Magical garden is all our own work
I WAS interested in the news story about the couple who wanted to create a more manageable garden from a steep, grassy incline. They went to court because they were not happy with the end result achieved by the landscapers and the bill of £130,000 (Mail). When we moved into our house four years ago, we had a similar problematic garden. I wondered what we could do to make it a place we could use, enjoy and be proud of. My husband said that he had a plan and that I was to leave it all to him. So, over the following three years, he worked on the garden in his spare time. He had no help whatsoever and worked out all the angles and heights in his head. He had to do all the heavy groundwork by hand because there was no room to bring any machinery through the narrow side passage. He moved walls, re-positioned and redesigned a flight of steps, laid out six new terraces, moved tons of enormous marble stones, built a waterfall, erected a fence round the whole garden, laid tons of top soil, rendered and painted the terrace wall facings and planted up the garden. And all this without the benefit of any expert advice, landscapers or professional gardeners — and at a bargain price. I hope you will agree that the ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos of our dream garden are simply amazing. I love my Mediterranean garden and I am so proud of my husband and what he has achieved, with nothing more than his own talent, hard work and ideas. After creating our very own hanging gardens at the back of the house, Trevor has now started landscaping the front garden. It is something positive to focus on during these difficult times and fills our days with activity. We are delighted that we will have something we can enjoy for years to come.
MARY TOOLE, Nottingham.