My Mum, Elaine, lived in our family home for 25 years. A year before her sudden passing she gave up that home to me, so that Joe & I could raise a family.

It was the most selfless thing she has ever done.

Elaine especially loved her garden.

As a child, she would play outside with me & show me how to grow potatoes & strawberries.

When the honeysuckle bloomed, she would take in the smell & say "how amazing is that!"... Her voice ingrained my memory to play back like an old recording.

Our garden was a place where memories where made.

A passionate dancer, she would dance outside in the sunshine & teach her friends how to dance there too.

She had unusual talents & liked to dance with fire, lighting the garden at night with a warm glow, I remember watching her dance, transfixed. Hypnotised by the flames. I can playback the stills when I close my eyes & imagine the animation as it plays back piece by piece. Lost in time.

We had a bond that will never be broken, I would think of her & my phone would ring. How many days have I waited for a call?..

When I play with my daughter in the garden I never feel alone.

When a new flower blooms, I wish she was here to take in its beauty.

Over the years my mum could no longer maintain her beautiful garden. It became over grown, a place she could no longer enjoy, a burden.

I would love nothing more than to scatter her ashes on the 19th of September, her 55th Birthday. In a beautiful garden in her memory.

For the last two years I have lost blood, sweat & tears trying to restore her garden to its former glory but I am now running out of time. If any of our friends & family would like to contribute to creating a memorial garden for Elaine, I would be forever grateful.

I would like a decking (dancing) area along with a pergola to grow honeysuckle & hang a swing. Warm outdoor lighting will imitate the glow of fire, a place for others to enjoy & for my amazing mum to rest where she belongs.