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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Jane Lavender & Anna Lewis

Inside ordinary looking family home that hides an amazing secret in its back garden

From the outside this looks like any other ordinary family home.

With four bedrooms, and neatly painted walls, there seems to be nothing remarkable about the property.

But step through the house and into the back garden and there is something truly amazing hiding behind the house.

For owners Don and Ann Knight, their garden is their pride and joy and they have spent tens of thousands of pounds transforming it into something you would never normally expect to see in the heart of Wales.

The stunning outside space requires hours of work and meticulous tending to keep it in tip top shape - but the results are definitely worth it.

But it's back garden hides an incredible Oriental garden (WalesOnLine)

Don and Ann's back garden is an Asian paradise and boasts a tranquil, five foot deep Koi pond, a Japanense Torri gate, a pagoda and even an Amazon waterfall.

As well as their perfectly manicured lawns, there are also dozens of tiny bonsai trees, which have to be tended to daily.

Ann, 62, told Wales Online : "I met Don and he bought me the pagoda for my first Christmas present and it went from there.

"When I said you can do what you want to the garden I didn't expect this."

Don and Ann have spent thousands on their outside space (WalesOnLine)
The garden started taking shape almost 10 years ago (WalesOnLine)

Gardening has long been a passion for Don, who loves nothing more than getting his green fingers dirty.

He was just 12 when he first tried his hand at growing bonsai and has been fascinated with the tiny trees ever since.

And keeping the beautiful garden in Llantwit Manor in perfect condition is a full-time job for the couple.

Grandmother-of-one Ann said: "He's always in the garden. If it's raining he's like a caged animal - he hates it.

There is even a deep Koi carp pond (WalesOnLine)

"The bonsais need watering twice a day once it gets warmer and that takes about an hour each time. As he's doing that he will spot something else that needs trimming or doing.

"I thought he had finished and couldn't do anything else and he watched Monty Don in Japan visiting the cherry blossom and then the autumn colours.

"He spotted something and proceeded to go out and buy these huge monolith stones for the garden.

"He also used the last part of the working garden for a zen area with white chipping. There's bamboo fencing across there to keep the dog off the white stuff.

Don works tirelessly in the garden and the whole family help out (WalesOnLine)

"There's no more room to do anything else and I don't want to give him ideas."

Ann and Don are keen to use their garden for good and every summer they open it up for visitors to raise money for Marie Curie, Macmillan Cancer Support and Hospice UK  as part of the National Garden Scheme.

One year, their pride and joy attracted a whopping 142 visitors in a single day, such is the fame of their garden.

Ann, who worked in a bank before she retired, said: "We've quite a few private visitors, there's been the bank pensioners, the WI, a koi club.

"One lady phoned up and asked if she could have her birthday party in our garden, she was 87. All the money they give us goes to Great Ormond Street Hospital."

And while the couple are the brains behind the incredible project, they've now roped their whole family in.

All the beautiful furniture is made by their son, Alan.

And while Don is the one who works tirelessly on their back garden, Ann has made sure she's put her own stamp on the land in front of their home.

She's filled it with a stunning array of plants and flowers.

Ann said: "Don's version of weeding is picking a weed and dropping it whereas I pull it out properly and put it in the green waste.

"I can't say I enjoy kneeling down in the earth but I like keeping a nice garden. We do sit and enjoy it with a cup of coffee."

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