Our Day Trip to Home Gurr'own Caterers, Kent

On Wednesday 2nd July we had the pleasure of spending the day at Home Gurr'own Caterers in Cranbrook, Kent.

Home Gurr'own specialise in a unique collection of homemade dishes for family and friends to share - picnics, hog roasts and sharing platters.  Please see their website for example menus and information - what a lovely way to bring your guests together on the day and help give a sense of unity.

Nicci and her husband Julian, together with their two lovely children, Lorri and Daisy live on the six acre small holding together with the Gloucester Old Spot pigs, Southdown sheep, geese, chicken and bees.  Nicci and Julian use the produce grown or reared on the land for the catering but are also passionate about sourcing further ingredients locally.

After seeing Nicci at a wedding recently, that we were both working on, she suggested we came and visited them to have a look at what they do - particularly the flowers that Julian grows.  Our eyes lit up!  English grown flowers and a chance to eat some of Nicci's chocolate brownies - yes please!

It really was like a day trip out for us.  The sun was shining and the peaceful setting of Home Gurr'own worked wonders on calming us after a busy few days.  Next door to Home Gurr'own, Julian's mother and father live.  Here, they have poly tunnels where Julian's father grows amazing tomatoes - the type you get abroad, all shapes and sizes (rather than the 'perfect tomato' as measured by the EU) together with an abundance of sweet peas, which are cut and sold to local florists and markets.

The flowers grown here include edible varieties, used in their catering - Violas, Nasturtium and Marigolds.

Whilst there, we picked a selection of flowers from the gorgeous selection....believe us when we say as a florist - to pick the flowers that you can then work with is real honour.

One of nature's little friends.....

 So, with the flowers we had picked and the foliage we foraged, with a little help from lovely Lorri......

 ....we created a bouquet and a couple of buttonhole examples for you - all made with an extremely low carbon footprint.....and here they are...

Our two favourite shots - hope you like them.....

Bouquet of cornflower, cosmos, sweet peas, curly willow, oriental hornbeam and hazel.

A big thank you to Nicci and Julian at Home Gurr'own for allowing us to visit them.  We hope to back again in the near future for some more of the 'good life'.