The English Lady

Always a garden, never a yard, no matter what size one's corner of the world.

"You must call your piece of earth a garden," said Maureen Haseley-Jones, a renowned landscape designer and constant gardener. "A garden is life, movement, growth, and fragrance. A yard is like Scotland Yard; dull and inanimate."

Better known as the English Lady, Haseley-Jones spoke to more than 100 people Monday afternoon at the Wilton Library. The Wilton Garden Club co-sponsored the event, called "Garden Earth." Her lecture aims to bring people closer to Mother Nature.

"I began my mission to heal the planet that's been so neglected. Our garden is one of the few places in life that we have control over," she said. "Once you've formed a relationship with your plants, you'll feel more grounded and anchored."

Haseley-Jones lectures, writes, and hosts a monthly gardening show on WRCH Radio Lite 100.5 FM. Born in Shropshire, England, she now lives in Essex, Conn. She and her son Ian Sveilich run their landscaping business aptly named The English Lady Landscape and Home.

"She's got such an interesting past," said Sally Gemmell, program director of the Wilton Library. "She comes from a renowned horticultural family that dates back to the seventeenth century."

Starting in 1648 her family were tenants at Powys Castle in Wales. They worked the landscape for the Herbert family who were in residence.

Under the tutelage of the architect William Winde, her ancestors refined their craft. Winde designed the terrace gardens in the style of Renaissance Italy's landscapes. Today many landscape experts consider Powys Castle the best example of seventeenth century gardens in Britain.

"I learned design from my mother and grandmother," Haseley-Jones said. "It was World War Two, and the gardens were all turned to vegetable gardens to feed the village and the army. I remember waddling along at the age of two with mittens sticking out of my coat. I remember taking those diamond-like new potatoes from the ground."

Stories like that seeded her talk. She also used a lot of wit and warmth to encourage gardeners.  Most importantly, to create a beautiful, flourishing garden, one must do it organically, said Haseley-Jones.

"My favorite thing in life, a wonderful by-product, is manure," Haseley-Jones said. "People in the supermarket will come up to me and say 'Manure is like a fine wine, it gets better with age. Just like the English Lady.' And I say, 'Yes, it does.'"

The English Lady extolled manure's virtues, telling the room how it keeps down weeds, helps build soil, and locks in moisture.

The New York Times once wrote that: "one of life's most unexpected experiences is discussing manure with an English Baroness…"

Apparently the Baroness's father and stepmother heed that advice. Just last week Haseley-Jones' 99-year-old father was busy spreading the fertilizer in his own English garden.

Haseley-Jones gave several organic tips to help make a garden grow. From advice on how to slaughter slugs (lure them into yogurt filled traps) to building toad houses.

"We've all got a cracked pot in our house, and I don't mean your mother-in-law," Haseley-Jones said. 

An old, cracked flowerpot, turned upside down makes the perfect dwelling for a toad, she said. Toads eat about 200 bad bugs a night, including ticks and mosquitoes.

Aside from gardening, Haseley-Jones earned an honors degree from the London Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She once understudied the actress Angela Lansbury on stage.  She also qualified to race on a Formula One team in Europe, and raced a Lotus in the Monte Carlo rally.

But it's flowers, vegetables, and dirt that lift her spirits. For her, paradise is working the soil and turning on a hose at the end of a day.

"I anticipate that watering like the dessert at the end of a meal," Haseley-Jones said. "As I nurture the earth I feel that nurturing coming back."