Snowdrops in the Courtyard Garden
The Gardens are waking up again with the approach of the new season. People keep these Gardens going, there are so many who share their time, knowledge and support with us and so it is with sadness we learned of the passing of Joyce Rimmer, a much-loved supporter of Martineau Gardens for many years.
Caroline Hutton (former Director of Martineau Gardens) said:
Joyce provided us with the beginning of how to communicate with funders and supporters about what Martineau Gardens did with our volunteers. It was radical and authentic. She spent time with the volunteers, watched how the staff behaved and listened to what the volunteers said. She wrote in a professional, yet immediate way which shared the quality of what was happening. There were no forms, no attempt to struggle through the difficulties of how words mean different things depending on the context, your tone or accent. We sent the report to funders for as meany years as we could.
The history of Martineau Gardens is peppered with people who used their intelligence, skills and empathy for the benefit of the land and the people connected with it. Thank you Joyce.
Stewart Holmes (Therapeutic Horticulturalist for Martineau Gardens) said:
‘One of the most gentle people I’ve ever met, gentle but quietly knowledgeable – she knew what was going on, she knew how this place worked, she was very intuitive about what happened here and understood the value of what we did’
Obituary
Published in March 2020 in The Guardian, is an obituary to Joyce Rimmer, written by Rachel Baird. Click here to read this in full: