From todays Daily Mirror

1 July 2006
PLANT POTTY
Sheila digs up entire garden and moves it 150 miles
By Richard Smith
SHEILA Batterbury couldn't bear the thought of giving up her award-winning
garden when she moved house - so she took it with her.

The 74-year-old spent a year digging up 600 plants, shrubs and bushes, then
took them the 150 miles to her new home by lorry.

Reassembling the garden took another six months - and her labours can now be
enjoyed by the public after it won a place in the National Gardens Scheme.



Sheila, a cookery editor and former teacher, said: "My garden was my pride
and joy. I just couldn't leave it behind.


"I knew we were going to move so I started to transfer all the plants to
manure bags, compost bags and trays. I moved pretty much everything - roses,
wisteria, rhododendrons, azaleas - and completely emptied the garden."


Sheila and husband Paul, 72, a retired circuit judge, nurtured the garden at
their former home near Greenwich, South London, for 10 years.


They sold their house to the University of Greenwich, which was not bothered
about having a well-stocked garden.


But the move didn't go altogether smoothly.


When Sheila got the plants to their new home in Bathampton, near Bath,
Somerset, the new garden was too small.


"I cried," she said. "I feared I would never recreate my dream garden."


Luckily, they managed to buy two more plots of land to extend it.


Sheila added: "Now the garden is wonderful. There are amazing views of Bath
and a backdrop of woods."


And Sheila's is now among 3,500 gardens to qualify for the National Gardens
Scheme.


It was opened up for the first time last weekend at £2.50 per head, raising
£300 for charity.


Patricia Davies-Gilbert of the NGS said: "I haven't heard of anyone moving a
whole garden before."


richard.smith@...


WHAT SHEILA DUG


Among the 600 plants were: roses, wisteria, rhododendrons, evergreen
conifers, fig tree, azaleas, lupins, foxgloves, delphiniums, and cyclamens


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