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Not everyone, though, knows who she is. Joy is THE person who is responsible for the cut and come again salads we now take for granted in the supermarkets. She is the lady who brought oriental vegetables into our gardens and onto our plates. When you pick up a book by Joy you know that everything has been personally and thoroughly researched. I know that at Berryfields, her books are very well thumbed by all of us and particularly Alys.

I had the privilege of filming with Joy a few years ago for a Gardeners' World Special at her home in Southern Ireland. She is still researching and still growing fruit and vegetables in a very extreme situation where the garden is constantly buffeted by wind that whips off the sea - and growing them very successfully. What always delights me about most people in the world of gardening is that, invariably, they are modest, self-effacing and extraordinarily generous with their time and information. Joy is no exception and I came away from that filming day with a sense of privilege that I had met her.

But when you look up 'Joy Larkcom' on the internet, you get a list of her books and information about what she has done but there is no way that you can get a sense of who she is and what she is like as a person at all. The programme that Joy features in transmits on the 8th August and I sincerely hope you enjoy it and get a better understanding of who she is - do come back and tell us what you think.