Sample evening menu for the Potting Shed

The Potting Shed sample evening menu
Friday and Saturday Evening Menu. 6.30pm- 11pm. If you would like to book a table
Please call 01226 792525

Starters
Exotic assorted wild mushroom risotto with freshly grated parmesan and a Parma ham dumpling
£5.75

Purple potato stack, poached haddock, poached egg and a mint hollandaise
£5.75

Smoked duck breast with crisp parmesan, avocado salsa and almond mousse
£5.95

Baked camembert with a rocket salad and crack black pepper
£6.45

Chicken and mango spring rolls with a Soya and pickled ginger glaze
£5.95

Intermediate
Carrot and coriander soup

Mains
Fillet of beef with a sweet potato puree, Parma ham beignet and caramelised shallots
£19.95

Chicken breast stuffed with smoked apple wood cheese and redcurrants then wrapped in Parma ham. Served with buttered curly kale and trompet mushrooms
£15.50

Grilled sea bass with wild shitake mushrooms and vanilla pod jus
£17.50

Mediterranean vegetable tian gratinated with feta cheese and caramelised hazelnuts
£11.95

English roast rack of lamb with a herb crust and ratatouille of vegetables with a rich jus.
£17.25

All Main Dishes are accompanied by a medley of house vegetables.

Side Orders
Dressed house salad £2.25
Chef’s home-made chips £2.50

Puddings

Raspberry and white chocolate crème brulee with caramelised hazelnuts

Poached pear frangipane with an orange glaze

Cinnamon and nutmeg bread and butter pudding with a butterscotch and marshmallow sauce

Banoffee Cheesecake
Toffee topped vanilla cheesecake served with a banana fritter.

All £4.95

All our dishes are freshly prepared using local ingredients where possible
And all are cooked to order.
Please ask if you wish to vary your dish, it can be cooked in a simpler style if preferred.

Horsfields nursery special offers

SPECIAL OFFERS
This week

· Perennials £3.99 each or Five for £10

· Fuchsia were £3.99 now 99p

· Indoor begonia special price two for £3.99

· Datura were £12.99 now £6.99

· Square and round pot bedding now 5p each

· Herbs now 10p each

· Begonia were £2.99 now 49p

· Peppers and Chilli peppers was £2.99 now 49p

· 20 pack plug plants now 10p, mint, Chives

· Spider plants were £1.99 now 49p

· Hardy Fuchsia, now £1.99

· Flower tower hanging baskets now £4.99 were £9.99

· Wrought Iron, hand made, hanging baskets and brackets now half price

· Lavender Buy one get one Free

RSPCA ducks introduced

Today we introduced 8 ducks onto Silkstone Beck that the RSPCA has bought to the Hamlet. They appeared to enjoy the water very much and have settled in with the other ducks and Geese already. All we need to do is feed them up a little and all will be well.

Heron at the Hamlet

Over the past week we have seen a Heron flying above the Hamlet on several occasions. As none of us at the Hamlet know much about Heron, we decided to look it up

We believe it was a Grey Heron - white with black markings on head and neck.

We looked up some information:

Length: 90-98 cm (36-40")
Wing Span: 175-195 cm (70-78")
Weight: 1500-2000 g (3½-4½lb)

Description
The Grey Heron is a tall bird with a long neck and legs, and a heavy dagger-like bill.
The upperparts are grey, but the head, neck and belly are white. The crest is black and black markings continue down the throat to the belly.

In flight, the outer half of the wings are black and the wing beat is very slow with the neck retracted into its shoulders and the legs are extended. In or near water, they are often standing motionless with their head in their shoulders or feeding alone. Juveniles are darker with much less white and lack the long crest plumes.

Feeding
Grey Herons eat mainly fish, amphibians and small mammals, and occasionally birds.
They are solitary feeders and very patient, and will standstill for long periods stalking their prey. They will quickly empty a garden pond of fish.

Nesting
They nest in tall trees and usually with other herons to form a colony or heronry. The nest is a large platform, made from twigs and grass, and built by both male and female birds.
The duties of incubating the eggs are performed by both parents. The eggs are about 60 mm by 43 mm, and pale greenish-blue. Both adults feed the young birds.

Movements
British herons are mostly sedentary, but some do migrate to Ireland and the near-continent, such as France and Holland. In the winter, northern European Grey Herons arrive in eastern Britain, especially along the coast.

Conservation
Illegal persecution and pollution are less of an issue today than a few years ago and the population is still increasingly slowly.

Wrought Iron Hay Rack

Looking good with some of this sunshine.

Gardening Tip

Water plants thoroughly an hour or so before planting, as well as afterwards. It is much more difficult to wet a root ball after planting and plants with struggle.

We meet Tom Horsfield, Rose Grower and Nurseryman

An article by Brian Elliott:

Tom Horsfield made me most welcome when I called at Pot House Hamlet
on a lovely spring day. We were served coffee in daughter Kate’s
Potting Shed Cafe, part of the historic corn mill, lovingly restored in
a project that took almost four years. Although it was a Monday morning
several customers were already enjoying the relaxed atmosphere. Tom
knew a good number of them and there was a cheerful exchange of
greetings - even the ducks seem relaxed and enjoying themselves on the
beck.

Like his father, Tom has a great passion for building, very much a
hands-on interest. Later, walking around the site, I was amazed how
much had been achieved with just one main helper, Tommy Beet. It
reminded me of the kind of mixed skills and feeling for natural stone
and wood that monks used in the same locality over 400 years earlier.
The site is well-named (see our main article). The latest building
phase relates to the old furnace, a wonderful tribute to 17th Century
Silkstone glassmakers. An impression of the conical furnace structure
has been thoughtfully recreated on the gable. Inside, equal care has
been expended in complementing its usage as ‘Pookie’, a women’s fashion
outlet, run by daughter, Rose.

Tom took me into the nursery where another daughter, Emma, has
responsibility and I also met son, Tom, who studies Estate Management
at university. The plants are of outstanding quality. We walked
towards the old barn, a restoration project already being thought
about.

A champion rose grower and rose breeder, Tom’s interest began at the
tender age of twelve when he was given a thousand roses - and his own
cheque book - by his father, Henry. On a farm of only 36 acres, roses
seemed to be the right choice. At the height of the business some
55,000 roses were grown.

Tom told me that a good grower needed a lot of patience and dedication
- and, most importantly, a love of roses. He began the long processes
of breeding and getting accreditation for his own varieties and was a
regular exhibiter at Yorkshire shows, winning a variety of awards.
Tom’s gold medal roses were listed in catalogues and people were drawn
to his nursery. He recalled standing alongside one of the legendary
figures of roses: the flamboyant Harry Wheatcroft. The development of
‘instant gardening’ and ‘all season’ planting via containers - and the
decline in fashion of growing beds of roses - meant diversification
into a far wider range of plants in the garden centre age. But quality
roses are still grown, about 5,000 a year along with a few hundred
standards.

Nowadays, it is the name of the modern hybrids which are important to
customers, bought for special occasions such as anniversaries and
birthdays. However, Tom told me that old breeds such as Fragrant
Cloud, Peace and Just Joey are among his favourites: ‘Hold the rose in
your hand, look into it, at its form and colour and the beauty is quite
remarkable.’

Tom Horsfield and his family have done much to attract people to this
lovely part of South Yorkshire and it is good to know that the future
of Pot House Hamlet has been safeguarded in a Trust.

Article written by Brian Elliott for Spring edition of Around Town