Four Seasons Garden's photostream  

Thank you for looking at our Flickr site. Welcome to all our visitors! We are aware that very many of you may not be Flickr members. We really hope you will share some of the enjoyment, drama and fun we have had in creating our garden and photographing it throughout the seasons

In addition to Flickr we also have a web site www.fourseasonsgarden.co.uk.


Our ‘Four Seasons’ Garden

We are Marie and Tony but probably we should be called gardening maniacs! We married in the 1970s and since then have always shared a passion for gardening. In 1982 we moved to our present family home in Walsall, in the West Midlands, England, where we brought up our four children. Until we retired in October 2009 we had busy jobs: Marie was a transport planner and Tony was a doctor in General Practice. We named the garden we created ‘Four Seasons’.

In 2007 we were amazed that our garden was awarded first place, out of two thousand entrants, in the Daily Mail National Garden Competition. BBC Gardeners' World Television filmed our garden during all four seasons and broadcast a half-hour television feature in February 2010. In August 2010 we again were again quite stunned and delighted to be awarded first place in the "Overall Gardener of the Year" category of the UK Garden News Competition.

In 2008 we became members of the ngs (National Garden Scheme). During the last 5 years we have welcomed more than 8,000 visitors to our garden open days and we are sincerely grateful to them for raising over £24,500 for our named charities, with by far the largest share going to the ngs.

We wanted to create a garden to be used by the family and to be exciting in all four seasons. We totally re-landscaped and re-planted our garden without outside help and most of the work has been done since 1992. We have planted all but two of all the plants in our garden. We won the battle with weeds, laid a network of York stone paths, built a chalet store, summer house, large wooden oriental pagoda, smaller pagoda and created three water features, including a cascading 17 metre stream.

In planting, we especially contrast bold shapes and forms and the colours red, blue and yellow. In particular we use bright and bold evergreens as a backdrop for flowers. A jungle has been created, including ferns, palms, bamboos and banana plants. We find that timely pruning is the key to maintaining our garden.

In early spring, flowers include tete a tete daffodils, primulae and camellias and this is followed in April by erythroniums, tulips, pansies and scilla. In May there is a stunning array of azaleas together with the new growth of acers and conifers. Other May flowers include anemone blande and muscari. Colour continues in June with foxgloves, aliums, poppies and lilies of various sorts.

In summer the acers and conifers provide the backdrop to display the riot of colour in the upper garden from flowers including pelargonium, begonias and bedding plants. The perennials in the lower garden include astors, leucanthemum, agapanthus, crocosmia, thalictrum, helenium and phlox. The jungle becomes more exciting in summer. and children and adults love the mist and tropical bird sounds.

Autumn starts with the rich red colour of the Virginia creeper. This is quickly followed by the intense colour changes especially in the acers and azaleas. By late autumn the Japanese acer leaves have become become vibrant with scarlet and gold colours and they serve as “autumn flowers”.

In winter, we use the colour red in the form of photinia, the red oriental ornaments and the red acer Senkaki stems and contrast these against the blue and yellow conifers and bright yellow hollies. Lighting in the trees creates a magical atmosphere, especially when plants are draped in snow. Winter flowers surge through in February with snow drops, crocus, aconites, cyclamen, hellebores and early camellias. The colour white is accentuated by the multi-stemmed Betula Jaquemontii. Other tree barks, including acer griseum, snake bark maples and serrula, give winter interest.


For our address and map showing how to find us, please see our website www.fourseasonsgarden.co.uk.

This is a private garden which is open to the public:

Charity Open days in 2012:

Late Spring: acers, azaleas, conifers, jungle
May 12 Saturday (10 - 5pm) (National Garden Scheme)
May 13 Sunday (10 - 5pm) (National Garden Scheme)

May 19 Saturday (10 - 5pm) (National Garden Scheme)
May 20 Sunday (10 - 5pm) (National Garden Scheme)

Autumn: Autumn foliage colours especially acers, conifers, jungle.
October 20 Saturday (10 - 5pm)
October 21 Sunday (10 - 5pm)


Admission £3, children free
Tea and biscuits extra
Note: There are some steps. Toilet at garden level.