WDH tenants' hidden paradise makes Gardeners' World

Published by Richard Lord for Wakefield & District Housing in Housing and also in Communities, Environment, Health

A couple who rent their home from Wakefield and District Housing (WDH) say they are thrilled that their hidden paradise of exotic plants and tropical flowers will feature on an episode of Gardeners’ World on Friday 12 August.

Melvin and Linda Moran, from Lancaster Street in Ferry Fryston, West Yorkshire, were paid a visit by Gardeners’ World presenter Carol Klein last week as part of the BBC’s search for inspirational gardens in the north.

‘Little Eden’ – so called because they took inspiration from a visit to the Eden Project in Cornwall – has been 18 years in the making. All birthday and Christmas money in those years has been put towards the garden.

What makes Mr and Mrs Moran’s tropical heaven extra special is that they don’t own their home – they rent it from landlords WDH who, this year, are supporting the national ‘Love Where You Live’ campaign to beautify communal areas on its estates.

“It just goes to show what you can achieve with a garden, even if you don’t own your home,” says Melvin. “We are very proud of what we’ve done. It continues to give us a lot of pleasure.”

The Morans became the first housing association tenants to have a garden accepted in the prestigious ‘Yellow Book’ of National Garden Schemes (NGS) last year, which alerted the producers of the BBC2 flagship show of its uniqueness.

Gilly Brennan, a researcher for Gardeners’ World, said: “We visited a number of small gardens across the north of England in search of people who can inspire others to realise the potential of their gardens.

“Little Eden is remarkable because it has a variety of plants that you don’t expect to see in this climate. It’s an example of what anyone can achieve with a garden.”

Melvin and Linda are big fans of the show and were over the moon when they were selected to feature on it.

“It’s our favourite programme and we watch it religiously,” says Linda. “It was exciting to have the makers of the show filming our pride and joy. I’m quite a shy person but once I start talking about gardening I can’t stop.”

Melvin adds: “They were here all day filming different aspects of the garden. They talked to us about how it all started and how it’s progressed. Carol was very down to earth, the crew was so nice.

“The show has three and a half million viewers and it’ll be shown two days before we open our garden to the public for the NGS, so it’s going to be a busy time for us!”

Mr and Mrs Moran were told that the feature will last approximately six minutes – but while you might expect the couple to be certainties to watch it, they have a dilemma.

“It’s our nephew’s engagement party on the night it’s going to be screened,” says Melvin. “We’re having it recorded anyway but I don’t think he’ll mind if we stay at home to watch it first before we join him for his celebrations!”

Little Eden will be featured on Gardeners’ World on Friday 12 August, BBC2, 8.30 – 9.00pm.