Loreta Hilliman-Sullivan is living her dream of transforming her huge yard space at Den Amstel, West Coast Demerara into an attractive garden, adorned with arches and pergolas and even though it is not yet complete it is still an eye-catcher.
Not wanting to enjoy the garden alone, Loreta allows people to stop by and do photo shoots for weddings and other occasions when they approach her.
Some would just stop by to admire it while others would make sure they have a good look while passing.
This has definitely made her feel a sense of accomplishment, having brought the previously unkempt yard to that stage.
She hopes to complete the project by March next year when she would go full swing into pitching marquee tents, adorned with fairy lights and festive decor to host garden weddings at a price.
Loreta started working towards developing the ‘William T Garden’ three years ago after giving up her successful landscaping and plant sale business in Barbados.
The former boutique owner used her self-taught gardening skills to create an alluring ambiance with the colourful flowers.
You would also be captivated by the high fragrance that surrounds the garden.
She has incorporated huge mango and other fruit trees into the garden, which she has aptly named after her father from whom she inherited the land with a Victorian-style house.
Loreta resided in Barbados for 35 years, 12 of which were spent in the landscaping and horticultural business.
As the demands for her plants grew in Barbados, so did her popularity as she was being featured on television and in newspapers.
At first she was not too thrilled about returning to Guyana because her children were living elsewhere.
But the thought of being able to provide the opportunity for people to have garden weddings got her excited.
“Seeing people get married in my garden is one of the most exciting things for me. Like my daughter got married in a garden, I got married in a garden so I know how exciting and picturesque it is…”
The wooden arch over the gate and plants lining both sides of the wooden rails, give a welcoming feeling.
So do the enchanting short white picket fences inside and outside of the yard as well the pergolas, the love seats and little metal tables and chairs that are nestled among the plants.
Kissing bridge
The garden is also expected to have added features including a kissing bridge and a fountain.
Her idea of adding the features was to “break up the space so we can have different areas in the garden because we had one big open space.”
Loreta’s husband, Michael Sullivan has been by her side throughout the project, telling this newspaper: “she is the planner and I’m the executioner.”
He would help with the gardening and has built the short fences while they have “carpenters coming in to build the other designs.”
He too is “excited and is anticipating the finished product. I know it would be grand for the West Coast.”
Gardening has been Loreta’s hobby since her childhood so she did not think twice when “I decided to make this place into a garden. I am going to do for this village what I know to do very well. You know I just wanted to beautify the place and this is how it all started.”
She said the arch was the first thing that attracted the people and recalled that the first person who approached her to take photos, was a woman from her village. “She told me she loved the arch and would love to take some pictures,” Loreta said. After that other people started coming and she could not say no.
“Guyana is such a beautiful place,” she said. “Look at flora and fauna, a lot of places in the Caribbean don’t have this… because of the salt air.”
Most of all, she is happy that she is able to add to the beauty. She said too, “We need more people to keep it (the country) beautiful. All it takes is a little effort and everyone can plant some flowers and take care of them.”
She said too: “In Barbados you have to work harder to get your plants beautiful. The salt is going through the land. We don’t have that here. We have the proper weather, the rainfall and the sun…”
Loreta observed: “People have the land but it is just wasted because they are just not interested in plants. They concrete their whole yard without realizing that they can plant a flower.”
She keeps the grass away from the yard without concreting it by covering it with a type of material called the “weed blocker.”
It can be removed at any time if she needs to use the ground space for planting.
With a love for exotic and unusual plants, she has imported some using her phytosanitary certificate and a licence she has obtained.
She also shares another tip she applies to her gardening and that is to add wood shavings. This, she said, helps to retain moisture and keeps grass away.
And among the luscious landscapes, Loreta has set aside some space “to grow food.”
Gardening involves a lot of time and dedication but Loreta takes pride in doing what she does best, knowing that there is no other way to live her dreams.