A Wolverhampton wonder

Behind the typical red-brick façade of a Victorian semi-detached house in Wolverhampton, there lies an extraordinary garden.
Owners Bob Parker and Greg Kowalczuk have created a work of art with their small, theatrical garden. It’s guaranteed to delight visitors, especially on candlelit open evenings, when the garden is lit up with over 1,000 tea lights.  
The small garden is a typical long, thin town garden in shape. But nothing else is ordinary about the Magic Garden, and it far exceeds its description in the National Garden Scheme (NGS) Yellow Book as a ‘magical Aladdin’s cave, full of the unexpected’.

From small beginnings
Bob and Greg bought the house in 1980. It was in a dilapidated state,  they were attracted by the 2.4m (8ft) high wall around one side of the garden which made the space seem more secluded than it actually was.
The council had planted trees at the back of the garden, creating a borrowed landscape and hiding apartment blocks directly behind.
Most of the colour is provided by structural elements, such as pathways and fences, rather than the plants themselves, which are overwhelmingly green, although hanging baskets around the back door contain a mix of delicious ‘Yellow Tumbling Tom’ tomatoes and blue lobelia for a fantastic colour contrast. Clematis also grows well in the garden, and the tall lilies are kept healthy with a dose of Miracle-Gro every few weeks, and fish blood and bone in spring.
But it is Bob’s eye for design that makes the garden so spectacular with texture and foliage shape taking centre stage while his sculptures give added interest.

Basic structure
The high walls and long gravel path provide the basic structure of the garden. The path changes colour and texture as it stretches through the garden.
Height is created with passion flowers, hydrangea and clematis.
Junk shop finds are displayed in hidden nooks and crannies or alongside sculptures.
One of the most spectacular pieces is the Poseidon Fountain, flanked by tridents, and created by Bob to represent the mythological Greek god of the sea. This shell and stone ornamented sculpture includes lobsters, jellyfish, crabs and electric eels – all are worth a closer inspection to see all of the intricate detail. This design is mirrored by nearby spirals of shells underfoot, and a grotto decorated with silver painted shells.

Serendipity
Further down the garden, there is an ancient-looking grotto, whose pump steadily drips water over fern-covered stones. It is half enclosed by 18th century Moroccan doors, which were discovered in a local salesroom. These doors need three coats of teak oil every year to keep them in great condition outside.
The couple are always in search of new items for the garden.
One such find was the collection of small terracotta pots that hang alongside the shell-lined walls of the grotto. A garden centre was selling them off cheaply – “Probably because no-one could think what to do with them!” Bob planted them up with sempervivums and sedums, then hung them in tiers to decorate bare patches in the garden.
There are magnificent displays from grasses in urns. Bob created layers of grasses by putting a hanging basket in the pot, with a cane through the middle. This is then covered with green garden material, and the layers of grasses built up with the central cane holding them together.
Nearby are collections of beer casks, while plant pots contain Bob’s mother’s shell collection. 

Sculptures
Because their cat chased any birds away from a dovecot, Bob created a sculpture of white doves flying out of the dovecot instead – they look vividly white against the blue skyline. There is also a sculpted lily pad next to the pond, with a ceramic dragonfly, frog, and snail sunning themselves on the surface. And there is a silver and blue clock, built by Bob, which has words of a W H Davies poem written around the edges.
Not all the art pieces are Bob’s creations. During the years that he worked at the local school, he collected pieces of pottery made by the children. “Many pieces were not claimed by the children at the end of the term or were cracked in the kiln,” says Bob. “I thought they were interesting and collected them to use in the garden.”
These glazed clay faces, some partially covered by moss, line the edges of borders. Each one is distinctive and unique.

Lighting up the night
The garden looks great during the day, but for another aspect, the garden should be visited in the evening when the candles flicker and lanterns glow? Bob and Greg arrange several popular opening evenings each year. There are cakes, canapés and glasses of wine and everyone wears evening dress while music plays. 
Preparing for the evening openings is a huge undertaking. There are currently more than 1,000 lights that need setting up for each event – including icicles, low voltage lamps and night lights. There are even six chandeliers with long-lasting, rechargeable lights. It takes around two and a half hours to set everything up.
The garden was first opened for the NGS in around 2001. The BBC included the garden in a series on small gardens. Gay Search interviewed them and asked whether they had ever thought of opening for the NGS, something they had never heard of. After the initial trial year, they opened officially from 2004. Bob and Greg raise money for the NGS, but give all food and drink proceeds to the Pet Animal Welfare Society (PAWS).

Gardening for wildlife
Greg and Bob try to garden with wildlife in mind, avoiding chemicals and applying nematodes every six weeks to keep their hostas slug-free. This is particularly important, because there are 160 hostas, some bought in sales for as little as 50p each. The couple spend £80 a year on nematode treatments, but believe it is a worthwhile investment.
A moth box is lit up by solar power. Moths are attracted by a sponge soaked with sugar solution. There are also plenty of bird boxes around the garden, but these are rarely used by the birds they are intended for! For example, this year a family of blue tits have taken over the sparrow box.
The couple’s latest project has been the front garden, which was revamped just over a year ago. It originally included a huge leylandii hedge, which got badly affected by cypress aphid and looked terrible, so they pulled it down. Bob made and designed the new fence himself, and painted it black and silver. Hostas and lilies look exceptional striped in rows. 
The Magic Garden is a piece of art, designed to transport visitors
to another world during their all-too-brief visits. Why not see
for yourself?

Visiting information
The Magic Garden, 43 Broad Lane, Bradmore, Wolverhampton WV3 9BW
Tel. 01902 332228
Admission £3, children free.
Open in 2010: Saturday 22 May, Sunday 20 June, Saturday
10 July, all 1.30-5.30pm.
Saturday 7 and 21 August, 7.30-10.30pm. Also by appointment.