Man Plants 6,000 Trees To Honor Late Wife, His Secret Message Revealed 15 Years Later

Winston and Janet Howes had a relationship that most people could only dream of. It was love at first sight, and nothing could stop it. As the days of their relationship story passed, their love was becoming just stronger.

The couple married in 1962, moved into a quaint farm home in rural England and started working on building a family of their own. Shortly after moving to the wide open 112-acre fields of Wickwar, Gloucestershire, Janet gave birth to their son, and their life was truly a dream. Then the unthinkable happened.

Winston and Janet Howes had a beautiful love story. However, everything changed when Janet suffered from heart failure in 1995 when she was just 50 years old and drew her last breath. Although Winston didn’t know how to keep on living without his wife, he and his son did their best in healing themselves.

Winston wanted to have a place for him and his son to visit in Janet’s honor. Therefore, Winston started planting trees.

To honor Janet, Winston planted 6,000 oak trees in a field near their home. Winston’s touching tribute to his deceased wife remained a huge secret for years. Then, 15 years later, a hot air balloonist Andy Collett flew over the meadow.

Winston planted the trees meticulously around a six-acre field of grass to create a heart shape, with the design’s bottom tip pointing toward Janet’s childhood home in Wotton Hill.

Andy said:

“You can just imagine the love story. I have my own balloon and am quite a regular flyer, but this was the most amazing sight I have ever seen from the sky.”

“It is a lovely and lasting tribute to her which will be here for years,” Howes said. The idea came to him in a flash, he shared, and he thought it was brilliant.

Apart from the gorgeous heart-shaped meadow,  Howes said that daffodil blossoms bloom in the middle of the heart, which is truly just the perfect romantic touch to the tribute.