautiful Yeo Valley that Roger and Mary founded the Yeo Valley dairy business in the early 1970s. The yogurt is still made here and Holt Farm completed its conversion to wholly organic in 2009.

As we have been gardening organically for a number of years, the decision for the garden to follow suit and obtain the Soil Association’s certification was a “no brainer”. We will be re-opening in June 2010, to be one of only a handful of organically certified ornamental gardens in the country.

 

SarahLook forward to seeing you