Autumnal floral events at Gravetye Manor

Autumnal colour in the long border at Gravetye Manor

Floral events this autumn at Gravetye Manor​

Gravetye Manor, the country house hotel, Michelin starred restaurant and historic gardens in the rural Sussex countryside is hosting a series of floral events this Autumn.

Dried Flower Workshop with floral artist Bex Partridge
Tuesday 1st October and Wednesday 2nd October
Join Bex Partridge, floral artist, for a morning of nature inspired creativity. Bex will guide guests to create one of her signature half-moon wreaths, built upon a natural woven wreath base. Working with rich autumnal tones, in greens, reds, oranges, pinks and purples, she will show guests how to weave fresh and dried stems to create a beautiful everlasting wreath. Autumn is the best time to work with dried flowers, with bountiful blooms, seedheads and leaves being gathered throughout the summer to dry and create with. £160.00 per person, tea/coffee and biscuits on arrival, two-course lunch, wine, and workshop, inclusive.

The Tulip Garden with Polly Nicholson
Tuesday 8th October 2024
Specialist flower grower and tulip expert, Polly Nicholson, will talk about her latest book The Tulip Garden: Growing and Collecting Species, Rare and Annual Varieties, which offers an introduction to growing and collecting tulips alongside expert tips and advice for gardeners. With powerful imagery, Polly will take guests on a journey to Blacklands, her beautiful, six-acre English country garden. Gravetye’s Head Gardener Tom Coward will join the end of the talk for a Q&A with Polly. £160.00 per person, including tea/coffee on arrival, the talk, three-course lunch, drinks and a signed copy of the book, inclusive.

Flower Workshops with Head Florist Sharon Coote
Wednesday 9th October and Thursday 10th October
Two flower workshops hosted by Gravetye’s Head Florist Sharon Cootes who will expertly demonstrate and teach guests how to make and create an autumnal display, using a mixture of seasonal flowers from the garden. Hosted in the oak framed in the Little Garden. £155.00 per person, tea/coffee and biscuits on arrival, two-course lunch, wine, and workshop, inclusive.

Gravetye Book Launch
Saturday 16th November
Discover the spectacular new edition of Gravetye Manor: 20 year’s work round an old manor house by William Robinson with new colour images and a foreword by Head Gardener, Tom Coward. The event includes a talk from Tom and the chance to purchase the book at a special price. £160 per person including an aperitif, talk, three-course lunch and wine, inclusive.

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About Gravetye Manor
Gravetye Manor is a hotel and restaurant with four Red Stars, four Rosettes and one Michelin star, in West Sussex on the Kent/Surrey/Sussex borders. The Elizabethan manor house looks over 35 acres of stunning world-renowned gardens, walled kitchen garden, orchard, glasshouses and Peach House set within a further 1000 acres of woodland. The gardens are considered amongst the most influential in English horticultural history, made famous by previous owner and influential gardener William Robinson, whose preference for the ‘wild garden’, mixed herbaceous borders and hardy perennial planting broke with the formal Victorian style of the day, and his radical approach remains as popular as ever with gardeners today.

Notes to editors
Address: Gravetye Manor, Vowels Lane, West Hoathly, Sussex, RH19 4LJ
Tel: 01342 810567
Website: www.gravetyemanor.co.uk
Instagram: @gravetyemanor

George Blogg leaves Gravetye Manor

Executive Head Chef George Blogg steps down from Gravetye Manor

George Blogg, Executive Head Chef at Gravetye Manor, West Sussex is stepping down after more than ten years at the hotel and restaurant. Since joining Gravetye in 2014, George has been recognised with numerous awards including winning and retaining a Michelin Star for nine years, 4 AA Rosettes, a Master of Culinary Arts from the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts, the Cateys Hotel Chef of the Year in 2022 and the highest UK entry for the We’re Smart Green Guide for his relationship and efforts using Gravetye’s garden produce.

George will be leaving Gravetye Manor in December. Recruitment for this special and rare opportunity is ongoing; applicants interested to apply for the role are encouraged to contact General Manager Paul Skinner on paul@gravetyemanor.co.uk to discuss the role in more detail.

George Blogg comments, “Gravetye is a magical place that will forever be a part of who I am. The last 10 years have been an incredible journey and an utter privilege to work alongside some truly amazing people, whose passion and hard work have grown Gravetye to be a standout property. I am excited for the future but will miss Gravetye immensely. I am proud of the countless guest experiences we have created, and I know that Gravetye will continue to thrive. I would like to thank the owners, Elizabeth and Jeremy Hosking, and Andrew Thomason (General Manager from 2012-2022) for the faith and mentorship that they provided me.”

Owners of Gravetye Manor, Jeremy and Elizabeth Hosking, comment, “George has been an influential and key member of the Gravetye team for over ten years and we have much to thank and congratulate him for. It’s bittersweet to see him go but we are hugely grateful for everything he has achieved and the dedication he has given to both his colleagues and to our guests at Gravetye. George will be a hard act to follow, and we wish him all the best.”

About Gravetye Manor

Gravetye Manor is a hotel and restaurant with four Red Stars, four Rosettes and one Michelin star, in West Sussex on the Kent/Surrey/Sussex borders. The Elizabethan manor house looks over 35 acres of stunning world-renowned gardens, walled kitchen garden, orchard, glasshouses and Peach House set within a further 1000 acres of woodland. The gardens are considered amongst the most influential in English horticultural history, made famous by previous owner and influential gardener William Robinson, whose preference for the ‘wild garden’, mixed herbaceous borders and hardy perennial planting broke with the formal Victorian style of the day, and his radical approach remains as popular as ever with gardeners today.

For more information, please contact Hannah Blake at The Dining Room
07730 039361 or hannah@thediningroompr.co.uk

Notes to editors

Address:  Gravetye Manor, Vowels Lane, West Hoathly, Sussex, RH19 4LJ
Tel:  01342 810567
Website:  www.gravetyemanor.co.uk
Instagram:  @gravetyemanor

Lunch by the tulips at The Bell in Ticehurst

Spring tulips at The Bell in Ticehurst (credit Saltwick Media)

The Bell in Ticehurst, East Sussex, has arguably one of the finest pub gardens in the land. Designed by RHS Chelsea Flower Show gold medal garden designer Jo Thompson, who lives in the village, there is year-round interest, which is particularly splendid right now with the Spring bulbs.  Before or after lunch, why not take a walk around the Bell’s garden to admire the tulips. A riot of colour, texture and form, the garden sings with jewel-bright colours from magenta and violet to buttery yellows and acid greens with Tulip Menton, Tulip Merlot, Fritillaria Imperialis, Narcissi, Anenome and Allium Miami.

The longer and increasingly warmer days bring a new, lighter menu to The Bell in Ticehurst. The seasonal menus created by Head Chef Mark Charker have been designed to celebrate the start of British Summer time with new season English Asparagus, Jersey Royals, young cheeses, and soft herbs. The rich and varied produce from Sussex suppliers include Burwash Rose cheese, Spurs Farm free-range eggs, Fletchers Flock lamb and Maynard’s berries.

Launching on 26th May is The Bell’s Garden Kitchen BBQ. Come for alfresco delights on the grill every Friday and Saturday throughout the summer, until 28th August.

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For further press information please contact Hannah Blake at The Dining Room PR on hannah@thediningroompr.co.uk | 07730 039361

About The Bell

For centuries, The Bell has been at the very heart of Ticehurst village, geographically and emotionally. After closing in 2008, The Bell underwent painstaking renovation, opening in November 2011 welcoming locals and visitors from further afield.

The Bell’s design is eclectic in the truest sense of the word - the building looks as if an eccentric nobleman has travelled the world and filled his house full of curiosities from his travels. The result is quirky and utterly charming. The eleven guest rooms offer a highly individual design, with features, including silver birch branches (a nod to the derivation of Ticehurst’s name, which is “the wooded hill where goats graze”), huge copper bathtubs, upside-down tiles and randomly placed light features. Eschewing room numbers, each of The Bell’s guest rooms has its own distinctive name, from “The Benefit of the Doubt” to “Smiles of Memories.”

Quirky touches continue in the public areas, from bowler hat lights and a floor-to-ceiling book pile in the main pub area, to mismatched vintage-style wallpaper and Wagner Tubas for urinals in the gents. Each room offers the curious visitor a feast of visual surprises, not least a fine collection of art by Tracey Emin, Henry Moore, Banksy, Graham Sutherland, and Picasso. The neon sign in the aptly named Stable with a Table, a dining room with a unique sunken oak table for groups of up to 18 feasting friends or family, fondly observes “I will always love you my friend”, summing up the sense of constancy yet originality awaiting visitors to The Bell.