Green-fingered Jean Jackman speaks about what inspired her to establish the Floral Fringe Fair

The annual Floral Fringe Fair is a quirky plantaholics wildlife event with a vintage twist.

It is set on the 1,400-hectare Knepp Estate at West Grinstead, where a decade ago the owners, the Burrell family, established one of the largest re-wilding projects in lowland Europe.

This month, the estate is launching Knepp Safaris, for people to see animals including Longhorn cattle, Tamworth pigs and Exmoor ponies roaming freely, and a new camping area with luxury tents, shepherd’s huts and pitches.

The Floral Fringe Fair, which takes place over the weekend of May 30 and 31, is prettily positioned in front of Knepp Castle, with more than 130 stalls including specialist nurseries and experts on wildlife, honeybees, bumblebees, birds and bats.

It was launched four years ago by Jean Jackman as a present to herself when she turned 60. Here, she explains how the fair reflects her idyllic childhood growing up in Worthing and Tarring in the 1950s and 60s.

“For me life really ‘began’ at 60. Always a late developer, at last I had found the confidence to do something that I knew I would enjoy and that was memorable. To celebrate my 60th year, I created The Floral Fringe Fair at Knepp Castle.

“I was born and brought up in Worthing in the 50s and 60s, when I was Jean Whiteman. School was St Brandan’s in Broadwater, followed by The Convent of Sion in Worthing, then described on the sign outside the gates as a ‘school for young ladies’! “My creative father designed and built our house in a former farmyard in Tarring. It was an idyllic spot, surrounded by an acre of garden protected by ancient walnut, medlar, almond and lilac trees. The old Broadwater road ran through it.

“My childhood was spent in this oasis, lived outdoors making dens and treehouses, playing rounders, climbing rope ladders and camping.

“My mother was passionate about gardening, and as an older child I was taken to visit notable gardens such as Highdown, near Worthing.

“Move forward 30 years and I returned to Sussex to work as a plant buyer for a garden centre, where I had become increasingly horrified by the sale of blue slug pellets and the consequent loss of thrushes from the garden.

“When I was made redundant, I started my own nursery, Scarecrow Plants, and gave up using all chemicals in my own garden.

“I grew the plants I loved and sold them at plant fairs, becoming increasingly interested in plants to attract wildlife.

“In 2010, I was enlisted to help with a plant fair at Bignor Park, near Pulborough.

“I loved it and asked to create my own fair to be held there. The Floral Fringe Fair was born: ‘fringe’ because it was about the still slightly eccentric concept of planting wildflowers in the garden.

“It attracted more than 2,000 visitors and was felt to be too large for the location.

“As a result, Lord Mersey of Bignor Park introduced me to Sir Charles Burrell and the re-wilding project at Knepp Castle.

“We all felt that The Floral Fringe Fair and Knepp Castle were a marriage made in heaven. We are now in the fourth year of Floral Fringe: it’s eclectic and quirky, about wildlife and plants but also talented local artists and makers, food producers and musicians.

“This year, we are introducing a fashion parade, an idea inspired by the times I accompanied my mother to what was then Hubbards in Worthing (now Debenhams) to watch the fashion ‘mannequins’ aged 18 to 70 parading between the tables in the restaurant on the top floor.

“Floral Fringe reflects my idyllic Sussex childhood and so has a 50s and 60s feel to it with classic cars, dressing in vintage style, tea and cakes in the pop-up tearoom and picnicking by the lake.”

The Floral Fringe Fair is at Knepp Castle at West Grinstead on May 30 and 31, from 10.30am to 5pm. Entry £6.50 adults, children u-14 free. The first two occupants of a classic or vintage pre-1975 car get in for the reduced price of £5.50pp. For details, visit floral fringefair.co.uk, knepp.co.uk, facebook.com/floralfringefair or on Twitter at @floralfringe