'˜Therapy' garden is opening to the public

Marian Simpson is inviting the public to her garden later this month to raise money for cancer charities, after being affected by the illness.

Marian said: “It hasn’t been the best of years. My mother died after a long and distressing illness last July, and then in November, just after my best friend the author JPBean died suddenly, my husband was diagnosed with cancer.

“It’s hard not to let your world shrink and become dark, but a garden forces you to look outwards, and to think about the future.

“As well as the pleasure – the colour and smells – a garden is a hard task-master, constantly demanding your thought and effort.”

Marian took up gardening 30 years ago, after her first husband died – also of cancer.

Over the last ten years, she has given several thousand pounds from her visitors to Cancer Research and to Cruse Bereavement Care.

Her garden, which last year was singled out by a national newspaper as one of the five most inspirational small gardens in England, is crammed full of exotic and dramatic plants, with areas set aside for

The garden, at 34 Dover Road S11 8RH, is open from 10am-4pm on June, 26.