Elton's house of peace
Elton has found solace in his magical country house filled
with flowers...and love.
It was a cool English summer morning as Elton John talked
about his love of flowers at Woodside, his country home near Windsor. The smell of newly mown lawns and scented honeysuckle
hung in the air. Groups of flowers cut elegant arabesques of pattern, giving warmth and color to the house. Their heady
scent filled each room.
For Elton, flowers symbolize the soothing rhythms of nature.
"I really care about the seasons and watching things grow. In the house where I was born, we had a beautiful garden
and always a mass of flowers in the house."
Woodside now expresses his most fundamental idea of home.
"I love coming back to England, to this house. It gives me a sense of peace. When I go on tour people often say,
'How can you bear to leave Woodside?' I tell them that the only way I can is knowing I can come back to it. When I do,
I see the garden changing - there's always something magical happening."
Bought in 1975, Woodside is a three-story Queen Anne style
house on the outskirts of the village of Old Windsor, surrounded by the rolling countryside in which deer, dogs and a donkey,
plus the odd pheasant, roam. Parts of the house date back to the 16th century, when it was King Henry VIII's physician's
dwelling.
"The very first thing I do when I come back to Woodside after
being away so long is to walk through the front hall, all the way to the back door, have a look at the flowers and then walk
all the way back through the house admiring them."
"I like both bright and subtle colors in flowers. Sometimes
you can walk into the house and see something so vivid it's quite stunning. Then other arrangements are muted and pastel."
"I am a home-loving person and I feel now that this house
is full of love. It used to be a party house. I changed it completely. I wanted a house that was comfortable,
where people could come and stay, that was full of love and peace. That is what this house is all about."
On summer evenings, the French doors to the stone-paved terrace
are thrown open to catch the scent of full-blown roses and jasmine. "I hate going to parties. My favorite is to have
12 people to lunch or dinner, then you can talk."
