A 61-year-old amateur gardener has gained local fame for his breathtaking garden featuring 200 beautiful hanging baskets.
Shaun Schroeder, a resident of Bristol, England, spends up to three hours every evening caring for his garden.
This passionate gardener discovered his love for gardening during the COVID-19 lockdowns, and since then, he has been captivated by it.
Each year, Schroeder redesigns his garden, creating a new look every time.
“Everything dies in winter, then I have a blank canvas,” says Schroeder. “It’s totally different this year, with different plants arranged in unique ways.”
In a manic week in May, Schroeder plants everything to ensure that all the plants bloom around the same time, usually in late July.
Throughout the summer, he dedicates his time to maintaining the garden, painstakingly removing slugs and snails by hand to protect his hard work.
“That’s my 10 p.m. ritual—to go and pick them all off and relocate them,” he reveals. “I remove over 100 every night! They’ll destroy your plants if you let them, and the usual pellets don’t work anymore.”
Schroeder’s budget for his garden is approximately £1,500 ($1,970) per year, which covers plants, compost, fertilizer, pots, and tools.
“This year, the 200 hanging baskets are looking fabulous,” he exclaims. “As I get older, it becomes harder to manage everything, but it’s such a delightful job.”
His hard work was acknowledged when one of his friend’s nieces asked if she could have her pre-prom photos taken in his garden.
“I was surprised, but I guess I must be doing something right!” Schroeder says, adding that his garden provides stress relief after a long day of work.
“It’s relaxing just to be in the garden, even if it’s just to appreciate it,” he says. “But it’s not only for me; I do it so that everyone else can enjoy it too.”
Gardening became Schroeder’s passion during the pandemic, and passers-by would often commend him for brightening up the gloom of lockdown.
He has received letters in his mailbox from visitors praising his kaleidoscopic garden, and locals even alter their usual routes to catch a glimpse of it.
To devote ample time to planting and preparing his garden for summer, Schroeder takes a week off work in the spring.
By propagating plants from cuttings rather than buying them anew, Schroeder economizes on rising plant costs.
For instance, a £3 ($4) plant can yield up to 10 new plants through cuttings. This year, approximately 500 of the 2,000 plants in his garden were propagated from last year’s cuttings.
Several years since the lockdown, Schroeder’s main objective remains creating a delightful spectacle for others to enjoy.
“Many residents in Whitchurch take detours just to pass by my garden,” he reveals. “People love to come up and have a look, and if they wish, I’m always happy to show them around.”
“Some people stroll by in the evenings and tell me it looks fabulous, and others knock on my door,” he adds.
“I simply tend to my garden so that everyone else can enjoy it,” Schroeder concludes.
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