In a new blog post on how her work has been inspired and formed by the local natural environment, Jac Campbell takes us through her process of making natural inks.
Today I return to Ram Meadow East with the natural ink swatches I made back in July. I think of these swatches as a colour chart of the plants growing in the water meadow: Hemp agrigomy, fleabane, Himalayan balsam, St John’s wort and elderberry. A tent is pitched just inside the fence, although there are no residents in sight it feels like a gatehouse and, on this occasion, I choose not to enter the land.
These are some thoughts from the visit in July.
Ink Foray and Balsam Bash July 30th 2024.
Equipment: head to toe clothing, eye protection, gloves, secateurs, sealable bags, plant identifier.
An early start to avoid the late morning heat. Conspicuous in unseasonal clothing we climb a gate to enter a narrow wedge of land between the River Lark and the overhead traffic of the A14, Suffolk’s artery. This is possibly the least accessed site in town: occasionally visited by wildlife surveyors and highway workers; home to sleepers of the margins and muntjac. The vegetation here grows shoulder high, fleabane, verbascum, campion, fennel, spear thistle, St John’s Wort, Hemp Agrimony, nettles and dense pockets of Himalayan balsam. Species that are encouraged and others less favoured.
Climbing high up the highway embankment we skirt makeshift dwellings concealed between safety barriers and a thicket of spiny blackthorn. We drop back down to the river, along an eroded bank to a place where the road run-off filters through a reed bed into the chalk-stream. I select plants that grow in abundance and gather parts I feel may yield colour.
The Himalayan balsam leaves and flowers are sealed in bags to avoid spread of this plant. Himalayan balsam is considered an invasive non-native plant and its an offence to plant or cause Himalayan balsam to grow in the wild. In 1839 Dr Royale introduced this Kashmir native into Kew Gardens, it soon became a favourite of Victorian gardeners. Over the years its been known as Himalayan balsam, jumping jack, kiss me on the mountain and policeman’s helmet. The BWMG volunteers unaffectionately refer to it as HB. Its an efficient propagator, each plant can pop out around 800 seeds which float down rivers before becoming lodged in soft muddy banks.
So why the fall from favour?
The plant quickly establishes itself suppressing other species. When the vegetation dies back in winter the river bank is left exposed and vulnerable to erosion. The favoured method of control along this stretch is the balsam bash. The plants in Ram Meadow have not yet produced seeds and their shallow root system eases out of the ground in a satisfying single motion. Then a hollow snap between the last stem node and the root to prevent regrowth before heaping them into a pile to decompose.
