As the lawns turn yellow and the plants wilt under the scorching heat there’s a lush oasis of green that can be discovered on Heath Crescent.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Johnny and Dianne Chalmers have been lovingly tending to their garden for the past 35 years through the pelting rain and the suffocating heat.
Everyday the two pensioners water the garden out the front and the back while their two dogs Eva and Lilly follow them around, tails a-wagging.
It’s back-breaking work, according to Johnny, but it’s all worth it to see the amazed expressions on the faces of those who see his garden for the first time.
“My family and the people in the neighbourhood said it was a beautiful garden,” he said – or rather, wrote.
Both Mr and Mrs Chalmers are deaf, but they express their passion through their handwritten notes and the gleam in their eyes when showing people around their garden.
They don’t have a whole lot of money to splash on the garden, but they’ve more than made up for it with their homemade art installations made from an assortment of odd knickknacks.
He and his wife are immensely proud of their green thumbs, and they are always happy to show anyone and everyone the fruits of their labour.
It’s quite the labour of love maintaining such a large garden; tall ferns look down onto a sprawling canopy of shrubs which tumble out onto the front lawn.
Around the side of the house there is a colourful corridor of creepers, pot plants, and flowering shrubs which connect the front garden to the secret back garden.
The first thing visitors see upon entering the back garden is a wacky art installation made with old bicycle wheels hanging over a passionfruit plant.
Against the back wall there are old tires that have been refashioned into hanging pots with different coloured plants.
The place feels like it belongs to another world once night falls, when the pot lights flicker on, the flowers take on an iridescent glow, and the garden is transformed into a glittering grove.
He said he was saddened that his garden wasn’t chosen for this year’s Spring Fest garden festival, because he wants to show his beautiful garden to as many people as possible.
During of Spring Fest several private gardens are opened up to the public, who are invited to admire the greenery.
Even though the Chalmers weren’t chosen for this year’s Spring Fest garden festival, they both plan to continue tending to the garden, just as they had always done over the past 35 years.
These days Mr and Mrs Chalmers can usually be found out the front of their home, silently sharing their love of gardening together.
***
While you're with us, did you know that you can now receive updates straight to your inbox every Monday at 6am from The Area News? To make sure you're up to date with all the Griffith and MIA news you can sign up here.
Kenji Sato
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
Kenji Sato is a handsome journalist at The Daily Advertiser who enjoys writing flattering bios about himself in the third person. He can be contacted by email at kenji.sato@dailyadvertiser.com.au or by mobile on 0448 927 612.
