Mary Berry's moving confession on the 'great comfort' she found in her garden after the loss of her son
"Gardens are very special to me because it is a time to reflect"
Dame Mary Berry might have become a national treasure thanks to her work in the kitchen, but it’s in a garden where she finds peace and comfort.
The former Bake Off legend spoke with BBC Sounds about the important role gardens have played in her life, not least in helping her find comfort and perspective following the tragic death of her son, William, in 1989.
Mary shared, "If you've had a tragedy as we did, we lost our son, and that was when the garden was of great comfort. William died many years ago, but it was the garden and the outside that we found very restful and at peace."
Movingly, Mary added that she was able to gain some perspective after having the time to sit in the garden and think, overcoming what many might find to be an impossible load of grief, and still be able to count the blessings she did have.
She explained that the garden "gave you time to think and say that we were fortunate in many other ways… We've been blessed in so many other ways and we always look back and think we were so lucky to have him.
"He was a lovely child and at 19 he went, but we still had two other children and they are wonderful to us."
Dame Mary released her first gardening book at the start of 2026, and while they proved vital in helping her cope with loss, they’ve been a place of importance to her for most of her life.
She previously told the RHS, "Gardening has been a constant throughout my life…. I have no training and a blank spot for the Latin names, but I have a passion for the great outdoors and the joy a garden gives.
"I’ve learned a lot from a lifetime of doing it. When I’ve been away, the first thing I do when I come home is go straight out there with my dogs Freddie and Darcey to do a bit of deadheading."
Speaking with BBC Sounds, she touched on this more, "My love for gardening really started when I was very young. Gardens are very special to me because it is a time to reflect. When you come back from a difficult situation… I open the door, get out in the fresh air, and it's amazing how you feel so much better."
Singling out some of her favourite things about gardens, Mary loves the noises. "The garden is peaceful. The noises that we hear in our garden are just the birds and perhaps an odd dog barking, but it's so restful."
