Three lots of triplets had us on our toes this year. and a new grandson born in April too. I’m please to say all are doing very well!
We started everything we could in the greenhouse as soon as things started to warm up. It’s hard to believe the difference a warm spring and a few weeks makes.
Looking forward to harvesting from now on…
We are all stocked up at Seaview Farm Shop, Pencarrow Gift Shop, Daymer Bay, Penhale Pantry, Blisland Community Shop and The Craft Coop.
The new addition is our STRAWBERRY LIP BALM, just in time for Wimbledon!
Snow! We did get some but it didn’t last long and happened to be the same day as our St Enodoc Christmas Fair. Many thanks to those who braved the weather and I hope you are all enjoying the Calendula products you bought.
The raised beds have been tidied up and our first season with a greenhouse has been brilliant. Lots to learn though so we are already planning for next years plants.
Other news…we are lucky enough to have the opportunity of supplying the Craft Coop shop in Maidenhead Berkshire.
Craft Coop prides itself on showcasing unique and beautiful handmade gifts that you can’t find anywhere else. Teresa Mills, a local mosaic artist, came up with a great idea in 2009 which was to connect the community with talented local crafters and create a collective where craftspeople could meet and support each other. This idea has grown and Craft Coop now has four further shops in the Berkshire area. They have received numerous awards and have consistently been placed in the Finals of the Muddy Stilettos Awards for Best Gift Shop.
We are very happy to have been invited to supply the Craft Coop!
Christmas is just around the corner. If you would like to order any of our natural skincare products and would like a personal greeting and/or gift wrap sent direct to your chosen favorite person please get in touch!
Well the calendula beds are looking a bit windswept and soggy. The one mighty pumpkin has been picked and is ripening in the greenhouse, and the tomatoes are still going strong!
The North Cornwall Book Festival was a great success. Well supported and the sun shone for us.
So… Halloween, bonfire night and then Christmas! We are now busy preparing our for our Christmas Fair’s and markets. Pencarrow, Blisland and St Enodoc to name but a few, see you there!
There is always time for a walk with the grandchildren though.
Beginning of the month we were still keeping up with the flower picking, with our willing volunteers 🙂
After a little holiday in sunny Crete, we came home to stringing the onions and collecting our first few apples from the orchard we planted 18 months ago.
Busy busy this month. Stocking up at all our outlets as the visitors flock to our lovely part of the world.
We have been picking flowers every (dry) day for the whole month. The raised beds have been a great success, the flower beds especially.
Penhale Pantry had their Makers Market, and Seaview Farm Shop have had numerous events. Blisland have had their Annual Fete and Daymer Bay Beach Shop is at full capacity. Pencarrow House and Gardens Gift Shop continues to be very busy.
Our best sellers this month have definitely been our Body Lotion Moisturising Bars and our new Tinted Lip Balms!
Delighted with our veg (except for the beans) but will learn more for next year 🙂
Check out the episode 21 of Gardeners World ! A big item on Calendula and all it’s healing properties!
Finally, a little tour of the garden. Nowhere near perfect but very happy with what we have achieved this year. Yay!
Flaming June? Well a bit nippy to start with but sunny now at last!
The greenhouse has been a bit of a learning curve but an enjoyable one. Tomatoes and strawberries doing well! Most of the raised beds are full now, just struggling with the brassicas….anyone have any tips on these?
The calendula beds are flowering well now and I’ve started picking and drying for infusing in oil. They can be stored for a year but then the properties begin to lose their potency. I generally use up all my flowers so my products are always fresh.
NEW! Tinted lip balm in two great wearable colours. Rose Pink, a soft subtle pink and Ruby Red a stronger colour. The tinted lip balms are made with all natural ingredients, with no essential oils, just the mica pigment added to the mix. Mica is a fine mineral powder, mixed with pigments such as oxides. These pigments are mined from the earth (inorganic), processed and filtered to remove harmful impurities.
Available online or at our local outlets!
Oh and new packaging for our Body Lotion Bar – cardboard push up tubes, so easy to apply and safe for everyone from 2 months old. A busy month all in all!
At last the sun is shining! The lambs are growing and the greenhouse is up and running! The windowsill calendula is now in the raised bed and there are self seeded seedlings everywhere as well as my newly sown seeds in their seedtrays.
View from the Greenhouse.
Raised beds made
Compost in..
Calendula in.
More seedlings !
April
Lots of lambs and the greenhouse is complete! Big thanks to hero husband for this 🙂
Now to get the seedlings from the kitchen window into the greenhouse and start on the new raised beds.
After some years using the ‘No Dig’ approach we decided to make things a bit more manageable this year. If it ever stops raining that is!
On a different note, we have a new outlet at Daymer Bay Beach Shop Trebetherick from the beginning of April. Lovely spot overlooking the Camel Estuary, so call in for a look and maybe a pasty or ice cream too!
March
Getting there….quite excited as we’ve never had a greenhouse before. Now to clean all the green off the glass.
February
Happy to report the Calendula seedlings are doing well on the windowsill.
Also, here is an email received today from Surfers Against Sewage. Thanks everyone who has bought our Surfer Skin Cream, together we will continue to support SAS!
“To Elizabeth & the team at Cornish Calendula,
I hope you are all well and your 2024 is off to a flying start?
We’re delighted to be able to share with you our End of Year Impact Report for 2023 and celebrate all of the wins that your support has helped to achieve. You can view the report online here.
In a snapshot, we’ve seen a huge impact from our people-powered programmes in 2023. From Water Quality to Plastic Pollution and beyond, this has led to:
· 173,045 petition signatures against Dirty Money and the Sewage Scandal
· Over 3,800 people joining us nationwide at the Paddle Out Protests
· 1.4 million students inspired via Plastic Free Schools
· 93,906 volunteers participating in a Million Mile Clean
· 927 communities and 5,710 businesses signed-up to Plastic Free Communities
· 250,000 users of our Safer Seas and Rivers Service
We hope you and the team at Cornish Calendula will be as proud as we are of the impact we created together last year.
If you would like more details on any aspect of our work or how we can work better together to help your organisation achieve its goals – then please let us know!
Best wishes,
Paula, Tabi & the rest of the team at SAS”
January 2024
Happy New Year! to all my customers far and wide. Last year was busy, the range and outlets have expanded so I am hoping to continue the trend this year.
The new plants have survived the frosts (so far) and I will plant some more this week and put on my kitchen windowsill. There’s a greenhouse been promised….. fingers crossed on that. The Jacob sheep are looking happy due to lamb in early March – will keep you posted.
All stocked up at Seaview and Penhale Farmshops so treat yourself to a coffee and cake!
