When I rounded the corner, I was relieved to see Hector getting the last bullock into the other field.
“It’s a bit of a silly thing to do, to move them by yourself.” He said looking a bit guilty, then laughing. “But I’m quite glad I got away with it. Don’t want to have to go back and get a load of hippies out to get them, they sometimes stampede everywhere…But that’s all part of the fun of them.” I wasn’t certain if he meant the cattle or the hippies.
A car pulled up alongside and I was introduced to Jenny who’d been the permaculture gardener for the last ten years. Returning to the house Hector did his best to push back the clumps of grass, to avoid getting in trouble with the ornamental gardeners.
After we were settled in the kitchen with our cups of tea I asked Jenny how she’d gotten into permaculture.
“I trained in formal horticulture,” Jenny told me, “and I always has an interest in growing plants for a purpose. When I was at college I was concerned that I was really encouraged to take my spraying certificate, use pesticides. And I just really felt from the outset that that wasn’t what I wanted to do. I was very fortunate I was able to work on gardens where I could garden organicly. We didn’t need to use chemicals because we were creating a holistic environment. I was very very lucky to come to Tapley, I came because of the permaculture garden. It’s been really wonderful to see how the theory works in reality. It really works. It’s brilliant to see it work. We don’t need to use sprays for aphids or slug pellets or anything. It’s brilliant to have that opportunity to demonstrate that to the public.”
Buzz tour 