Avid gardeners transform backyard into beautiful oasis amid coronavirus lockdown
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Marie and Tony Newton have been spending their extra time gardening amid coronavirus lockdown. (SWNS)
A couple in England has outdone themselves by creating a spring spectacular in their yard after spending lockdown tending to their oasis.
Retired general practitioner Tony Newton and wife Marie have crammed 3,000 plants and flowers, including 450 azaleas, 120 Japanese maples and 15 blue star junipers, into a quarter of an acre. The couple had previously spent 38 years transforming their modest plot in the industrial heartland of West Midlands into what is now nicknamed the "four seasons garden."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Since lockdown, the couple has continued to plant acers and camellias thanks to online shopping. They have even installed large bird-feeding stations on the patio, which have been playfully designed to look like the face of an owl from above.
Dazzling drone pictures show the garden, locating in Walsall, exploding with spring colors, which the couple say is the most stunning display they have ever known.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Grandmother-of-four Marie, 72, started tending the garden in 1982 while working as a transport planner and a nurse while Tony, 70, joined her after he retired from medicine.
"Tony and I usually spend two hours a day in the garden but obviously since the lockdown and the fact we are over 70 means we have even more time to spare. We are sometimes in the garden all day and only come in when it gets dark," she said.
Dazzling drone pictures show the garden, locating in West Midlands, England, exploding with spring colors, which the couple say is the most stunning display they have ever known. (SWNS)
“We went into lockdown a little bit earlier than most people because Tony was a GP and I had been a nurse, and so we could see the writing was on the wall.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Marie said the couple had planned to invite folks into their yard on May 22, but realized that wouldn't be possible amid lockdown. Instead, they started dreaming of ways to take their garden to the next level.
“We thought about things and decided that maybe we could grow vegetables in big pots on the patio. We've got a balcony which we converted to a sort of temporary greenhouse. The garden we carry on as normal," she said.
“One addition was that we put up three bird feeding stations, which we haven’t normally had and that's given an immense amount of pleasure. We've got so many different types of birds coming out."
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The couple has also been adhering to stay-at-home orders, ordering all of their supplies from the internet. But despite creating their own oasis, they say they miss their grandkids the most.
"We've not been able to go out and we really miss the grandchildren because they used to love playing here. We've got fairy houses and the streams they played in. We used to look after them on a few nights a week but that's all stopped," she said. “It's quite painful to not have them but we keep in contact through Skype or FaceTime.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}All in all, Marie says she and Tony are extremely proud of their work.
The couple has crammed their quarter-acre plot with vibrant azaleas, Japanese maples, juniper blue stars and plenty of other colorful flowers.
"I always look forward to spring and this year has been especially rewarding. I have never seen the garden look so beautiful. I'm very proud, it's become something of an obsession for both of us.
“Spring is my favorite time to see the garden in full bloom. It gives me an enormous sense of optimism," she added. “Seeing the pictures of the garden from above is very special. You get a real sense of what we have achieved. There is always something new to try or a flower to tend to. It’s a hobby which has turned into an obsession. I think about the garden all the time.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The couple had previously won several awards, including being crowned the winner of Britain's Best Garden. They have also inadvertently created what appears to be a huge image of an owl using the patio and flowerbeds which is only visible from above.
"We haven’t been able to do a complete audit of every flower and tree but there are over 3,000 plants in the garden," she said. "It has been very satisfying to use so many skills, and to have done every task ourselves. All but two of all the plants in our garden have been planted by us."
Pictures from the 1980s show just how much work the couple has done to transform their muddy lawn and broken rockery into the oasis it is today.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Even a photo from 1993 shows just how much they've added to the garden by 2020. (SWNS)
The garden has become so popular it even features in unofficial tourist trails.
"First we made it child-friendly for our kids, but as the years went on we moved on to planting and growing our own flowers and plants," said Tony.
"There has been a lot of trial and error to get the garden the way it is now, and the last few weeks, we've really been able to explore even more ideas. A lot of our plants are now 30 years old or more."
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The couple usually opens their garden up to the public in the summer, but this year's event has been postponed due to coronavirus restrictions.
"We've had over 14,000 people from 48 different countries come and visit our garden over the years, but this year we might not be able to open, which is a shame," Tony added.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“We're already planning what to grow for the next season while enjoying the spring colors on display."