It all started in 1996. That was when I had a track excavated through an old agricultural field. The result of the excavation was a big heap of mud that was quickly becoming invaded by weeds - mainly grass, docks, nettles and brambles. What I really wanted there was not a mud heap but a subtropical garden just like the (very tropical) ones I'd seen on the Indonesian island of Bali!

Easier said than done! I live near the blustery coast of North Devon. We get about six months of almost non-stop rain during the winter. We also usually experience at least one or two freezes down to about -4C to -6C (enough to freeze the top of my pond). As if that wasn't bad enough, we also have the problem of the soil. Well-drained it ain't! In fact, it's almost solid clay - red clay on top, blue clay underneath. Not the perfect conditions for exotic plants, by any stretch of the imagination...

That didn't deter me, though... I was sick of the sight of that mud!

Then...

1997: This was the first stage of the garden (seen from the south). It may look like a mud heap to you but, to me, it was a subtropical paradise just waiting to happen. You may have difficulty spotting them but there are actually several tiny bamboos, a Fatsia japonica, a few small Phormiums, a Butia yatay palm and a small Cordyline australis (centre) planted in all that muck...

...later.

2001: This is the same view of the garden shown above. The first thing you'll see is that the almost invisible bamboos from the 1997 picture have now grow into huge, jungle-like clumps several metres tall. The Cordyline in the middle has done well too. It now has a trunk over 2 metres high and the entire plant is more than 3 metres tall. The Butia yatay has grown too but it's hidden behind the lush bushes of Fatsias and Phormiums.

...and Now.

2003: It may not be obvious in this photograph but everything has grown phenominally over the past two years. The Phormiums are now much taller than I am, the larger Cordyline (at centre) is about 20 foot tall, the smaller one to its right, is catching up fast. And the bamboos in the background are, quite simply, gigantic!

Then...

1997: This is the garden seen from the North side. That's me standing forlornly on top of the heap with the dog strolling muddily through the lush weedbeds down below.

...later.

2001: Once again, the bamboos have really made a difference. You can also see some small Trachycarpus palms and tree ferns at the base. This side gets quite a bit of shade so I don't grow any sun-worshipping species.

...and Now.

2003: To get an idea of how much the bamboos have grown (the fuzzy green mass above the tree ferns to the right) compare them with the trees in this picture and the previous one. I planted the Trachycarpus in the foreground about two years ago.