Geoff was the head gardener at an old house at Mill Court near Alton which also included a 17th century barn, 3 greenhouses and 30 acres of ground. There were many mature trees including Magnolias and Gingko plus a number of ponds. The property is close to the River Wey and the grounds were prone to flooding. Geoff was at the property for the great storm in 1987 and also when the house burned down in 2002.
The house was rebuilt in 2010 at which time Geoff and his wife moved to a new home with a plot measuring 22 feet by 36 feet, which he set about redesigning. By 2013 the plot was being cleared with rubble cleared and fence removed plus the position of cables and pipes identified. New fence panels with wind filters were installed and a cherry tree retained although that later died. The patio was extended with a trellis added to create privacy and a brick and gravel path. The rotary clothes line and surrounding concrete slabs were removed and disposed of. A rambler rose and bird box were added to the trellis and both were successful. The plastic greenhouse was replaced with an aluminium version. The next step was to take on a 140 square yard allotment which initially wasn’t very productive although by mid 2014 was doing very well.
The garden is now colour repeating with a variety of plants although several shrubs were killed by honey fungus. The dead cherry tree was replaced by Amelanchier and white Wisteria and Star Jasmine do very well.
