Jekka McVicar
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Jessica "Jekka" McVicar (born 1951) is an
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
organic gardening expert, author, and broadcaster, particularly on the cultivation and use of herbs.


Biography

Born Jessica Stanley Clarke, she was brought up in
Chew Magna Chew Magna is a village and civil parish within the Chew Valley in the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset, in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. The parish has a population of 1,149. To the south of the village is Che ...
, Somerset, and learned about the use of herbs from her grandmother, writer Ruth Lowinsky, and her mother. Interview with Jekka McVicar at MostlyFood.co.uk
 At the age of seventeen, after leaving
Cranborne Chase School Cranborne Chase School was an independent boarding school for girls, originally opened in 1946 at Crichel House in the village of Moor Crichel in Dorset. In 1961, the school moved to New Wardour Castle near Tisbury in Wiltshire, and extensiv ...
in Wiltshire, Clarke joined the progressive rock band Marsupilami as a singer and
flautist The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
. The band released two albums, appeared at the
Isle of Wight Festival The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970. The 1970 event was by far the largest of these early ...
and the first Glastonbury Festival, and toured in Europe.Jekka's Herb Farm
/ref> In 1973, Clarke played the role of Jessie, a flautist, in the '' Doctor Who'' serial ''
The Green Death ''The Green Death'' is the fifth and final serial of the tenth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts on BBC1 from 19 May to 23 June 1973. It was the last regular appe ...
''. After working for a time at the drama department of the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, Clarke found employment at a herb nursery in Somerset. She married Ian "Mac" McVicar in 1976, and in 1987 they established a herb farm—now known as Jekka's Herb Farm—at
Alveston Alveston is a village, civil parish and former royal manor in South Gloucestershire, England, inhabited in 2014 by about 3,000 people. The village lies south of Thornbury and north of Bristol. Alveston is twinned with Courville sur E ...
near Bristol. They have the largest collection of culinary herbs in the UK, with more than 500 different varieties. McVicar has published several successful books, notably ''Jekka's Complete Herb Book'' and ''Seeds'', which have been reprinted in association with the
Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...
. She also regularly contributes to a number of national publications, including ''BBC Gardener's World Magazine'', ''BBC Good Food'', ''Gardens Illustrated'', and ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' newspaper. McVicar was awarded the Garden Media Guild Lifetime Achievement Award "for services to horticulture, design, education and communication and excellence in the field of organic herb growing", in December 2012. She was awarded the
Victoria Medal of Honour The Victoria Medal of Honour (VMH) is awarded to British horticulturists resident in the United Kingdom whom the Royal Horticultural Society Council considers deserving of special honour by the Society. The award was established in 1897 "in per ...
for her services to
horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...
in 2017.


Bibliography

* ''The Complete Herb Book'' (also published as ''Jekka's Complete Herb Book'') (1994) * ''Herbs for the Home: A Definitive Sourcebook to Growing and Using Herbs'' (1995) * ''Jekka's Aromatic Herbs: A Guide to Growing and Enjoying Aromatic Herbs'' (1995) * ''Jekka's Cottage Garden Herbs: A Guide to Growing and Cooking Delicious Herbs'' (1995) * ''Jekka's Medicinal Herbs: A Guide to Growing and Using Medicinal Herbs'' (1997) * ''Jekka's Culinary Herbs: A Guide to Growing and Using Herbs for the Kitchen'' (1997) * ''Good Enough to Eat: Growing Edible Flowers and Cooking with Them'' (also published as ''Cooking with Flowers'') (1997) * ''Seeds: The Ultimate Guide to Growing Successfully from Seed'' (2003) * ''New Book of Herbs'' (2003) * ''Jekka's Herb Cookbook'' (2010)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McVicar, Jekka English gardeners Organic gardeners Living people 1951 births People educated at Cranborne Chase School People from Bath and North East Somerset People from South Gloucestershire District People from Alveston