Tropical garden Novice

Hello,

I’ve decided to redesign and refresh our garden this year. We’ve enough space to create some additional distinct areas/garden rooms and OH has requested a tropical feel for one of them. Can anyone recommend some good books, podcasts and/or YouTube films to help me pull together some ideas? I shall also be searching for useful posts on here and will no doubt be in and out with lots of questions.

We haven’t anywhere reliably frost free to store tender plants so I will have to use hardy perennials and shrubs for a tropical feel





I always think the research and planning is almost as much fun as the doing.

 

Have a look at Christopher Lloyd's books on his garden at Great Dixter @Butterfly6, he was a master of the tropical look in a temperate climate!

 

Agree about Christopher Lloyd books all are good.
May be have a look here https://www.youtube.com/@YorkshireKRIS/videos

 

Yes of course. Can’t believe I didn’t think of him, especially as he’s on my “places to visit” list for 2024

 

@NigelJ

Thank you!

 

I have a few plants in my garden that look tropical @Butterfly6 but are happy without winter protection. These include many ornamental grasses, particularly Miscanthus varieties and Cortaderia 'Pumila", bamboo (Phyllostachys varieties but they can need barriers, depending on position and soil), plus Euphorbias. Also, although I don't grow it now, Lavatera looks like Hibiscus and is hardy in most places. Tender plants like Dahlias give an instant tropical feel and can be overwintered in the ground if you are in a mild location or lifted and overwintered indoors. Lots of annual climbers look tropical too, so consider something like Thunbergia or Nasturtiums which are easy to grow from seed.

 

I like palms, Yuccas or phormiums, you can get smaller ones, for kind of backbone plants.
Lots of other really.
You can then add half hardy stuff like maybe the true castor oil plants, any thing with spikey, not all sharp, or big compound leaves gives the effect.

If you have space Eucalyptus or Acacias.

 

Yes, I forgot about Phormiums @JWK, I've got many! Avoid the plain green one @Butterfly6, it can be a thug, the variegated ones like P. tricolor and Yellow Wave are much nicer. The leaf edges are also softer. Some photos here:

Yellow Wave, followed by Tricolor.

 

Ricinus is an excellent annual to give the tropical look, very easy from seed. I would not be without Cannas and Dahlias in my tropical border.

 

Definitely Cannas! They're much hardier than most folks give them credit for, especially Wyoming and Durban. Just give them a mulch of compost or old leaves to see them through winter. Even some of the Colocasias and Hedychiums are pretty hardy given a winter mulch.

 

I've had a fairly large Alocasia come back from a winter or two, but not the winter before this one, it was mostly getting smaller each year until it got killed off.
Not tried Colocasia's, but I always think of them needing even more heat and humidity.

Personally I dont think we get a long enough or hot enough summer for them, they just go backwards.
I agree Cannas survive but flowering has mostly been August at the earliest for them if over wintered in the ground.

Hedychium's, of the few I have tried, are worthwhile, but again some are very late flowering when the weather has turned in autumn.