Welcome to the tropics of Warwick: How a gardener has managed to grow BANANAS in his tropical garden

It is something you often see in tropical climates.

But if you look hard enough, you might be able to spot banana trees growing in Warwick

Richard Evans planted three banana trees eight years ago in his tropical garden in Emscote Road - and now he is enjoying the fruits of his labours from the 12 trees he currently has.

"I have told people for many years that I am going to grow my own bananas, they always laughed at me every year," he said.

"Myself and my wife love the Caribbean and visited a banana plantation. I loved these plants and wanted to grow my own in the UK.

We always wanted a tropical garden.

"We may be the first in Warwickshire and many other parts of the country to grow these."

Richard said that the first pod produced around 60 bananas with another two pods appearing on the other banana trees.

"We could have around 180!" he added.

"When I first saw these I ran indoors telling my wife who though I’d gone mad.

"Since then I have shown most of my friends and family who were shocked."

Richard believes the bananas are Musa basjoo, which was found in Japan and introduced into English gardens in the 1890s.

But he added: "Unfortunately these would not be edible as they are full of seed.

"At the height of the growing season their leaves increase by over 10mm per hour and they remove an awful lot of CO2 from the atmosphere.

"I will keep trying to grow more different plants. We also have peaches growing on a tree and various palm trees.

"As my favourite drink is tea so I will now try to grow my own tea plants."

None of his tropical plants have been protected from the frost but they have been protected by his well-designed south facing garden.

Richard said: "I have planned the garden and these are only protected by the natural surroundings."