The UK’s doyenne of herbs on turning her small garden into an empire – and the benefits herb gardening has for the planet
I grow sustainable plants using peat-free and organic methods. Being a child of the 1950s, my mother was totally self-sufficient with a ‘Dig For Victory’ garden; I could tell spearmint and apple mint apart before I’d started school.
For a while I played the flute in a progressive rock band, and we performed at the first ever Glastonbury. Then I went straight and got a job with the BBC! I always had a herb garden though, and one day a friend asked if she could pick tarragon for an Elizabeth David recipe, since she couldn’t find it fresh in the shops. So, in 1984, I began selling my herbs to retailers such as Fortnum & Mason. Eventually I couldn’t keep up with the demand. My husband and I bought a plot of land in Bristol and moved into a mobile home there with our children to set up a herb farm.
The summer of 1992 was extremely hot and no one was buying. Noel Kingsbury advised that I “stop moaning and exhibit for the RHS”, so I went to London and exhibited at the halls and won a silver medal. From there I exhibited at Chelsea, at the first ever Hampton Court and BBC Gardeners’ World shows, at Tatton Park and Malvern. It changed us from being a little wholesale nursery to being well known. In 2009 I was awarded the Lawrence Medal: a first for herbs and for organic peat-free growing. Beth Chatto advised me to quit while I was at the top!
I enjoy TV presenting and educating, but I’m happiest propagating in my glasshouse. It took me 20 years to work out how to propagate curry leaf in the UK. My new book, 100 Herbs to Grow, covers all the herbs I grow, including new plants I’ve bred. It is a bit of a cheat in that thyme, for example, is one entry, even thoug
