Jekka's Herb Farm

20/08/2026

This week’s Herb highlights!

Jekka’s Herbetum is a living book of herbs, every plant has a story to tell and there are always some unusual characters hiding amongst the more familiar favourites!

Here are just a few of the plants catching our eye in the garden this week:

1) Rock Hyssop — Hyssopus officinalis subsp. aristatus
A beautiful, compact hyssop which thrives in well drained sunny conditions!

2)Siberian Chives, Allium nutans
Also known as blue chives, its flat leaves have a mild onion flavour and produces beautiful globe flowers in late summer.

3) Pomegranate, Punica granatum
One of the world’s oldest fruit plants, with a history stretching back thousands of years, and our trees are fruiting again this summer.

4) Illyrian Savory, Satureja montana subsp. illyrica
A rare and aromatic savory from the Balkans, with a wonderfully peppery taste.

5) Mountain Mint, Pycnanthemum pilosum
Beautiful clouds of tiny flowers and an incredible minty fragrance, this herb is a pollinator magnet!

6) Alecost, Tanacetum balsamita
Once used to flavour ale, hence its wonderful name! Its fragrant leaves have also been used traditionally in herbal remedies.

7) Creeping Pennyroyal ‘Cunningham Mint’, Mentha pulegium
In full flower in the garden providing a beautiful carpet of colour, this herb when rubbed on the skin provides relief from insect bites.

This slideshow is just a tiny taste of what’s growing in Jekka’s Herbetum and Herb Garden.

Come and explore our Herbetum and Herb Garden at our September Open Days & Plant Sale, on Friday 11th & Saturday 12th September.

Tickets are selling really fast, so don’t miss out!

16/08/2026

🌿 Never the Same Garden Twice

Jekka's Herb Garden is constantly changing. In our latest newsletter, discover how the garden has developed through the seasons and some of the herbs taking centre stage in late summer.

And there's even more reason to visit – tickets for our September Open Days & Plant Sale are now on sale!

📅 Friday 11 & Saturday 12 September

Come and experience Jekka's Herb Garden and Jekka's Herbetum for yourself, hear from Jekka McVicar VMH and discover something new.

Read the newsletter and book your tickets 👇

Newsletter: 16th August 2026 Never the Same Herb Garden Twice One of the joys of Jekka's Herb Garden is that no two visits are ever quite the same. From the first signs of growth in spring to the abundance of summer, the garden is constantly changing as different herbs emerge, flower and set seed. A...

13/08/2026

Join us on Friday 11th and Saturday 12th September, for our final Open Days for 2026.

Tickets include an informative garden tour and an entertaining herb talk by Jekka, as well as the chance to explore the garden and browse our wonderful collection of herb plants.

Tickets will be available on our website from Sunday 16th August.

We look forward to celebrating the start of autumn with you all!!!

Ps. we will be doing a rain dance!!!

10/08/2026

As we head into our fifth heatwave, we’re celebrating 5 herbs looking absolutely fantastic in the garden. Despite the heat, there is colour, fragrance and plenty of life everywhere you look.

The following 5 slides show the current stars of our herb garden. Every month, another plant seems to step into the spotlight, there is never a dull moment in our garden!

Don’t forget, we are opening our garden for our September Open Days & Plant Sale on Friday 11th and Saturday 12th September. Come and see these herbs, and many more, for yourselves, explore the garden and enjoy an entertaining herb talk by Jekka.



1. Chaste Tree, Vitex agnus-castus
We have never seen so many flowers on this beautiful shrub! It is looking particularly striking in the sunshine, covered in delicate purple blooms and buzzing with activity.

2. Curry-scented Escallonia, Escallonia resinosa
The fragrance from this plant is gorgeous and wafts around the nursery. A wonderful reminder that a garden can be just as much about scent as it is about colour.

3. Berries and Cream Mint, Mentha ‘Berries and Cream’
Our flowering mints are proving incredibly popular with the pollinators. This one is looking particularly lovely at the moment, with bees and other insects making the most of the flowers.

4. Hops, Humulus lupulus
Our hop arch is looking wonderfully romantic covered in these delicate blooms. The male flowers are so pretty and create a lovely softness as they tumble through the archway.

5. American Pokeweed, Phytolacca americana
This is just beginning to come into berry, but give it a few more weeks and it will be spectacular, with its striking magenta stems and deep black-purple berries - just in time for our September open days!!

02/08/2026

Every season, Jekka's Herb Garden teaches us something new.

This summer's heatwave has revealed some surprising lessons about caring for herbs in hot weather, from when to cut back herbs to helping plants thrive through prolonged dry spells. Read more in our latest newsletter linked below.

We're also looking ahead to our September Open Days & Plant Sale on Friday 11 & Saturday 12 September. Save the date and join us as the Herb Garden begins its beautiful transition into autumn. Tickets will be released soon.

What has your herb garden taught you this summer? We'd love to hear your observations.

Newsletter: 2nd August 2026 Growing Herbs Through a Heatwave For over 40 years, Jekka's has been a place of continual learning. Every season brings new observations, and no two years are ever quite the same. This summer's prolonged heat and dry conditions have provided another opportunity to better....

29/07/2026

Save the Date: Jekka’s September Open Days and Plant Sale.

For the first time in over a decade, we will not be hosting our August Open Days, making our September event even more special.

Join us on Friday 11th and Saturday 12th September for two days celebrating herbs, gardening and the changing season. Tickets will be released shortly, so keep an eye on our social media and newsletter for updates.

Early autumn is one of the very best times to plant, with warm soil and cooler days helping herbs and other perennial plants establish strong roots before winter.

Whether you’re looking to add new herbs to your garden, seek expert advice, or simply enjoy a stroll through Jekka’s Herb Garden, we look forward to welcoming you.

Mark your calendars, we can’t wait to see you in September!

22/07/2026

Everyone is talking about the best plants for bumblebees, but if you want to support the diverse range of pollinators and insects that make a healthy garden thrive, Fennel is hard to beat.

The Fennel growing around Jekka’s Herb Garden is home to a whole community of insects. They may not all be as cute as a bumblebee, but every one plays an important role in supporting the biodiversity of our garden.

We have been organic on this site for over 40 years, and we are continually rewarded by the incredible variety of creatures and insects that live alongside us.

Sometimes, the best way to support nature is simply to give it space to thrive and self-seed!!!

Photos all taken on Wednesday 22nd July, in one sitting!

15/07/2026

We were delighted to welcome members of the Korea Herb Association and the Medical Herb Center to Jekka’s Herb Garden for a private bespoke group visit.

Herbs have connected people across the world for centuries and are deeply rooted in cultures everywhere. It was a real pleasure to share our passion for these remarkable plants and, in return, learn about the many ways they are grown, used and valued in Korea.

It was an unforgettable and very enjoyable visit.

08/07/2026

The seed harvest in Jekka’s Herb Garden has already begun, marking the start of our preparations for 2027!

Each seed is carefully harvested by hand, before being dried, cleaned and packed in our illustrated seed packets over the coming months ready for you to sow at home.

This week’s harvest includes:
- Giant fennel (Ferula communis)
- Coriander (Coriandrum sativum)
- Broad Leaved Sorrel (Rumex acetosa)
- Scottish Lovage (Ligusticum scoticum)
- Red valerian (Centranthus ruber)
- Woad (Isatis tinctoria)

It’s one of our favourite times of year, watching a season’s growth become next year’s gardens. Every seed we save helps preserve our collection and the rich diversity of culinary, medicinal and ornamental herbs for future generations.

05/07/2026

As temperatures rise, many gardeners ask us how to keep herbs healthy during hot, dry weather. The good news is that many herbs are naturally resilient and can thrive when given the right conditions.

In our latest newsletter, we share practical tips for gardening through warmer summers, explore the story behind Jekka's Gravel Garden and highlight some of our favourite herbs for sunny spots.

Whether you're looking to garden more sustainably, improve your soil or discover herbs that flourish in summer, we hope you'll find plenty of inspiration in our newsletter and on our website.

Read the latest newsletter through the link below.

Newsletter: 5th July 2026 Summer at Jekka's: Herbs for Hotter Summers As gardeners, we are always learning from nature. Although summer is one of our favourite times of year, as temperatures rise one of the questions we are most often asked is how to keep herbs healthy during hot weather. While it c...