Trish Thomson laughed and agreed at the suggestion she’d become a widow to the garden.
When she and partner Robert Miller bought their two-acre home in Normandie Court at the beginning of 2023 they had no idea what they were in for.
They fell in love with the house, which also provided a granny flat for Trish’s 97-year-old mum.
However, the garden was overgrown after two years of neglect.
“The garden was such a mess. The irrigation was broken the hedges were out of control the weeds were the height of the lamp posts in some places,” explained Robert.
“We weren’t gardeners at all,” added Trish.
They spent three months tidying up just to cut paths through the vegetation before moving in in April.
The formal garden was originally designed by award-winning landscape gardener Jez Clark six years ago.
It took months of hard work and determination to even begin to glean what the garden should look like.
Amongst the weeds was an array of garden ornaments including gnomes, snails, mushrooms, rabbits and even a statue and over 2000 plastic planting pots.
The biggest surprise came when they found a 1.5 metre high fountain hidden by the weeds.
Robert said working from home allowed him extra time to devote to the project and study the original landscaping plans.
The Tamborine Mountain Garden Club were instrumental in advising and educating the couple on gardening and they have now become coordinators of Springtime on the Mountain and will be opening up their garden to the public for the event on September 27 and 28.
Trish, who originally hales from Scotland has given the home the Gaelic name, Beinn Bield, which means mountain sanctuary or refuge.
When not immersed in the garden the couple enjoying living in their new community.
“It’s the first time I’ve felt like I’m in a community. I can walk down the street and people say hello to me,” Robert said, after spending years living in Redland Bay.
“I’ve not felt that in any suburb I’ve lived in.”
Mum Nancy also loves helping with the garden and has joined the local knitting group.
With most of the hard work done they now plan to finish the restoration and then next year sit back and really enjoy it.
