Dad spends over 30 years turning his Sheffield garden into a jungle

Dad spends over 30 years turning his Sheffield garden into a jungle


photos of Dr Simon Olpin and his backyard jungle
‘It’s a lot of people’s worst nightmare’ (Picture: SWNS)

A father of three has helped his garden grow into a literal jungle, with over 100 species plantsincluding 25-foot palm trees.

dr. Simon Olpin has loved nature since he was a child, but his terrible fear of flying never allowed him to travel the world and see jungles.

So the clinical biochemist decided to bring one closer to home – and thanks to the ample shade in his yard, it just happens to be the perfect place to cool off in the running. heat wave.

Since Dr Simon planted his first potted tree in 1987, his suburban Sheffield, South Yorkshire garden has been transformed into an 8,000 square foot tropical paradise.

He said: ‘It’s lovely to be out in the garden on a beautiful sunny day because it feels calm, warm and tropical, but it’s not sweltering hot

“If you go out into the sun on a really hot day, you’ll notice the difference right away – and it can get unbearable.


Simon Olpin, from Sheffield, who took over 30 years to transform his Sheffield garden into a jungle and maintain his backyard
‘It’s lovely to be out in the garden on a beautiful sunny day because it feels calm, warm and tropical’ (Photo: Simon Olpin/SWNS)

Simon Olpin, from Sheffield, who spent over 30 years turning his Sheffield garden into a jungle, standing among bamboos in his garden
‘For over 35 years I’ve managed to bring a place like Bhutan or a piece of South East Asia to my garden in Yorkshire’ (Photo: Simon Olpin/SWNS)

Simon Olpin, from Sheffield, who spent over 30 years turning his Sheffield garden into a jungle, in a hut in his backyard
‘It’s brilliant, for me at least’ (Picture: Simon Olpin/SWNS)

Simon Olpin, from Sheffield, who spent over 30 years turning his Sheffield garden into a jungle
dr. Simon has spent over three decades getting his garden just right (Picture: Simon Olpin/SWNS)

Simon's Garden when he first moved to Sheffield
The garden as it was when he first moved to Sheffield (Picture: Simon Olpin/SWNS)

‘We can sit in the cool shade and drink wine or tea with friends. It has a Southeast Asian tropical feel to it.’

Simon moved from Cambridge to the Yorkshire house in 1987, when his garden was a ‘blank canvas’ that took a lot of ‘trial and error’ to get it right.

The father said, ‘I have always been interested in animals, especially when I was a small child. I was fascinated by everything that crawled and crawled.

‘When we moved to Sheffield I started to develop a greater interest in exotic plants, and we had a small garden that was a blank canvas.

‘In over 35 years I’ve managed to bring a place like Bhutan or a piece of South East Asia to my Yorkshire garden – brilliant for me anyway.

‘I’m afraid of flying and will never be able to visit these fascinating places, so I took a few home with me in Sheffield, of all places.’


one of dr simon's tall palm trees
Now Dr. Simon spends most of his time maintaining it (Picture: Simon Olpin/SWNS)

the view of dr. simon's garden from above
The view from above (Photo: Simon Olpin/SWNS)

dr simon's house from the front
Even the front yard looks pleasantly wild (Picture: Simon Olpin/SWNS)

The garden of Dr. Simon currently has about 25 species of bamboo, three species of palm, four species of eucalyptus and hundreds of other trees, shrubs and plants.

It is built in a small winding path that leads to a thatched hut he built under two huge 32-year-old eucalyptus trees up to 25 feet tall.

He said: ‘It’s a lot of people’s worst nightmare, they would be shocked. It is full of bamboo and you have to make your way through it. But it is natural.

“You do need good neighbors, because I have huge tall trees that are 45 feet tall.

“It’s supposed to be a jungle, and it looks like a jungle. That’s how I want it.’

Thanks to their wild backyard, Dr. Simon grew up with a taste for adventure.

Most of the taller trees are older than his children, Jay, 22, Lily, 28, and Holly, 30, who grew up believing tigers walked the garden path and fairies left them letters written on tree paper.

dr. Simon added: ‘The garden was a magical place for my whole family. Walking through it is a bit of an adventure.

‘The trees have really seen my children grow up. It is older than all my children.’

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