IN THE BEGINNING WERE THE GARDENS

Peter asked for gardeners

I came on a motorcycle from Blackpool with a friend in 1971; we were professional gardeners and Peter had asked us to come. It was said you had to buy your own caravan, as the community did not have the money for that, but the Soil Association had come here, found a Factor X at work in the garden and wanted to give a donation. Peter thought it was a good use of the donation to bring gardeners here, so the Soil Association funded our accommodation.

People lived a God-centred existence and I was quite blown away by what I found here. It had this amazingly strong element of co-creation with nature. ROC and Dorothy were so down to earth, so matter of fact about it. And this was a place of service — if you have something to give, give it.

Adam Powell