Jekka McVicar

Through her books and TV programmes, Jekka McVicar has persuaded the nation to grow herbs big-time, to regard them as a regular part of ornamental as well as kitchen gardening. It’s Jessica, by the way, in case you’re wondering, and those of you who once bought an album called Marsupalami will already know of her talents as an old rocker.

McVicar’s stands at Chelsea have won an astonishing 15 gold medals, unsurprising as she puts such extraordinary effort into them, anxious that they may not be quite perfect. Under that laid-back, bouncy exterior, she’s chasing every detail.

From her organic farm near Bristol, McVicar produces more than 600 different kinds of herb. Seeds are requested by her customers, and she has an enviable list. She has written books on herbs because she feels people know too little about them: “The thymes for instance – there are prostrate ones and upright ones, narrow leaves and broad leaves, different aromas…” Wherever in the world she goes, lecturing or holidaying, she tracks down the local herbs, finds out how they are used, and introduces them here if they’ll grow.

Today, she is moving into salads, “because they are quick to grow in the fickle British weather”. From a marketing point of view, the great thing about herbs and salads is that most of them are short-lived. Red-leaved forms are her current speciality. As McVicar says: “Salads don’t have to be just green.” SA

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