Stowupland: Couple's open garden on display for the last time

A couple who have opened their garden to the public for 26 years are doing it for the last time on Sunday.

Rita and Roy Cooper from Stowupland, Suffolk, who are both in their 80s, have supported local charities by sharing their passion for gardening.

This year the St Elizabeth Hospice in Ipswich will benefit, but Mr Cooper said he "just can't do it [anymore]".

"I wish I could - mind you, come next year, if I'm still ticking, I might change my mind," he said.

The Coopers, who have been married for 66 years, started work on the garden just after they moved in when the only thing on the land was a Bramley apple tree.

"We've always liked gardens, we've always liked flowers, so we thought this was the place," Mrs Cooper said.

"I think we built the pond first and then built round that and gradually it got bigger and bigger."

As well as hundreds of species of flowers, the couple also have a treehouse, an aviary with canaries, greenhouses, a summerhouse and they grow blackberries for the birds.

Mr Cooper said they found that all the people who came to see the garden on their annual open day were "so friendly".

"They always ask me questions that I don't know [the answer to] because I don't know one flower from the other really," he said.

"I know the basic ones... but there's hundreds of plants in this garden and I just don't know [them all]."

He added that maintenance was sometimes "a struggle".

"A lady comes in once a fortnight for a couple of hours to do the weeding, because once I get down I can't get up again, but apart from that I manage," he said.

"Rather than sit indoors I'd rather get out here and try and do something and I think that's what keeps me going.

"But by dinner time I've had it; I have to have a little nap then."

The garden will be open between midday and 17:00 BST on Sunday, 2 July.

Follow East of England news on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Got a story? Email [email protected] or WhatsApp us on 0800 169 1830