Guernsey was once famous for exporting tomatoes grown in its vast network of glasshouses.
Now, one islander is showing just how much the Bailiwick’s climate has changed – after successfully growing bananas in his back garden – with no help from a greenhouse.
Barry Weir has harvested a crop of – admittedly small – bananas at his home, where figs, grape vines, palm trees and other exotic plants have flourished in recent years.
The fruit forms part of a garden he deliberately designed to be different from the more traditional flower-filled plots found across the island.
A taste of the tropics
Mr Weir said the idea was born several years ago when he transformed what had been little more than grass into a lush garden inspired by warmer climates.
“Four or five years ago when we did this, I said, ‘Look, it’s got to be different. We are not going for a formal garden’,” he said.
Instead, the garden now features palm trees, grape vines, figs and banana plants, creating what he described as a more Caribbean feel.
Discussing the latest crop, he added: “We’ve got bananas, figs and grapes growing like mad.”
Growing success
The bananas may be the headline act, but Mr Weir said he has been surprised by how well a range of fruit and plants have adapted to Guernsey’s conditions.
He believes many islanders underestimate what can be grown locally.
“You look around most Guernsey gardens; they go for flowers.
“They’re not bothered with fruit trees or whatever.”
More than a novelty
Mr Weir said the garden’s success reflects the increasingly warm conditions experienced in Guernsey over recent years.
Having grown up in Ghana, he said the tropical look feels familiar and increasingly suited to the island’s climate.
Mr Weir said the changes were not difficult to predict.
“It’s just seeing what’s there,” he said.
Drawing a comparison with trend spotting in sports, he recalled backing jockey Lester Piggott to win his 60th race because it didn’t take “take two plus two to equal six to realise he’s going to go hell for leather”.
Applying the same logic to gardening, Mr Weir said he decided several years ago to create a more-tropical garden, because he could see the climate getting warmer.
“With everything changing, I thought, ‘We’re not going for a formal garden.
“We’re going for more of a Caribbean garden, with banana and palm trees, because that’s what it will be.'”
While Guernsey’s gardeners were once renowned for tomatoes grown under glass, Mr Weir’s latest mini harvest suggests the island could develop a taste for something a little more tropical.
