Blooming with enthusiasm
LYNDHURST - Elphin Lodge residents have transformed a neglected embankment into a wonderland of colour.
Thelma Fonn and Dr Stefania Aust, residents of the Rand Aid Association retirement village, have given a steep embankment behind their homes some tender loving care, and created a feast for the eye. Energetically uprooting the ivy that once filled the concrete planters that make up the embankment, Fonn and Aust planted a seasonal garden bursting with bright blooms.
The women bought only a few of the plants in their flowery oasis, cultivating the majority from seeds taken from friends’ gardens, or clippings from established plants, and taking them from existing garden beds that needed thinning. Elphin Lodge management also made a donation of agapanthus, and the vivid blue flowers currently dominate the embankment.
“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 Aust.
With 59 interlocking earth-retaining concrete blocks across 13 rows, the garden takes considerable work. But, despite no longer being spring chickens, the women said they found that creating and maintaining the terraced showpiece had been therapeutic and fun. The gardeners take great pleasure in comments from the many fellow residents who use a nearby walkway, and delight in the garden as they pass by.
