Tropical garden flourishes in Yate

11:50am Monday 8th September 2008

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IN A QUIET Yate street there is a tropical garden where fruits of the Caribbean grow.

Tim Wilmot has been perfecting his exotic paradise for nearly two decades and the ornamental bananas which top his giant plants are the jewel in the crown.

Mr Wilmot, 50, moved to Beechwell House in Goose Green 18 years ago and his love affair with tropical palm trees and cacti plants flourished immediately.

"This type of planting is not to everyone’s taste," he told the Gazette.

"But it has allowed me to achieve different areas within the garden and gives us more privacy."

Mr Wilmot, who runs software firm Wizard Systems off Station Road with his wife Sheila, also 50, started gardening in his twenties.

"I started taking an interest when I bought my first house but I have always been interested in these sorts of plants," he said.

"I remember visiting a sub-tropical garden in Tresco on the Isles of Scilly as a young child and it may stem from there."

Mr Wilmot has taken his hobby to new heights as he has filled his quarter-of-an-acre plot with palm trees, bamboos, banana plants and even agave, the leaves of which are used to make tequila in South America.

"Some of the plants are almost like children, I have had them so long and seen them grow up," he said.

"I am not a flower person. Sometimes I actually cut the flower off because the leaves are just as variable and last longer."

Mr Wilmot, who has two sons Max, 19, and Toby, 15, has collected his family of plants from specialist nurseries up and down the country and has even brought back rare varieties in his suitcase from holidays abroad.

His years of hard work and self-taught expertise have earned him a host of accolades including the runner-up spot in The Times back garden of the year competition in 2004, having his garden featured on BBC Points West and in several national magazines and winning Yate’s own garden contest numerous times.

Mr Wilmot said: "Sometimes I get a bit embarrassed having people visit the garden but now we have opened it up under the National Gardens Scheme it is all about raising money for charity."

The garden at Beechwell House, at 51 Goose Green, is open to the public for visits and cream teas this Sunday (1-6pm).