The owners of a six-acre water garden in Norfolk say they are retiring and closing to the public.
Gooderstone Water Gardens, near Swaffham, has been open for 50 years.
Coral and Ernest Hoyos said, for them, their garden was paradise but the upkeep and paperwork was becoming too much.
They couple, who are both in their 80s, said despite repeated efforts they had not found an organisation willing to take on the site and it would close to the public in April.
Hundreds of people have shared memories of visiting the garden on social media after its closure was announced [Gooderstone Water Gardens]
The garden was created in 1970 by farmer Billy Knights, Coral’s father, who had found the land too wet to graze cattle on.
After his death, the site was unattended for five years before Coral and Ernest decided to restore it and reopen to visitors.
The beauty spot has attracted about 16,000 visitors a year in recent times.
When news of the closure was announced on social media, hundreds of people shared their experiences of visiting and of their sadness that it would not be staying open.
Coral said: “I’ve thought about it every day; I’ve gone to bed thinking about it; I’ve got up thinking about it.
“It’s been wonderful, but I don’t consider myself a gardener or a horticulturalist.
“I haven’t got any particular skills in that way in gardening, nor had my father actually.
“I just try and create beautiful vistas and I did a bit of painting before I had a garden — I’ve been painting with plants these last 25 years, really.”
Ernest said they have spent two years trying to find an organisation willing to take on the upkeep of the gardens.
“There’s been a great deal of interest, but at the end of the day none of them could come up with help,” he said.
The family planned to keep the garden and let it return to nature, encouraging wading birds and kingfishers which frequently can be seen at Gooderstone.
The site has been popular with walkers, artists and photographers and comments online also show that it has been used by the community to celebrate birthdays and weddings.
Visit Norfolk said it was a “a sad yet incredibly proud moment” for Coral and Ernest to reflect on what they had created.
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