Episode 6: Jean Jackman

This September, I was delighted to meet and talk with Jean Jackman, who gardens in the heart of the Sussex countryside and is someone who has long been a proponent of planting to attract wildlife into the garden (way back, before it became fashionable!) She's also the creator of the remarkable annual Floral Fringe Fair, organising it with her husband, Steve. It's become a much anticipated event in Sussex, the next one will be held at Leonardslee Gardens on the 30th and 31st of May 2020.

www.floralfringefair.co.uk

www.facebook.com/floralfringefair

Contact: jeanjackman@hotmail.com

Instagram: @floralfringefair & @intheweedswithanne

The soil improving recipe for clay, suggested by Sarah Raven, appeared in an article in The Telegraph in September 2007, and was along the lines of this:- 

Clay needs organic matter and grit in equal measure to make it work well: think of making apple-crumble topping on a large scale.  The soil is like butter, all sticky and smooth.  You want to add granulated sugar, coarse and sharp, to break it up: in the garden, that means horticultural grit.  You also need flour to bulk it out: the garden version is organic material, one barrow load to every 3 sq. metres.  So, when cultivating the ground, you spread barrow after barrow of grit and compost over the soil, then dig it in.

(Easier said than done, one suspects!)