ROOM TO GROW:A tour of some of England's great gardens fosteredMargaret Long's love of plants and inspired the development of a remarkable Canterbury property

摘要

When Ron Long casually suggested to his wife Margaret that she sign up to the garden tour of England and Scotland that was advertised on Ihe hack of a mail-order plant catalogue he spotted on the kitchen bench, she was taken by surprise, "lie might just have easily have said, 'What, about a trip to outer space for lunch?'" she recalls.It was the early 90s and the couple had recently moved from the outskirts of Christchurch to this aaha property on Old Tai Tapu Road so Ron could "enjoy a bit of land". As a teenager he'd hankered to go farming but life took a different, city-bound path. Margaret reluctantly went along with the idea of (heir rural relocation, although she did rather like the house - a roeyeled-brick homestead with timber-framed bay windows.