Easter is on it’s way…

| 17th March 2025

Isn’t it wonderful to be in that very real transition of seasons? The daffodils are nodding, the hens are laying, the bees are flying and, from this weekend, the days will be longer than the nights – bring it on!

We’ve taken every opportunity, whilst the weather has been kind, to invest time both in the garden and allotment to get ahead of the game for this year’s growing season. At home, we’ve planted a huge rhubarb bed, installed a small greenhouse, cleared the kitchen garden for new crops and located a new bee hive for this year’s honey. At the allotment, we’ve planted three varieties of potatoes, harvested purple sprouting broccoli, installed a water harvesting system and planned out where each of this year’s crops will grow.

A quick peek inside a hive over the weekend showed that all is well – it’s always wonderful to see last year’s queen bee thriving after her winter huddle, and as for the hens, they have received five bookings over the coming months to come and join in with local events. This weekend I’ll be bringing a small flock to The Spring Market at The Great Conservatory Syon Park, curated by Dapper and Suave. We’ll be there on Sunday 23rd March, 1-4pm.

All of the new life that we see around us reminds us that Easter is only weeks away, and as usual we invite you to celebrate with us.

On Saturday 5th April, we are bringing some chickens to Experience Easter, a lovely family event run by St Paul’s Church Brentford. Packed with crafts, bouncy castle, drama workshops, face painting, live chickens, Eco workshops and more – all free!

To help you prepare for your own celebrations, why not join us us for Introduction to Easter Baking on Tuesday 8th April?

Join us as we usher in Spring and roll up our sleeves for some seasonal baking. Whilst the aromas of warm baking fills the air, we will enjoy a simple lunch to fuel us for the tasks of the afternoon.

Recipes for the day include:

Hot Cross Buns
Easter Apricot Couronne
Fresh Lemon Curd
Lemon Curd Butterfly Cakes

Everyone goes home with their hand made bakes, recipe sheets and the confidence to make more at home. Full details and tickets are here.

Finally, we invite you to celebrate with us at our ever popular family event, Easter at Hen Corner, on Saturday 19th April.

Join with us as we explore the garden looking for signs of new life and celebrate…

You will be welcomed with drinks and home-made treats then after our introductions it’s time to explore the garden, meet the chickens, hunt for eggs then get creative in our garden room.

Activities include:

Making your own Hot Cross Buns
Hunting for eggs (real and chocolate) in the garden
Easter craft activity
Hugging a hen

This event has already sold out of morning tickets, so we’ve added in an afternoon session.

Here’s a reminder of last year’s event:

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A post shared by Sara Ward (@hencorner)

Coming up at Hen Corner:

March

Full Day Making Sourdough Tuesday 18th March

April

Introduction to Making Cheese Wednesday 2nd April

Introduction to Easter Baking Tuesday 8th April

Cheese Together Thursday 10th April

Easter at Hen Corner Saturday 19th April

Introduction to Scandinavian Baking Tuesday 29th

Introduction to Gluten Free Baking Wednesday 30th

May

Introduction to Making Bread Tuesday 6th

Full Day Bee Keeping Saturday 10th and Tuesday 20th

Urban Hens – Keeping Chickens in London Wednesday 14th

Making Cheddar, Stilton & Sourdough (Two Day Course) Fri 23rd & Sat 24th

Half Term family events:

Bees for Children Tuesday 27th and Thursday 29th

*NEW* Bees for Teens Wednesday 28th

Other news:

Oh yes, we picked up another prize at the World Marmalade Awards, how exciting!
Our series in Gardeners’ World Magazine is receiving great feedback
I split some of our established asparagus crowns to redistribute around the bed for a bumper harvest

Jobs for the week: