It’s no good asking Tony Shepherd and Tracey Bermingham if they’ve caught the latest hit TV series or newest film release, because every single moment they’re not at work is spent outside in the garden.
And who could blame them? The couple’s expansive garden on Stafford Road in Eccles is a welcoming oasis from the busy world outside. Enclosed by historic oak trees, the garden is bursting with all kinds of tropical plants from large gunneras and hardy bananas to a varied collection of bamboos. ‘We have a lot of what you might consider ‘jungle’ plants,’ says Tony, ‘but I wouldn’t call it a tropical garden.
‘I don’t really like to label it because it feels as though you have to stick to a theme. We have a real mixture of plants and it’s just a combination of what we like and what works well in the space.
‘Tracey grows quite a lot of veg and we get just as much pleasure out of that, as we do the more unusual plants around the garden.’
When Tracey first moved into the semi-detached Victorian house, before she and Tony got together some years later, the garden was strikingly different. ‘The edges of the garden were banked and sloped down to a distinct rectangle in the middle’ she explains, ‘it was obvious it had been used as a Victorian tennis court and I actually dug up some of the posts when I started working on the garden.’
Now, the edges of the garden have been built into raised beds that run almost the full length of the lawn at the back of the house, with islands of rectangular raised beds adding more interest and creating shaded walkways between.
Much like people enjoy different rooms in the house at different times of day, Tony and Tracey have created different areas to enjoy around the garden; the perfect morning coffee spot on the patio by the conservatory, the swing seat hanging in the ideal shady spot out of the afternoon heat, and the outdoor sofa area at the bottom of the garden to enjoy the last of the evening sun.
They are also part way through building a wooden gazebo which will allow them to sit out and soak up the garden views even when it rains.
This year is the first time the couple have opened their unique garden to visitors via the National Open Garden Scheme. ‘It’s not a typical show garden’ smiles Tony. ‘It’s not perfectly uniform or manicured, it’s very practical and well used. We have grandchildren that love to play on the lawn, as well as two dogs and a coop full of chickens.
‘But we have a lot of interesting plants and we love to share ideas and chat to people about gardens, so we thought – why not? All the money from tickets goes to the valuable charities supported by NGS and proceeds from selling plants and refreshments supports Liver4life which is an important charity for our family.’
Following the August 17 open day, the couple are also happy to show the garden via appointment.
One of the main features of the garden is the collection of bamboo plants which Tony, in particular, is very passionate about. ‘I have a thirst for knowledge when it comes to these bamboos and I even got in touch with Ness Gardens via The University of Liverpool and we now have some of the bamboos their researchers have brought back from various places around the world. I find it really interesting to consider how they grow in the wild, covered in snow 3000 metres above sea level in China, and how they’re now thriving here. When I take early retirement, I’d love to go trekking to see where some of our favourite plants originated from.’
Bamboo has been getting some bad press in the news recently, with stories about the plant popping up around peoples’ gardens and even growing up through driveways and foundations.
Tony, who also manages the facebook group ‘Bamboo UK’ with almost 3000 members, says it’s largely down to a lack of research. ‘People tend to buy a cheap and cheerful bamboo plant in a nice pot, and then plant it out in the garden without realising it is a running variety. There are running or clumping varieties and if you let a running plant spread unchecked in your garden it can cause problems.
‘It’s important to do your research and keep an eye on it. For example, at the end of every season I dig a trench down the back of the bamboo at the bottom of our garden to make sure it hasn’t sent any shoots towards next door’s fence. You have to take responsibility for it, but it’s a beautiful plant with all sorts of different varieties and colours.’
A garden this size requires a significant amount of work, and Tony and Tracey obviously thinks it’s all well worthwhile. ‘It is a hungry garden, and there’s lots of watering and weeding to be done’ says Tony. ‘We have a big trailer that we take to a local farm and fill with manure about seven times a year. Which means loading it onto the trailer, unloading it from the trailer and barrowing it all around the garden. It keeps us pretty fit.’
The couple are keen on sustainability; recycling and re-using things where possible. A local tree surgeon drops off excess woodchip for them to mulch around the plants to suppress weeds, and the chickens are fenced in with re-purposed security fencing no longer needed on a construction site. Painted black – it blends seamlessly with the background.
Tony even salvaged the copper pipe when they replaced the central heating system, cutting and bending it into squares or rings to go around plants and act as a natural slug deterrent.
The next upcoming project on the list is to build a pond in the same raised rectangular style as the existing beds. Ideally it will utilise solar-powered pumps, native fish and clever planting to create a self-supporting ecosystem. After adding a small wildlife pond last year, the couple soon noticed more wildlife in the garden including newts and dragonflies.
‘We’re always learning. At the end of each season, we try to judge what worked well and how we can avoid having empty patches through the winter by punctuating the planting with more evergreens. We actually dug up and brought the biggest banana plant inside last year and over-wintered it in the conservatory, but it’s grown so much this summer I don’t think we’ll manage that again.
‘The gunneras die right back at the end of the season and we use the leaves – tied upside down - to create a protective tent over the plant for next year.
‘There’s only really the depths of winter when you won’t find us in the garden. And, to be honest, even then I’ll probably be inside watching youtube videos about gardening.’
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