The Pony Garden

The land surrounding the Pony Chew Valley houses our no-dig beds & poly-tunnels. Tended by the magnificent, ‘Tim the Gardener’, who grows and harvests the bounty of vegetables, herbs and fruit provided by the Pony Garden — which supply us at the Pony Chew Valley, often reaching us just minutes after they have been picked.

Our award winning decorative garden was designed by the wonderful Lizzie at Stonebarn landscapes The planting follows the soft slopes of the Chew Valley and is designed to cope with the changing weather patterns that pass through the area. It brings seasonal interest all year and supports the kitchen with fresh, edible crops grown just a few steps from the door.

A wander through garden will take you past our herb troughs and beds; stepping down into the garden you’ll pass a collection of mighty cardoons — an ancestor of the globe artichoke — although edible they are grown for their magnificent structure and for the bees to enjoy. Further into the garden you’ll see Japanese wine berries, gooseberries and golden & Scottish raspberries.

A great many flowers grow in the garden — attracting bees and insects — this vibrant dash of colour creates a ‘bee-hotel’, and ensures we have a gentle, steady buzzing in the garden.

Wander further and you will find our poly tunnels, here we sew seeds and bring on seedlings; grow plants that require a more stable warmth than the outdoors; we dry heads and bulbs such as sunflowers, garlic and onions, to eat later in the season or dry out seeds to sew the following year.

We’re blessed with hedgerows full of elderflower which we pick to make elderflower cordial & flavour vinegar. We leave the rest to develop into elderberries they make a garnish for game meats.

In our no-dig beds - you will see that we grow a wealth of different vegetables making the most of the space all year round. Each row is accompanied by herbs or flowers which we use to season and garnish many of our dishes.