Amazing Transformation: This Jungle Paradise Won Channel 4’s Garden Of The Year In 2022

Nestled in the heart of a residential area in the West Midlands, Annemarie and Andrew Swift have transformed their small backyard into a jungle paradise.

This tranquil garden was a finalist on Channel 4’s Garden of the Year in 2022, and it’s easy to see why.

With collections of ferns, hostas, and ivy growing amongst rare and unusual plants, join the Swifts as they take us on a must-see tour around their garden.

The Garden Transformation

“Andrew arrived here in 2008, but I’ve been here since 1997,” Annemarie shares.

“The garden was quite normal and had just conifers up either side of a lawn. When Andrew arrived, we decided to do more in the garden by introducing some water.”

“We did the pond the first year and put a few trees in down the bottom,” Andrew continues.

“As the years have gone by, we’ve expanded up the garden and done around a project a year.”

“Everything that you see, we’ve done it all ourselves on a budget,” says Annemarie.

“We’ve used upcycled materials or bought them and made things, we’ve not bought a thing off the shelf.”

Plant Collections

“I love tropical plants, anything with big, green leaves is a favourite of mine,” says Andrew.

“I love ferns and hostas, which suit this garden,” adds Annemarie.

“We’ve had to design the garden around your plant likes and mine, but we’ve had to work around the tropicals as they are the most demanding and tend to be the biggest!

“We’ve been collecting plants for a long time, in particular, hostas and ferns.

“We’ve probably got about 70 different sorts of hostas and approaching 250 different ferns.

“There’s so many plants in a small space that you just can’t see them the first time you walk around!”

Gardening In A Smaller Space

“Planting big makes the garden look bigger, even though it might sound counterintuitive!” Annemarie jokes.

“The canopy of the trees is always rising in our garden, so we’ll keep planting underneath them, even if the plantings change.”

“Yeah, in a smaller garden, you’ve got to have the height with the big plants, and then you have a middle planting area and then under that you can have lower planting,” adds Andrew.

“Planting taller plants actually gives you more space to work with. The garden might only be small, but if you use the space correctly, it can still look amazing.”

Visiting 50 Shades Of Green

“When some people visit, they come in and then they go back out again and then go around a different way,” says Annemarie.

“There’s so much to see and a lot you can miss the first time around!”

If you want to visit this exotic garden for yourself, head over to the NGS website to discover all you need to know about the garden’s upcoming open days.