Wakefield dad Kris Swaine turns garden into tropical paradise

Kris Swaine from Wakefield, West Yorkshire has spent 10 years creating his own tropical paradise.

Stemming from a successful attempt at growing a banana plant, the amateur gardener is now the envy of his street.

BBC News' Kevin Shoesmith dropped in for a visit.

Kris Swaine glances upwards as a plane's vapour trail cuts the clear blue sky over his tropical garden.

"I don't need to pay for an exotic holiday," he says, exhaling. "I have it all in Wakefield."

Mr Swaine has grown his own slice of the West Indies here in West Yorkshire, with the busy M1 motorway just a stone's throw away.

He moved into his semi-detached property in 2013, bringing some tropical plants from his previous house.

"When I arrived it was your standard back garden - a lawn and a vegetable patch," says 41-year-old Mr Swaine, showing me into his 165ft x 50ft (50m x 15m) plot.

It's impossible not to be impressed, with the eye drawn to the sheer size of the plants compared with most native species.

Mr Swaine, a Leeds café manager, tells me he enjoys "pushing the boundaries of what can be grown in Yorkshire", after a successful attempt at growing banana plants 15 years ago.

"We get a few bananas off that in summer," he says, pointing out a tapered-leafed plant as he leads me through jungle-like vegetation.

Mr Swaine, who last year featured on the BBC Gardeners' World programme, tells me there is "a lot of trial and error" in growing exotic plants.

"Some plants, like bamboo, are very hardy and cope well in Yorkshire. Some like the yuccas and the agaves need a bit of a helping hand," he says.

But how do they fare on a cold February night?

"The Yorkshire winter is the biggest challenge," admits Mr Swaine. "I wrap them in plastic. The odd cold night doesn't cause too many problems. It's when you get a prolonged spell of sub-zero temperatures that you start to worry."

He's designed the garden in such a way so as to provide protection for the less robust plants, like the yuccas.

"On the outside you have the hardy plants and trees," explains Mr Swaine. "In the middle you have the more tender plants."

Many of these plants look like they could only really thrive under glass.

"A lot more plants than people think can be grown in Yorkshire," says Mr Swaine, adding he sources many of his seeds and plants from suppliers in Norfolk.

I stop next to one of several palms. My jungle guide informs me it's a Trachycarpus oreophilus.

"The seeds were collected in Thailand," says Mr Swaine. "The plant was grown in Europe. I've had it 15 years. Impossible to get now."

This striking, 20ft blue bamboo stands at the entrance for a reason, says Mr Swaine.

"It looks good all year round," he says.

Mr Swaine is particularly struck by his Amicia zygomeris, telling me: "The leaves of this plant actually fold in at night, rather like a book - a concertina effect. They fold out again, almost horizontal, during the day."

Umbrella plants make great house plants, but the one that takes pride of place next to the waterfall is a hardy variety.

"I've had it about six years," Mr Swaine says. "It's one of my favourites."

What do his wife and four children think of his pastime?

"She just lets me get on with it," says Mr Swaine, with a glint in his eye. "She likes sitting in the garden but she's not a gardener.

"The kids love it. They've grown up with it. They love playing hide-and-seek here. It always gives their friends a bit of a surprise when they first come round."

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].