Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Zenger
Zenger
Lifestyle
Izzy Hawksworth

Couple Spent 22 Years Transforming Backyard Into Stunning Garden

Robert picks apples from his apple trees. Jarrod Marsden, 54, and Robert Scott, 60, purchased their four-bedroom detached house in December 2000 and said the garden just had 'nothing at all' in it. PHOTO BY LEE MCLEAN/SWNS

A couple has spent 22 years transforming their bare backyard into a stunning five-acre garden – at the cost of up to £100,000 ($127,550).

Jarrod Marsden, 54, and Robert Scott, 60, purchased their four-bedroom detached house in December 2000 and said the garden just had ‘nothing at all’ in it.

After drawing a plan up on how to design the garden, the green-fingered duo started creating the garden – which they’ve now spent anything from £50,000 to £100,000 on.

And after 22 years of working on the garden, which is in Wilberfoss, North Yorks,. the garden looks stunning and features numerous flowers, trees and a woodland area.

The garden also has a pond with a water feature, a cherry tree, different sculptures, 500 Norwegian Spruce Christmas trees, a vegetable patch and a herb garden.

Robert said: “There was nothing at all really in the garden apart from a few Sycamore trees, which was one of the first things we took down.

“I started designing the garden from scratch, which was nice because it was a blank canvas.

“When I was planning it, I could envisage what things would look like and would sit in different areas of the garden and think about what I wanted.

“Then I would mark areas where I wanted trees or wanted paths and I just wanted to do it so we could enjoy the garden for all the years we’ve been here.”

Robert picks apples from his apple trees. Jarrod Marsden, 54, and Robert Scott, 60, purchased their four-bedroom detached house in December 2000 and said the garden just had ‘nothing at all’ in it. PHOTO BY LEE MCLEAN/SWNS

The garden is made up of different zones – the front garden, the rear garden, the formal garden, the ornamental herbaceous borders garden, the kitchen garden and the paddock area.

But Jarrod and Robert have both agreed their favorite bit of the garden is the where the summer house and wildlife pond is.

Jarrod and Robert, a retired garden manager, are planning on selling their £750,000 detached house in the next couple of years as they are looking to downsize.

The couple, who have been together for 34 years, have opened up their garden for different charities over the years and have raised around £50,000 altogether.

But after September this year, they will only be opening the garden up to groups or people who have booked specifically.

me came round and asked if we have considered opening, because they said they would like us to.

“If we opened on a Saturday, then we get around 150 visitors then we get around 200 to 250 on a Sunday.

“People tend to come out on a Sunday for something to do, so they come and look around our garden.

“The garden gives us pleasure but then it also gives us pleasure to open the garden up for other people.”

 

Produced in association with SWNS Talker

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.