The Garden Rescue team were faced with a daunting task as they were asked to reinvigorate a neglected garden in Leicester which had fallen into disrepair following the death of the family’s grandmother. Chris Hull and Frances Tophill, who are two of the presenters on the BBC gardening show, listened as married couple Pritesh and Mita asked for help with their run-down plot, which was cluttered with discarded furniture, uneven patio areas and struggling plants.
Showcasing the space Mita explained: “This is our garden, no colours at all. It used to be much prettier, it’s all green and all weeds everywhere, it’s just like yuck, but it wasn’t always this way. The garden once meant a lot to the family, especially Pritesh’s mum. She took pride in keeping it looking beautiful, but since she passed away two years ago, it’s fallen into disrepair.” Her husband chimed in: “My mum loved the garden, and she loved to plant things and grow things. She used to put marigolds in, which she loved.
She loved to sit in the garden as well, even when she was in a wheelchair. We’d bring her out in the wheelchair into the garden, and she’d always have a smile on her face when she was in the garden. Whenever we see marigolds it brings the memory back of Mum doing the garden.”
The couple had a long wish list for their spacious garden and admitted with Mita’s health declining and daily life demanding their attention, they hoped the team could restore it to a beautiful, vibrant space that honoured their grandmother’s memory which would bring the family together.
They wanted a garden inspired by India, with a space to grow vegetables, a seating area and social space, a cooking area and a water feature and had a not unhealthy budget of £5,500 to complete the work.
They also wanted to incorporate Pritesh’s mother’s beloved marigolds into the design and with that in mind both Chris and Frances came up with ways of utilising the flower in the space.
After listening to both ideas the couple opted to go for Chris’ plan which utilised their existing patio but then incorporated a new gravel pathway. He included a deep planting bed with benches in between so they could sit down while tending to them, and I put some trees in to make the space feel a more private.
He created a cosy nook seating area for socialising with a corner bench up here underneath with a small fountain next to it so they could hear the noise from the water while sitting out there.
Alongside this he added colour with a mix of grasses and plants and, of course, their beloved marigolds featured in the garden space and in planters on the wall which had previously been neglected.
They loved the finished product with Pritesh admitting it “brought back memories” of his beloved mum.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.express.co.uk ’
