Husband Plants 6,000 Trees To Honor Deceased Wife, 15 Years Later Photos Reveal His True Motive

Seventeen years after losing his wife Janet, farmer Howard Howes created a breathtaking tribute: a six-acre woodland with a heart-shaped meadow at its center. The tip of the heart points directly toward Janet’s childhood home.

The hidden design came to light when Andy Collett, a 42-year-old hot air balloonist, spotted it from above and photographed the stunning view.

Howes, now 70, explained that the idea came to him shortly after Janet’s passing. He planted thousands of oak saplings around the field, leaving the meadow in the shape of a heart. Later, he added a seat in the clearing, positioned to overlook Wotton Hill, where Janet grew up.

“I often sit there to reflect,” he said. “It’s a peaceful, lasting tribute that will remain for generations.” The couple had married in 1962, but Janet died in 1995 from heart failure at just 50 years old.

The heart is hidden within Howes’ 112-acre farm near Wickwar, Gloucestershire, and can only be reached by a narrow track leading to its tip. Oak trees outline the shape, with hedges for definition. Each spring, daffodils bloom within the meadow, adding even more beauty.

Howes said he even flew over the site himself once, marveling at the result of his labor of love. “It looks wonderful from the sky,” he shared.

Balloonist Collett, who first revealed the heart, called it the most incredible sight he had ever witnessed in flight. “You can just imagine the love story behind it,” he said