At 94 years old, green-fingered Muriel Baker has found the perfect solution to continue enjoying a beautiful garden without the back-breaking work. The great-grandmother has transformed the side of her Somerset home with a breathtaking mural that gives her a permanent 'dream garden' she never needs to maintain.
A Lifelong Love of Nature
Muriel Baker has always been a country girl at heart. Born in a farmhouse at Meare, near Glastonbury, she's lived close to nature her entire life. She now resides in a self-contained annexe converted from the old cheese room and dairy, while her son David, 68, and his wife Jenny, 64, live in the main part of the building.
The former factory worker explained that her age made traditional gardening impossible. 'I know about roses but I can't garden at my age,' said Mrs Baker, who is divorced. Watering and weeding became too difficult, but she still wanted to enjoy the beauty of nature from her patio.
The Artistic Solution
Local artist Jon Minshull created the magnificent garden mural that now covers one side of her property. This isn't his first work on the building - eighteen months ago he painted another mural showing Mrs Baker's late father, Arthur Napstone, milking a cow.
'I just thought it would be nice to sit on my patio and still have a garden view,' Mrs Baker explained. 'I let Jon decide on what he painted but the little details he has put in are incredible. There are butterflies, deer, a robin on top of one fence post and a wren on the other.'
The pensioner said the new artwork reminds her of 'the view across to the Mendips which you see from the end of the road.' The latest mural took five days to complete, while the first painting of her father took around six days.
Community Joy and Future Plans
The mural has become a local attraction, drawing numerous compliments from passers-by. 'I've had lots of people come to look and they have even offered me donations,' Mrs Baker said. 'But knowing it's given people a bit of pleasure is good enough for me.'
Both murals cost £2,000, which Mrs Baker considers 'well worth it'. She can now 'sit out with a cup of coffee and enjoy looking at my garden on the wall.'
The artist, 61-year-old Jon Minshull, has painted thousands of murals around the UK and the US, typically featuring nature and wildlife themes. 'Because she's got such a small garden area she just wanted a nice garden and a nice view,' he explained. 'It was wonderful to see her face when it was completed. To bring happiness to people is why I do what I do.'
Mrs Baker's family includes two children, 71-year-old Maureen Huxtable and son David, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Her next task is practical rather than artistic - replacing the fence around her patio after it blew down in a recent storm.
