On the 16th May 2009 my husband and I took over the tenancy of small semi-detached Edwardian house in Trench,Telford.
The attraction was the garden or more accurately the 134x20ft space behind where a garden should have been.
In its place we found weeds in all their glorious profusion, revelling in a freedom which must have lasted for decades. There were docks vying for skylight with three very sick fruit trees and to top it all, hiding behind a drunken fence, at the bottom of this delight, was a heap of rubble eight feet square--at a guess.
This had been deposited by itinerant fly-tippers who had access to the area from a redundant railway embankment.
Why didn't we run? Good question, but I enjoy creating gardens and my Husband and I could see the potential for an excellent food supply, relaxation and a wild garden orchard at the far end.
To prevent this from becoming a novel I shall list the progress.
1. Weeding. We had to poison the docks and couch grass.
2 Digging! Ha! This beautiful earth had bee used to bury anything from bricks, metal, glass and wood and not one fork or spade failed to contact some obstacle. We dug out the foundations of four walls and ended up with enough bricks to build a large extention, enough metal to construct a one man space ship sufficient glass to make a large model of the Crystal Palace and a very large quantity of wood with which to make things you make with wood.
3. We had to get a contracter to remove the rubble pile. A complete bathroom suite, fifteen half telegraph poles, tree trunks and-------!!??
The other day we watched you beginning the creation of another garden and envied you that sympathetic earth but inspite of all obstacles our garden is now planted and about venture into the world that it deserves.
4. Our lawn area was laid yesterday.
(Not by us!)
5. Eventually we had to have some help from a gardener. Paul enabled us to reach our deadline of March for trees and bushes.
That as briefly as I can say it is our story and I would have sent some Photo's but although I can claim a certain tinge of Green in my fingers, I do not, unfortunately possess " Screen fingers" to send them with this letter.
By the way I don't think I mentioned that I am seventy-nine and my toy boy is seventy-seven.
We shall be following your progress with interest and look forward to learning more of this now essential art.
With very best wishes,
Joy and Peter Cox
