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Our half acre garden at The Magnolias is now over thirty
years old, and many of the specimen trees are becoming quite large.  My own
criterion for a 'big' tree is if I put my arms around it and my finger tips
don't meet then it is big. Only one tree in the garden so far is in this
category, and that is a Weeping Willow. However, quite a few others would be
most peoples' idea of big.
The garden does not appeal to people who love bedding plants and tidy formal
gardens. It is a garden for plant enthusiasts, as that is what we are. We have
gone on and on collecting plants long after it would have been sensible to stop,
through lack of space. We have good representative collections of Maples,
Camellias, Rhododendrons, Pieris, Hostas, ferns and of course, Magnolias. Also
we have a large collection of the very fashionable plants, bamboos. Many of
these are still young, but growing well, but we do have large established
specimens of ten or so different species including a 20 ft. high Chusquea
couleou with canes up to an inch and a quarter in diameter.
 Whilst the garden is at its most colourful in spring there is still plenty of
interest for visitors at other times of the year. There are the seven ponds, one in a greenhouse containing
exotic 
amphibians as well as slightly tender plants. Some of the other ponds
contain a variety of colourful fish. Children enjoy seeing the animals.
We have had our 15 minutes of fame, being featured on Channel
4's Garden Club
and BBC's Gardeners World, television gardening programmes.
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