October 2012

‘Do you know how good milk is with bay?’, queries the herb guru, Jekka McVicar. The sad truth is, no. Having known McVicar for quite a few years, read her books, heard her speak, seen her on television and visited her herb farm, she must be disappointed in my herb deficient cuisine. The garden is brimming with perennial herbs, but never has the Anise Hyssop been made into a sorbet, [...]

What would Christopher Lloyd be without Great Dixter? Vita-Sackville West without Sissinghurst? Lawrence Johnston without Hidcote? Gardeners make their gardens, but in turn too, gardens make the gardener. Without the legacy of her own incredible garden, the horticultural talent, that is Miss Ellen Willmott, has been forgotten, or simply diminished to the yarn of a prickly old lady who liked to scatter Eryngium giganteum seeds in gardens she visited. Respected [...]