Fern Verrow is a 16 acre
biodynamic farm in Herefordshire. At the foothills of the Black Mountains, they grow seasonal vegetables, fruits, flowers and herbs, with livestock put out to graze on natural pastureland. Every Friday, they hand pick and harvest their best produce, bringing it to
Spa Terminus to sell.
This is, quite possibly, the most beautiful farm shop I have stepped into. Wooden counters, benches and a scrubbed cement floor; the stars of the show clearly the produce, collected together in old wooden crates, grain bowls, woven baskets and enamelware.
On one table, English seasonal cut flowers: bright, blowsy, Sweetpeas, bunched together and fragrant. Cornflowers, Echinacea, Dahlia and Cosmos all looked glorious and if I hadn't had far to go, I'd have happily picked a bunch to take home with me.
Heritage and less common varieties of vegetables, the sort that those without an allotment or vegetable plot (that's me) rarely see, were piled together in abundance. As I considered all the possibilities, I actually felt a pang of sorrow for the allotment plot that I'd had to give up a couple of years ago (I know, I know).
Peaches and soft fruits also looked delightful and in the end, my bag already laden down with almost 2kg of tomatoes, I decided to buy a punnet of gooseberries and a punnet of loganberries -more of which later.
With generous bunches of fresh herbs and baskets of edible flowers, I'd certainly be glad of somewhere like this within walking distance of home. Although, aesthetics aside, with the range of greengrocers along the
Gloucester Road, I really can not complain a jot.
