Bob's blank canvas is a magical marvel

An empty wasteland covered in soot with a sycamore tree and a broken down shed is what Bob Parker remembers of the garden he inherited 28 years ago.

But to the art teacher, now retired, it was a blank canvas just waiting for him to paint in the lillies and rambling roses, the fountains, the pineapple-scented Morroccan broom and the archways dripping with jasmine and honeysuckle.

As a measure of his success, 43 Broad Lane has become one of the most popular on the gardens circuit, with more than 300 people expected through the door in nine days time when the small, narrow plot in the Bradmore suburb of Wolverhampton is next open.

In recent years he has been helped by partner Greg Kowalczuk who is good with the shears but leaves the creative stuff to Bob, former head of art at St Peter's Collegiate School.

The evolution of the garden is stunning, considering its long, narrow and uninspiring shape, typical of Victorian terraced homes. As a lover of water gardens, the first thing Bob did on moving in back in 1980 was to build a pool. It is still there, although it has been relined twice.

The magnolia tree was a bargain buy from Woolworths in Wolverhampton in the 1970s when it still sold plants but nearly all the rest has been added over three decades, much of it in the last few months when the pair planted more than 1,000 alliums and hundreds of new lilliums.

Bob waxes lyrical about the garden centres within a 10-mile radius of Wolverhampton – "some of the best in the country" – but dares not reckon up what they have spent in them over that time.

"We once worked out that we spent £1,600 in one garden centre in one year, so it doesn't bear thinking what the total might be."

During the spring and summer he easily spends four hours a day seeding, planting, tending and trimming the plot which is split into five distinct areas: the patio, terracotta garden, pool garden, woodland and a rosary.

Visitors often go through the garden twice on the same visit, discovering new features every time. "People say to us, it's like a magic garden because they keep spotting things they hadn't seen first time round, so that's what we've decided to call it, The Magic Garden." Next month it will be open for two evening viewings when it will be lit by more than 1,000 candles, torches and fairy lights. A glass of wine and posh chocolates are included in the £3.50 entry fee.

For the next opening on July 12, Greg has been busy making cakes to boost the amount raised for Macmillan Cancer Support and Marie Curie Cancer Care, the two main charities being supported this year by the National Gardens Scheme.

The Broad Lane open days have so far raised more than £11,000.

"The old lady who lived here before me emptied the soot from her chimneys in the garden whenever she had them cleaned.

"It was in a dreadful state, there was just nothing here, I'd like to think we're leaving a very different legacy to whoever moves in after us."