Q&A

MOST USED TOOL: A niwashi but a slightly different design from the usual. I use it for weeding, digging and planting.

MOST USEFUL TOOL: A pair of ratchet secateurs that make a double cut. But I have lost them in the garden somewhere and need a new pair. How can something be bright yellow and still be lost?

BEST ADVICE: Don’t use plants that grow really fast or you will spend all your time pruning them back.

FAVOURITE PLANT: We have a plant here, Osmanthus fragrans f. aurantiacus, that was in Peter’s parents’ garden. Peter said he could always smell it from the top of the road. His parents had a beautiful garden. His mother said lots of people had taken cuttings from the tree but none took. I took five cuttings and they thrived. The blossoms are minute but they smell of apricots. That’s our treasured plant and I have it growing throughout the garden.

MOST PROUD OF: That people who come and visit the garden say it’s so peaceful – a real retreat.

BEST THING ABOUT THE GARDEN: Peter and I created it, and although he’s gone, he’s still here.