Human remains of 'Colin' are hidden highlight of Higham Ferrers Tourism’s Secret Gardens event
Not everyone has a body in their garden, Catherine Knight said as she showed visitors around her sweeping flower beds and lush plants in Higham Ferrers.
But that is exactly what Catherine and husband Andrew have in the garden of their Higham Road home.
Human remains were discovered when Andrew and a couple of friends were digging out the garage foundations to prepare for an extension.
The police and a forensics team were called in and it was established that the remains, which included a jawbone and skull, had belonged to a 30-year-old pre-Industrial Revolution man.
Given the option of having him removed, the Knights decided to keep him.
And they named him Colin after a friend, Colin Sanders, who had been helping to dig out the garage foundations and who had discovered the human remains.
Catherine said: “He, Colin, had been in the ground for such a long time that we decided to let him rest in peace.”
A laminated notice marks the spot where he was re-interred by the Knights and reads: “Here lies Colin. Rest in peace.”
Their garden was one of 11 private gardens and four community gardens on show to the public during Higham Ferrers Tourism’s annual Secret Gardens event.
The Knights told visitors that when they moved in 25 years ago, the garden was full of cat poo and grass that was so long it had toppled over.
There were conifers taller than the houses bordering the bottom of the garden, there were weeds galore and steps hidden by ivy.
They chopped 30ft off those towering trees, with Andrew building the various structures around the garden, including the patios, a treehouse, summerhouse, all the paths and steps, the pond and fountains.
They built the treehouse for their four children, which included a fireman’s pole. They added a veranda 10 years ago and the treehouse now boasts an art easel and is the ideal place for a spot of reading.
While over at Mick and Anne Waite’s showcase garden in Shelley Drive, visitors were talking about the impressive lawn and Mick’s fascination with movie stars.
His collection of hosta plants, which he has been growing for 20 years, are named after famous male movie stars such as Gary Cooper and Clark Gable, while the trees are named after female stars like Sophia Loren and Grace Kelly.
Artwork from famous movie titles, like, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, decorate the garden sheds.
But as some visitors commented, the real star is Mick himself for his perseverance in producing such a landmark garden.
Across in Nene Road, Keith and Lorna Nicholson were not stumped about what to put in their blank canvas of a new garden.
They decided on an unusual feature - a 250-year-old oak tree stump which they have planted upside down with the roots on show.
Keith said: “We bought it from Devon and it cost more to ship it here than the cost of the tree itself.
“It weighed over a ton and it took five men to get it out of the lorry and into the garden. It is positioned on big plastic palettes with holes for drainage."
The tree stump is surrounded by wild flowers which feature throughout the garden, attracting bees and butterflies.
The Nicholsons called in Landscape Concept, who work at the Chelsea Flower Show, to do the design and the planting and say it makes sense to call in professionals for the basics as you can then build on from there.
Their garden features a Japanese red acer tree, which had been on show at Chelsea for five years and they had to wait for last year’s show to be over before they could get it.
Their garden also includes a water feature and a waterfall.
Lorna said: “You can hear the waterfall and birds and it is all very peaceful.”
The garden is lit up at night, adding to the calming atmosphere.
Liz Barnatt, chairman and organiser of the Secret Gardens, said the event had been a resounding success with visitors coming from as far afield as Bedford.
She said: “The Secret Garden hosts shared a wealth of ideas with their visitors and we will be having a ‘thank you’ event for them soon.”