Hellesdon's Hidden Tropicanza

One of the inspirations for this blog was Will Giles' remarkable Exotic Garden in Thorpe Hamlet, Norwich. I was introduced to the garden by Jamie, an industrious student who had joined our group at the John Innes Centre for the summer to look after some plant populations. After a full day at work, Jamie would spend his evenings as part of a team of volunteers in the exotic garden turning Will's vision of a tropical garden in Norwich into reality. After all that, Jamie could retire to a treehouse within the garden itself. As a boy I used to watch a serialised version of Tarzan. To be honest, I could take or leave the stories and his yodelling call but I loved the romance of living in a treehouse. Perhaps there is potential for a Cbeebies Tarzan / Grand Designs crossover show. My younger self was in awe but my older self kept asking questions like: "isn't it cold?"

I've been lucky to be part of various adventures as part of that group as we keep a broad horizon, drawing inspiration from areas beyond science. One afternoon in 2014 we descended on Will's garden for just such an adventure. Jamie led us to a path inconspicuously tucked behind office buildings off Thorpe Road which led to an avenue of towering, fragrant eucalyptus trees. Their bark was peeling characteristically revealing a contoured spectrum of browns and greys. Beyond that, the path took a winding route through exotic shrubs and vivid patches of annuals and perennials towards Will's house which sat amongst terraced layers burgeoning with plants of unusual forms and colours.

Will was a generous and engaging host, enthusiastically answering questions and drawing our attention to notable plants. Sadly, Will was already seriously ill when we met him and he passed away the following year. The memory of Will's Exotic Garden surfaced again last year as I contemplated interesting corners of Norfolk that I knew. Inevitably the land has changed hands since then. Will's gesture to open his garden to the public required an awful lot of voluntary work and, no doubt, a lot of personal investment so there is no reason to expect its new owners to continue that commitment.

I looked elsewhere until this summer when a link to Hellesdon Hidden Tropicanza popped up on my Facebook news feed. Here was another tropical oasis situated within Norwich. The page had photos of another eastern influenced treehouse and, among the broad exotic leaves, a summerhouse in which to sit and soak up the ambience. Jamie will love this, I thought as I contacted him:

"Here Jamie, have you seen this place in Hellesdon?"

"How are you? Yes I built the jungle hut and tree house."

After I had apologised for my bad manners, I asked a bit more about the garden and if it would be OK to visit and maybe write a blog entry about it. The garden belongs to Sonja and Alan who share Will's passion for exotic plants and have spent many years cultivating their garden into a tropical paradise. Indeed, like Jamie, Sonja was a volunteer at the Exotic Garden and, as Jamie had told me, they had used that collaborative spirit to create the structures that had caught my attention. If you are interested in visiting the garden, I suggest visiting the Facebook page to check for open days that Sonja runs as part of the National Garden Scheme.

Sonja very kindly agreed to let us have a look around outside these open days and she and Jamie were there to greet us at the end of September.

Despite it being a drizzly evening at the end of the season, the garden was looking resplendent. The jungle hut and treehouse didn't disappoint and the care and imagination that have gone into the garden were evident in every direction. 

Statues of oriental and other influences peer through the growth.

Canna lilies, tradescantia, dahlia, passion flowers, bananas, salvia and a huge variety of succulents metaphorically and momentarily teleported us to warmer climes.

Ceropegia sandersonii (parachute plant) and tradescantia

Passiflora (passion flowers)

Banana

Jamie and salvia

Various succulents

As we left Sonja was telling us how, over the coming weeks, many plants would need protecting from the winter. The most tender go to a greenhouse for a few months whilst others need a layer or two of straw. It really underlined just how much work goes into creating such a magical garden.

I expect anyone who had spent time with Will Giles was saddened to hear of his loss but it seems that he planted many seeds during his life so his spirit and imagination will live long in Norwich and probably beyond.

Many thanks to Sonja and Jamie for letting us visit the beautiful Hellesdon Hidden Tropicanza, for sharing their knowledge and for passing on a little bit of tropical life for us to propagate at home.

Tradescantia cuttings

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I never thought I would find bananas growing in Hellesdon so I've picked Fun Boy Three and Bananarama's version of 'It Ain't What You Do, It's the Way That You Do It' as the soundtrack for this entry.