Dame Mary Berry has explained how she is being pragmatic about the future when it comes to designing her garden.
The former Great British Bake Off host, who turned 91 in March, is a keen gardener, and earlier this year published My Gardening Life, an account of her lifelong love of horticulture.
Speaking on the Grow, Cook, Eat, Arrange podcast, the cooking show star revealed that she has to take her advanced years into account when planning how best to use and enjoy the grounds of her riverside home in Henley-upon-Thames.
Berry told the hosts that she and her husband Paul, 93, chose to buy yew trees that were already “fairly big” rather than waiting for them to grow, as they might not be around to see them.
“Obviously you should buy evergreens like a yew, I suppose, about two foot high and wait,” she said.
“Well I’ll be in heaven then so we had to buy them fairly big,” she continued. I suppose they were about four foot because we needed them to get to the top of the tennis court netting.”
She also revealed that she and Paul wanted to install the tall trees “at the front of the house” for privacy reasons, “because people walking along outside could peer in and now, in six years, it’s well about six foot, which is a joy”.
The baking expert and her husband moved to Henley in 2019, downsizing to a Grade II listed property with four bedrooms, which is reportedly worth £2.6 million.
The couple previously lived at a six-bedroom residence in Penn, Buckinghamshire, where they were based for three decades. The property featured in Berry’s solo cooking show Mary Berry Cooks, with the kitchen Aga getting plenty of screen time.
Speaking of their decision to move to Henley, Berry previously explained: “We didn’t want to move too far from our friends, and Henley is only a 35 minute drive.”
“The town is beautiful, It has the river, and there are lots of interesting walks to do. As the years go, we will be able to walk into the town, and it will be nice to not have to get the car out.”