Merry-Garden and Other Stories

Beside the winding Lynher River lies Merry‑Garden, a roofless cottage hemmed in by overgrown cherry‑orchards that press the mud walls toward the tide. In spring the hedges burst with narcissus and columbine, while autumn offers a shy apple called the gillyflower and a gentle melancholy that seems to echo forgotten laughter. The narrator visits twice a year, drawn by the ghost of a once‑prosperous parish whose fruit and flowers once fed nearby villas and naval parties, now left to the wild and the memory of an old tenant who rents the whole place for a modest sum.

Through the tenant’s recollections we meet Aunt Barbree Furnace, a widow who held Merry‑Garden on a three‑life lease that feels as old‑fashioned as the crumbling walls. Her story, told in the tenant’s vivid, slightly wry voice, invites listeners into a world where tradition, loss, and the stubborn beauty of an abandoned garden intertwine, promising a quiet, reflective journey into rural Cornwall’s fading past.