Garden People: Alison Jenkins, Damson Farm, Ecological Gardener
My guest is Alison Jenkins of Damson Farm in Somerset, England. Alison trained as a garden designer before making her small holding of Damson Farm into a resource for learning about the interrelationship of gardens and the natural world. The workshops that she offers at the farm focus on observing and supporting natural ecosystems, creating gardens which function ecologically and look beautiful, too. The garden is often a place of solace in difficult times. I think Alison’s work shows us the comfort that can be found working with nature, as well as a way forward in our efforts to bring peace and healing to the earth.
Garden People podcast, from @violetear_studio
L I S T E N
S H O W N O T E S
The English Gardening School at the Chelsea Physic Garden
Gardens Illustrated profile of Damson Farm
Fergus Garrett, Great Dixter House & Garden
Robert McFarlane (some of my favorites are The Lost Words and Underland)
Braiding Sweetgrass – Robin Wall Kimmerer
Oxford Real Farming Conference
Amelanchier essay by Robin Wald Kimmerer: The Serviceberry, An Economy of Abundance
P L A N T L I S T
Lemon cucumbers or cucumber melons?
Amalanchier
Damson
Dog Rose, Rosa canina
Wild Plum, Prunus Americana
Crab Apples Malus
Currants (black currant, Ribes nigrum; red currant, Ribes rubrum)
Worcesterberry Ribes divaricatum
Edible honey suckle Lonicera caerulea
Perennial Sorrel Rumex acetosa
Alpine strawberries Fragaria vesca
