Residents transform walkway
Only a few of the plants were bought, with the others being taken from existing garden beds that needed thinning, cultivated from seeds plucked from friends’ gardens and clippings taken from established plants.
Ms Thelma Fonn and Dr Stefania Aust, of Elphin Lodge, have created a wonderland of colour along the embankment behind their homes at the Rand Aid-run retirement village in Lyndhurst.
Previously, the concrete planters that make up the steep embankment were filled with ivy, but the ladies have transformed the area into a seasonal garden that is filled to bursting with bright blooms.
Only a few of the plants were bought, with the others being taken from existing garden beds that needed thinning, cultivated from seeds plucked from friends’ gardens and clippings taken from established plants.
“A few weeks ago, the poppies were in glorious bloom and if you come back in a few months’ time, you will find a host of different plants,” said Dr Aust.
With 59 interlocking earth-retaining concrete blocks across 13 rows, the garden takes considerable work but despite no longer being spring chickens, the ladies said they find that creating and maintaining the terraced showpiece has been therapeutic and fun. The ladies said they take pleasure in the comments of fellow residents who delight in the garden which spreads downwards from a well-used walkway.
