Sally Razelou
Early life
Sally was born in the tropical monsoons of Burma (modern day Myanmar) in 1931. She spent the first few years of her life in Burma, with her father Wev Abraham and her mother Susan Jean Bidwell. At age 7, Burma became unsafe due to the war of The Burma Campaign, and Sally moved back to Kansas, where her mother Susan was from.
Her later education consisted of graduation from Cheltenham Ladies College, and in 1954, a history and political science degree from Trinity College of Dublin. Prior to graduation, Sally married her first husband, Peter Jury with whom she had two daughters. In 1967, Sally and her husband Peter acquired their first home in Ireland, with a 2-acre garden in need of dire gardening assistance. This is where Sallys love for gardening blossomed. Away from Ireland, Sally bought a house in Greece, on the island of Syros in 1971. A few years later, in 1974, she remarried to Nikos Razelou and fully settled in Greece.
Sparoza
Sally made it to Sparoza in 1992. It was previously founded by Jacky Tyrwhitt in the mid 1960s as a drought tolerant garden, with mainly Greek native plants, but also additional indigenous mediterranean flora. Jacky passed away in February of 1983, leaving the Sparoza garden to the Goulandris National History Museum for the preservation of the flora Attica.[1][2]
Sally arrived to Sparoza as a Goulandris tenant and was set to rejuvenate the garden.[2] Over her time at Sparoza, Sally restored the gardens health despite the harsh mediterranean climate. Working with regular volunteers, paths were created, trees were planted, native plants were prioritized, and the durability of these plants were experimented with, given very limited water, to thrive in the humid and dry climate.[1]
The main principles of Sparoza are to be all natural, water wise, and focus on the plants prospering future. To be all natural, there is no use of pesticides or fertilizers. Water wise is a term used for very sparing watering practices, and had been essential for Sally's care in this garden, growing this vegetation to be durable against the climate.[1]
Accomplishments
In 1994, the Mediterranean Garden Society (MSG) was founded, with Derek Toms and Caroline Harbouri alongside Sally Razelou. Sally became the first president of the MSG while Sparoza was its headquarters. The mission of this society has been to unite gradeners in dry, summer, climates either in the mediterranean or similar to it. [2][1]
Later Life
Sally passed away in March of 2021, at the age of 90. Lucie Willan, Sparozas garden assistant had looked after the garden since.[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Sally Razelou, 1931-2021". www.mediterraneangardensociety.org. Retrieved 2026-04-07.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Manager, Site (2024-04-04). "SPAROZA GARDEN - PROPERTY OF THE GOULANDRIS NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM". National Museum of Natural History Goulandris. Retrieved 2026-04-07.
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