ROLL UP FOR THE HANGING GARDENS OF WOLVERHAMPTON
WHEN they moved into their home the garden was just a patch of lawn and a few straggly conifers. But Anne and Brian Bailey could see another world – of winding paths, flower gardens and secret buildings.
And now, 28 years later, their vision has become a reality. Their modest backyard in suburban Wolverhampton has been transformed into a hidden wonder.
The 120ft-long garden, just a mile from the city centre, is divided into areas as separate as rooms in a house. This means you can’t see it all at once – which is why it is known as the Garden of Surprises.
Mrs Bailey, 69, and her husband, 66, have planted thousands of flowers, shrubs and trees over the years. And whenever they found a spot where nothing would grow, a folly, pergola or summerhouse would spring up instead. They also added a Japanese tea house, and a grotto in a former air raid shelter.
After moving in in 1990, the couple started by planting simple borders and cutting back the conifers. ‘Things really gathered pace when we retired eight or nine years ago,’ Mrs Bailey said.
‘And the surprises got more and more surprising. We wanted to create a garden that has something unexpected around each corner and we seem to have done that.’ First came the lines of
potted plants and hanging baskets, and then the quaint garden buildings.
The couple water the garden using a hose system and large tanks that collect rain water. But Mrs Bailey admitted they still put in hours of pruning and deadheading each day. ‘We are such plantaholics that the beds are stuffed with plants, so there is no room for weeds, but we have to do a lot of refereeing, to save the shyer plants from the bullies,’ she said.
The garden is open to the public through the charitable National Open Garden Scheme and can be visited by arrangement with the Baileys from June to the end of August.