Four Seasons Garden - Probably the World's Most Beautiful Suburban Garden

Stunning Photos from the World’s Most Amazing Suburban Family Garden

By Spooky on June 11th, 2012 Category: Pics, Travel

Located in the small backyard of a family-owned property in Wallsall, England, is one of the most incredible-looking gardens in the world. The Four Seasons Garden may not be as large as other famous English gardens you may have visited, but it certainly makes up in beauty and charm.

There are hundreds, probably thousands of breathtaking gardens all over Europe, but most of them were designed and looked-after by teams of professional gardeners, at a considerable cost. The Four Seasons Garden, created by self-taught gardeners Tony and Marie Newton, started out as a hobby, but slowly grew into one of the most popular suburban gardens in Britain. 20 years ago, the couple from West Midlands decided to transform their traditional garden into a stunning display of creative gardening. Tony hated weeding, but loved building things, while his wife Marie just loved plants, so together they set out to create Four Seasons, their version of the ideal backyard garden.

Spring (Photo © Four Seasons Garden)

Since they started their labor of love, the Newtons managed to squeeze over 3,000 plants into a small 180 x 55ft space, creating a mind-blowing array of colors throughout the four yearly seasons. The Four Seasons Garden includes over 200 acers, 350 azaleas, a variety of conifers and shrubs, as well as exotic elements like tree ferns, palms, bamboos and banana plants. In the last 20 years, Tony and Marie totally re-landscaped and re-planted the entire garden themselves, in their quest to create an outdoor family living space that would be exciting in all four seasons. They won their battles with weeds, created all the pathways, as well as three water features, including a cascading 17 metre stream, and even a big oriental pagoda.

Spring (Photo © Four Seasons Garden)

But maintaining a beautiful garden like the Four Seasons is no easy task, especially with unpredictable weather like this year, but the Newtons go to great lengths to make sure their plants survive in any conditions. This year’s late frost was a big concern, so to protect the plant life Tony and Marie ended up using anything from specialist material like horticultural fleece to tablecloths and plastic bags. Their efforts paid off as they managed to save all their plants.

Spring (Photo © Four Seasons Garden)

This year, the Four Seasons Garden, in Walsall, was open for visits on Sunday, June 10th, and will open its gates to visitors again, on Sunday, August 5th. The entrance fee is £3 ($4.60), and the proceeds go to the National Gardening Scheme charity. In all the years that the Four Seasons has been opened for visits, the Newtons have raised over £20,000 ($31,000) for charity.

Summer (Photo © Four Seasons Garden)

Autumn (Photo © Four Seasons Garden)

WINTER (Photo © Four Seasons Garden)

For more incredible photos of the Four Seasons Garden throughout the year, and pics of how it came to be, check out the Flickr stream Tony and Marie Newton set up. There are thousands of photos waiting to be discovered.