This is a story about a story...and which includes many stories... I had written a shorter version of my ‘Letter from Beeston’ on 14th May entitled ‘How my garden is helping me at the moment’ because it became my entry to BBC TV The One Show - RHS - My Chelsea Garden competition with ONE photograph of my garden. On Friday 22nd May, the four category winners were announced and interviewed on The One Show by Alex Jones, Rylan Clark-Neal and guest Monty Don. Alex reported that the competition had received 7,500 entries so final selection was VERY difficult! I can well imagine Alex and Monty! When the four category winners were declared I was NOT surprised I hadn’t won! They were amazing and very worthy indeed of their prize winning tickets to The Chelsea Flower Show 2021. Here they are: Back Garden Winner. Terry Winters from Salisbury. Terry said: “I'm lucky to have a garden, many don't... Indoor Garden Winner. Corinne Tokley-Packer from Tilbury. ... Kids Corner Garden Winner. Clare and Henry Shepherd from Barnsley. ... Front Garden Winner. Rosemary Fletcher from Dunstable. You can watch the programme here https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000jbtz/the-one-show-22052020
So, I wondered, why not now extend my original entry and write more about why my garden has helped me at the moment? This time, it includes personal characters I always remember when looking at my garden, namely, my Mum and Dad, and my dog TAG. So ‘My Letter from Beeston’ 3 evolved. Here it is with photograph and my story told in word and voice. Enjoy!
‘Letter from Beeston’ by Marysia Zipser
letter_from_beeston.3.m4aDownload File My garden is an inspiration for my visioning and planning. Nature, spatial awareness, Colours, Composition, Balance, Harmony, Solitude, Sanctuary. It becomes a canvas and palette on which my life conjures up and mixes natural lights, tints and shading. My garden becomes my journey. During the present time, my garden has helped me focus on what matters most in life and what I wish to activate. From my writing and crafting to friendly everyday thoughts. Who, what and which to dismiss or weed out to make the pathway clearer and grabbing opportunities as they fall in front of me. I have flowery reminders of my parents. My mum’s Hanky Panky rose has been flourishing and always brings big smiles. Her garden bench is now cornflower blue so I visualise her sitting and winking at me while sipping from her china mug of English tea. Dad was an engineer so he was the master landscaper and builder. He could build anything...from the large garage, the tall welded driveway gates, the apple and plum orchard, to the tennis court at our Gamston ‘Green Acres’ home. I can see him now smiling, mowing the vast expanse of lawn in between, before we held a fun garden or tennis party.
My own garden gate leads out to a park so my ‘garden room’ becomes an extension; enabling me to follow green pathways and a twitchell to our canal and river sides.
Memories too, of Gentleman Tag, my English wire-haired fox terrier, with sticky up ears, just like Herge drew Snowy’s Tin Tin. He would look up at me from a sunny spot cocooned among the lavenders, questioning, “So when are we going into the park Miss Zippy? I so want to meet my friends there, run and jump about with them...and play tag games.”
He would spark up and ask, “And... when are we going on our adventures again to historic places and parklands, and us prospecting and peering over the castle turrets??” Adventures indeed, dear Tag.
For now, I just can't wait to see my Triffid-like Cardinal clematis unlock and open as well as the rambling Augustine roses, geraniums and smiling, uplifting Margaritas. Heavenly perfumes await me from lavenders Little Lady, Hidcote, Rosea and Grosso, mingled with Gertrude Jekyll roses and summer jasmine; all wafting around and enticing me to stroll among my garden’s camaraderie. From dawn till dusk, my garden wildlife visitors nod their heads and sounds in harmony. - Ends -
So now you understand WHY my Beeston garden has helped me through the years and why I have written my small illustrated book series “The Adventures of Tag and Miss Zippy” (to be published) because these books are also tourism aids about each region in England and Wales Tag and I explored together 2006-2017.
...and WHY every garden tells a story and, to me, WHY every plant in my garden tells a story. Mum and Dad - Sonia and Mietek Zipser - and TAG, this story and my ‘Letter from Beeston’ is dedicated to YOU. If you wish to read my further stories about my parents, Tag, my garden, my art, and my previous Letters from Beeston (and listen to), please go to this website BLOG. Additionally, if you wish to watch and listen to Art-Culture-Tourism’s Facebook LIVE video streaming recordings and hear our podcasts, please go on https://www.facebook.com/pg/artculturetourism/videos/?ref=page_internal of https://www.facebook.com/artculturetourism/ and PODCASTS. My Art-Culture-Tourism GARDEN ART section is https://www.artculturetourism.co.uk/garden-art.html Thank you for reading and listening. Marysia Zipser marysia@artculturetourism.co.uk Find me on Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn