Tony Spooner - IE

I was a garden apprentice at Oaklands Park from January 1991 to October 1993. I had previously visited a few different communities with the view of learning how to grow food and experience community life. I was eventually told that was I was looking for was to be found at Oaklands. 

My first impression of Tyll wasn’t so much the man himself, but the fruits of his vision and labour. The gardens at Oaklands were stunning and I instantly knew I wanted to be taught by the person who was responsible for them. I was very fortunate to be accepted as an apprentice. I knew nothing about gardening but I was keen to learn. The garden seemed vast and, at the beginning, I couldn’t see how I’d ever manage a productive garden. 

Tyll explained in his beautiful visual way that it was like the conjurer spinning plates. When you first start off you’re flying around the place to get things started, but eventually all plates are spinning, you can stand back, slow down and see the whole performance knowing which plates need attention. It all comes with time and experience. I was lucky enough to work side by side with Tyll who, at the time, was in the garden every day. It was a joy. 

His enthusiasm and energy was infectious, he always had a spring in his step and he breathed life into everything, whether it be turning a compost heap or, in a social setting, sitting down with us all at tea breaks. The apprenticeship suited me down to the ground learning mostly by having our hands in the soil. Monday mornings were the theoretical/philosophical part of the course. We were encouraged not to take notes but to gain an understanding through active thinking. I remember Tyll saying education was not filling the pail but lighting the fire. I’m sure he lit many fires. He was incredibly inspirational. 

Oaklands was unique and like nothing I’d experienced. It was the most inspirational, transformative time of my life. It shaped me and gave me the tools to grow as a human being. It gave me a deep appreciation of my fellow man, the land, and also the opportunity to look at myself and take personal responsibility. Tyll was a huge part of that. He not only taught us gardening, he also indirectly showed us how to teach. I hope over the years that followed I managed to light the fire in my own trainees as Tyll did with his. 

Finishing my apprenticeship and leaving Oaklands, I continued working in Camphill Communities setting up and developing gardens. I continued to do this up until a few years ago. I am now self-employed and tend other people’s gardens but spend most of the time in my own. Even now, 30 years later, the smell of certain plants transport me back to Oaklands where I smelt them for the first time. 

Tyll said it didn’t matter whether one continued gardening after the apprenticeship, that to experience a hands on love for the earth is a foundation for whatever one does in life. I’m lucky to have been working with nature ever since but I’m sure he was right. 

One Christmas he gave me a book on the wild flowers of Britain and Europe. On the inside cover he wrote: 

“The flowers of the earth do not grudge at one another, 

though one be more beautiful and fuller of virtue than another, 

but they stand kindly by one another, 

and enjoy one another’s virtue.”

Jakob Boehme 

This inscription has stayed in my heart. When I read it I can hear Tyll recite it and his spirit shines through. I’m privileged to have known and be taught by him and thankful for the profound influence he had on my life.  RIP beautiful man.