Visit our stand and claim 15% off our Garlic Chives on the day by downloading our voucher! Simply print it, fill out the details and bring it along with you on the day.
Come and see us in the 'Local Food Market' at Anchor Square, Bristol, where our organic culinary herbs will be on sale. Meet Jekka and the team for a chat about herbs, how to grow and use them. With recent concerns over rising fuel prices and food miles, the Organic Food Festival will be a fantastic opportunity to buy locally grown food, and we are delighted that our organic herbs are playing such an important part in promoting this.
If you buy 3 or more of our organic rosemaries, then you'll also take home a copy of Jekka's Rosemary Recipe sheet - free (available whilst stocks last so don't delay)!
Jekka will be giving herb talks at midday on each day - come along and learn something new about herbs!
As if winning her 16th consecutive gold medal at Hampton Court this year weren't enough, Jekka also scooped the Tudor Rose Award for Best Floral Exhibit for the second year running, an unprecedented achievement.
The thyme garden drew the eye up to a
Galega officinalisGoats Rue arch surrounding the statue 'Aphrodite', who accompanied to Jekka to her first ever Hampton Court and is now considered an old friend! A Double Flowered Chamomile path flowed away from the thymes, leading to the delicate
Origanum 'Kent Beauty'Oregano Kent Beauty, Salvia viridis var. comata Painted Sage, Echium vulgareVipers Bugloss. Further interest was inspired by
Ugni molinaeChilean Guava,
Origanum dictamnusCretan Oregano and
Ligusticum scoticum 'Summer Delight'Scots Lovage.
We were invited to partake in the Children's Trail at Hampton Court this year, which resulted in a 'touchy-feely' table of herbs at our stand. Both children and adults alike were fascinated to touch, sniff and even taste some herbs, and then try to guess which herbs they were. The firm favourites were
Aloysia triphylla AGMLemon Verbena and
Rumex scutatusBuckler Leaf Sorrel
To read more about Jekka's display on the RHS blog, click on the image, right >>
To read our Hampton Court Press release, click here.
Once again illustrating that herbs are beautiful, as well as functional, Jekka McVicarhas been awarded her 13th gold medal at theRHS Chelsea Flower Show!
The 'Medicinal, Mythical and Magical'floral exhibit features an absolutely vibrant display of herbs, in an ellipse shaped garden with an 's' shaped path, creating a 'yin and yang' effect.
The sundialhare, (a collaboration by sculptor, Jeremy James and sundial-maker, Joanna Migdal) at the centre of this year's display, encapsulates the mythical theme. Jekka was born in the year of the Hare, and in Chinese Numerology the number 8 is considered the luckiest, which definitely proved to be the case for 2008!
Over eighty varieties of herbs are featured in the display, including Papaver rhoeasField Poppy, Carum carvi Caraway, Salvia viridisPainted Sage and for the first time Tropaeolum majus Tom Thumb 'Black velvet' nasturtium (pictured above).
We were honoured by visits from a host of appreciative celebrities, including celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver, Lady Thatcher and "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" Chris Tarrant.
As Jamie Oliver says of Jekka "If you want to know anything about herbs, she's the girl". Jekka has known Jamie since 2000, when she designed and planted his herb garden. Watch Jekka at Chelsea on Jamie Oliver's podcast.
This winning display also saw the launch of Jekka's new Red Salad Mix - a delicious new 'cut & come again' salad seed mix which is both visually striking and a delicious addition to any summer salad.
2007 was an exceptional year for Jekka’s Herb Farm. As well as scooping our 12th gold at Chelsea, we also won the acclaimed ‘Tudor Rose Award’ for Best Floral Exhibit at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, a first for a herb display, an organic display and a first for the farm!
May – Chelsea Flower Show
Using a dramatic red theme, Jekka selected a vibrant array of plants for their striking red foliage, fruits and flowers for last year’s Chelsea display, which Jekka believes was her best yet. The display demonstrated how practical plants can also be visually stunning, while showing how to make the most of the very smallest outdoor space.
The stand was separated into two distinct spaces: a traditional herb garden and a relaxed patio area, featuring an assortment of beautiful sculptural pots by the acclaimed potter Gordon Cooke.
Many unusual and exciting varieties were included in the display, such as the Chinese water pepper, bronze fennel, purple shiso, pomegranate, red valerian, purple sage, blue borage and blue basil.
Jekka also launched her new ‘Reds in the Bed’ salad seed collection at Chelsea, including mustard red frills, red lettuce, bull’s blood beetroot, red pak choi and amaranth red army, all of which contributed wonderfully to the riot of red in the display. Click here to buy the collection online.
July – Hampton Court Palace Flower Show
It wasn’t only the medal that was gold at last year’s Hampton Court Palace Flower Show – so too were many of the plants in Jekka’s display – a powerfully rich and evocative array of beautiful summer herbs. Majestic golden hop and bay were complemented by the deep red shades of Jekka's thymes, such as Thymus "Red Start", "Creeping Red" and "Red Elf", as well as Red Rubin Basil, Purple Shiso and the attractive, deep purple Chinese Water Pepper, with its fiery tasting leaves. Included within the display were some magnificent handmade pots kindly provided by Alexander Macdonald-Buchanan from The Brooke Pottery.
As well as winning Jekka’s 15th consecutive gold medal at Hampton Court, the display was also awarded the prestigious Tudor Rose Award for the Best Floral Exhibit.
On receiving the Tudor Rose, Jekka said: “I really can’t believe it – this award is the absolute pinnacle for nurseries and professional gardeners, it just can’t be beaten. And it’s the first time that an organic nursery has achieved this kind of an award, which shows that organic gardening and farming has really come to the fore. We’re on a par now with all the other growers, proving that by following organic principles and working with nature, you can achieve spectacular results.”
2006 - A Glorious Summer Show Season The 2006 flower show season was certainly a glorious summer for Jekka and the team, scooping gold medals at every show we attended.
