Couple Transform Their Garden Into An Incredible Tropical Paradise

From the outside, you'd never guess that this semi detached home hides an incredible secret.

Stepping through Annmarie and Andrew Swift's home into the back garden you'll instantly feel as if you've entered a tropical paradise.

The couple from Walsall in the West Midlands have spent the last 12 years transforming their garden into their very own Eden, filling it with tropical plants.

The space started out as a boggy lawn but is now packed with a plants of every kind and even a waterfall and mini spa.

Annmarie, 57 and Andrew, 60, originally wanted to create a Japanese-style garden but their plans went off track when they began adding all kinds of exotic flora.

The 15m x 11m garden includes a large pond and a smaller pond connected by a stream and finished with a waterfall.

Plants-wise, there are 50 trees and plenty of unusual plants including ferns, bamboos, bananas and yuccas. There's even a hydrotherapy tub!

The whole project has costed the couple up to £10,000.

"When we first moved into the house 12 years ago, it was just a typical garden with a lawn and a few plants around," said Andrew, a fire safety engineer.

"The first thing we decided was that we wanted a pond - and we put one at the bottom of the garden on its own.

"It escalated from there and we decided we wanted a bigger pond.

"Gradually we realised we wanted a Japanese style garden but we got carried away and we kept adding lots of different things.

"We have a waterfall, lots of unusual plants, we like anything tropical.

"We finally got it to where we wanted it.

"It took us years because everything that has to do with gardening is usually expensive.

"We have about 50 trees, a huge collection of ferns, a big pond connected by a stream to a smaller pond with a waterfall.

"It's our own special corner, we spend a lot of time in the garden, it's beautiful.

"There is a lot of wildlife, we get all sorts of birds, moths and frogs - it's because of the water. "

He added: "Annmarie and myself do everything together, we designed it together, everything we did as a pair but I must admit my wife is the main gardener.

"We get so many nice comments from friends and neighbours."

If we had a garden like this, we doubt we'd ever leave home!

Featured Image Credit: Caters

Topics: Life News, Life, Garden

Ciara Sheppard

Ciara is a freelance writer working for Tyla. After graduating with an English Lit and Media degree from the University of Sussex, Ciara held jobs at GLAMOUR and Yahoo Style before packing up for a solo travelling trip around South America.

@ciarasheppard