Dame Mary Berry has revealed a poignant reason behind a recent gardening decision, joking that she couldn't afford to wait for young plants to mature.
Evergreens and a Timeframe
Speaking on the Grow, Cook, Eat, Arrange podcast, the 91-year-old discussed her choice of evergreens for her garden. She explained that she opted for larger yew hedges because she didn't have the time to wait for smaller ones to grow.
She said: “Evergreens, a yew is, we put hedges in a yew. And obviously you should buy evergreens like a yew. I suppose about two foot high and wait. Well I’ll be in heaven then so we had to buy them fairly big, I suppose they were about four foot because we needed them to get to the top of the tennis court netting.”
Privacy and Joy
Berry also wanted the hedges to provide privacy at the front of her house, shielding her home from passersby. She added: “And also we wanted them at the front of the house because people walking along outside could peer in and now, in six years, it’s well above six foot, which is a joy.”
Health and Lifestyle
The former Great British Bake Off judge, who has written around 75 cookbooks, has been open about her health. Earlier this year, she spoke about avoiding processed foods on the Lessons From Our Mothers podcast.
She said: "I avoid processed foods. Absolutely definitely. I love to shop at a farm shop and I don't mind knobbly vegetables. I go to my supermarket, I go to the butchers. If you go to a butchers you'll get advice as well as good meat."
Berry also shared her views on exercise, telling the Mail: “I don’t do gyms. What a waste of time! What’s wrong with having a nice run out with a dog? The outdoors is what makes us healthy, what makes us well.”
