Garden gets to heart of charity

More than 230 people visited the picturesque Walsall plot transformed by Tony and Marie Newton to collect cash for Heart Care yesterday.

Their 22-year-old son Richard recently underwent open heart surgery at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for a second time and is now recuperating at home. He had surgery in February 2006 and despite missing more than 12 weeks of the course he has managed to achieve a 2.1 degree in Applied Social Science.

He found out about his grade just days after having his second lot of surgery. His parents, of Buchanan Road, wanted to support the borough-based charity, which helps people recover from heart operations and become active again, by holding the open day.

The garden, which backs on to Walsall Arboretum, has been compared to a West Midlands version of the Eden Project, by experts and visitors alike. It includes a summer house, wooden pagoda with water feature and more than 100 metres of paths among the flowers.

The Newtons were winners in the Walsall in Bloom large rear garden award in 2006 and have also made it through to the final six of a national competition.

Marie, aged 58, said they were delighted to welcome visitors and collected a total of £645 for Heart Care.

She said: "We had lots of people come along and tell us how stunning the garden and how they have never seen anything quite like it before. Some even paid more than the £2.50 admission as they felt it was worth more to see. It does make you feel proud and it is nice to share it with everyone else.

"With Richard having undergone heart surgery it is good to raise money for an important charity, and also highlight just one of the attractive things Walsall has to offer.

"The weather was kind to us, especially after the torrential rain there has been."