June is a big month here in the Vale of Belvoir. For six glorious weeks, the surrounding hedgerows come alive with sweet-smelling wild elderflower and our own 60 acres of organic elderflower burst into bloom. It’s nature doing its thing and the heady fragrance is out of this world!
The Belvoir team, and some loyal local pickers, know when it’s the perfect time to harvest the large – headed flowers, warmed by the sun and heavy with dusky yellow pollen. The local community are truly special, and without them coming to handpick the flowers that go into each bottle every year, we wouldn’t be able to create our delicious elderflower cordial.
Observing the Countryside Code, they hit the hedgerows and our own organic plantation with gusto.
Within 24 hours of harvesting, the flower heads are poured into a vat and hand-stirred gently – and so begins our decades old tradition of making Belvoir’s much-loved elderflower cordial, from Mary Manner’s original recipe. As a soft drink, a recipe ingredient or a delicious splash to cocktails and mocktails, it stands the test of time!
Belvoir Farm’s manager, Keith, can breathe a sigh of relief at having pulled off another successful harvest.
With harvest gathered in, Keith gets busy giving back to the land with gentle tilling, aeration and organic fertilising of the plantation, being sure to protect the established nature corridors around it – for wildflowers, butterflies, pollinators and fallow deer.
It’s all part of doing the right thing by the land and the wider eco-system, as nature’s cycle begins again.
This year, we’re working with gardener & TV presenter Daisy Payne as she follows our unique bush-to-bottle infusion process and hand delivers the first & freshest bottles of Elderflower cordial customers to enjoy – all within 24 hours of the flowers first being picked.
Find out more about our community elderflower harvest & how to get involved here:
