A Very Moorish Garden
Local photographer Liz Jenner's colourful creation is a work of art
(all photos courtesy Liz Jenner)
You might think you are looking at holiday photos from exotic Marrakesh, but no. This is the beautiful garden of photographer Liz Jenner in Hanwell.
Liz and husband Paul, a landscape gardener, have been working on their project for the last 25 years and say when they started and ripped out all the grass, former neighbours were initially horrified.
'Sometimes you have to start with a blank canvas' says Liz.
The sunken garden area used 2500 stock bricks which the dance teacher found years ago in a derelict field. She collected them on her lunch break taking around 300 back in the car every Friday evening.
Other hardcore, bricks and stones, came from what was left over from her husband's landscaping business and more salvaged from skips.
A trip to North Africa gave exactly the design inspiration they needed and rich fabrics, tiles and bright cushions were sourced online and Liz also made use of old saris which she found in a charity shop in Norwood Green.
The garden backs onto the River Brent and much work went into building the river bank up to try and avoid flooding, but it can still happen twice a year, covering the seats.
Lockdown has proved beneficial for many gardens and Liz says they made use of the time to rebuild the garden shed, creating
an entirely new roof and floor as well as soundproofing the walls to enable music practice without disturbing the neighbours or wildlife.
Liz, who often shares her shots of flora and fauna and natural wildlife that frequents the Brent online, says: ''The great joy is sitting with a cup of tea near the river watching the sun go down and the wildlife that passes by and that’s when I think it’s all been worth it.
( garden before)
She is considering -post pandemic - of including her special haven in Open Gardens allowing others to visit and then donate to a chosen charity.
Liz says, ''I so love visiting beautiful gardens and appreciating all the hard work gone into other inspiring projects. Maybe the money could go to a local wildlife project.''
Despite the transformation being long, hard work, Liz has no hesitation in recommending others to consider doing similar; the garden has brought peace, tranquility and great joy at a time of world chaos.
She says: '' If you decide to embark on your garden project then I would say throw all you energy and passion into it because it’s worth every second.''
Annemarie Flanagan
19 January 2021