A HUSBAND and wife team of gardeners received a small gift from the Rose of Tralee Festival on Wednesday to mark their upcoming retirement.

Brendan and Lorna Enright, who live in Causeway, have been tending to the Rose Garden in the town park since it was created in 1986 but Brendan had been working in the park before that.

“I’m 40 years here and Lorna has worked for 33 years. I started working on the gardens on August 3, 1978 so I’ve seen a lot of changes over the years,” he said.

It’s been a labour of love for the couple who have made sure the garden has been looking stunning over the years.

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“We’ve made many, many friends here and met so many people from other countries and talked about what they do with their own gardens. The years have flown by,” said Brendan.

While Brendan and Lorna were supposed to retire three weeks ago, they have been persuaded to stay on for a few more months due to a delay in getting new staff to take up their work. When they do retire, they won’t be idle though.

“We’d like to do a little travelling, to do things we couldn’t fit in when we were busy because we’d be working throughout the summers. I’d like to take up more reading and I’ve a great interest in cooking and we’ll catch up with friends. Also, we’ve a large garden at home that’ll keep me busy,” said Brendan.

The flowers in the garden were looking stunning earlier this summer, but were a little scarce on Wednesday. That will change dramatically in the next fortnight though said Brendan.

“It bloomed early but we’re missing out on the second bloom by about 10 to 14 days, so if you come back in two weeks this garden will be in full bloom. Every September is A1 and we get roses until about November,” he said.