Plant Inspirations
June 2008 ~ Hardy Exotics

If you are thinking of revamping an area of your garden and want something that will cause excitement year round, why not choose some hardy exotic plants?  Some have powerful architectural shapes and others just have a magnificent presence.  Whichever plants you decide to have, you’ll certainly create a distinctive and unique look to your garden. 

So to create some structure, start with the Chusan Palm (Trachycarpus fortunei).  Despite looking extremely tropical with its large, fan-shaped leaves and hairy trunk, it can withstand temperatures of -20oC.  This palm is happy in all but the most exposed situations.  A smaller but equally robust palm is the Mediterranean Fan Palm (Chamaerops humilis) which produces really tough spiky leaves.  It tolerates all sorts of wild and windy weather, including snow, and is hardy to -10oC.  Like the Chusan Palm, it can be planted in a sunny position or light shade and puts up with most soils apart from waterlogged conditions.

Bamboos create a wonderfully tropical feel in the garden and the sound of their leaves moving in the breeze is truly relaxing.  The Arrow Bamboo or Metake (Pseudosasa japonica) makes an excellent screen or container plant.  It is one of the most forgiving bamboos, tolerating conditions that most bamboos dislike.  It is happy in virtually any soil, sun or shade.  Or try the Black or Golden Bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra or Phyllostachys aurea).  Again, both can be used as screens and are very tolerant of cold conditions down to -20oC as is the Metake.

 

And don’t forget the Cabbage Palm (Cordyline australis) or the New Zealand Flax (Phormium tenax).  Both are equally exotic in look but extremely hardy in nature.  The Cabbage Palm is forgiving of winds, salt and frost!  When mature, it produces beautiful and superbly fragrant sprays of white flowers.  The New Zealand Flax will also produce stunning flower spikes in various shades of red/brown, sometimes twice the height of the plant, and their fragrance is reminiscent of pine needles.

Having created some structure, you can add some smaller but just as resilient plants such as the False Castor Oil Plant (Fatsia japonica).  Its delightfully glossy green foliage is topped by gorgeous white flower spikes in the autumn.  Or the Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina domestica) whose young foliage is bronze in spring, turning green in summer then rusty red in autumn.  Its mass of white spring flowers are followed by shiny red berries in the autumn.  And don’t forget the hardy ginger (Hedychium ‘Assam Orange’) whose lush green leaves are complemented by masses of orange flowers on tall stems.
The best thing about all (except for the hardy ginger) of the plants listed above is that they are evergreen!  Maintenance is minimal so you can spend more time enjoying your garden 12 months of the year.  Just give the plants an occasional feed, water if weather conditions are really dry and remove the odd bit of dead foliage.  It couldn’t be easier!

Newington Nurseries, a haven for plant lovers, on the A329, Newington, nr. Stadhampton, Oxon

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