Style: December 01, 2017

38 STYLE | landscaping
TROPICAL FEVER
A bird-of-paradise plant will look stunning in a pot.
While the Christchurch
climate isn’t nearly as balmy
as Fiji, we can still create a
tropical backyard through
careful plant selection,
Craig Wilson writes.
Most of us love a spot of overseas travel
once in a while. Whether it’s respite from
the Canterbury frosts or visiting friends and
relatives, it’s great to get away.
In my design practice I often have clients that
find fresh inspiration for their garden as they
travel. The cultures and history experienced can
create poignant memories they wish to replicate
on their return. On a recent trip to Fiji I found
myself pondering the lush tropical gardens and
what key factors defined the aesthetic. For me,
it came down to the following: Large foliage,
vibrant colour tones, scent and palm trees.
Then followed the obvious question: Can
we create this in Christchurch? The answer, I
concluded, was both “no” and “yes”.
The climatic differences are obvious and too
great to make a genuine tropical garden – our
winter is too cold, rainfall too low and soils
too heavy. However, we can create our own
variation using comparative plant material that
will flourish in our temperate climate.
We have plenty of options when it comes to
‘large foliage’ plants. Ligularia has become a
go-to plant in Christchurch, with a large ‘tractor
seat’ leaf that will work nicely with a tropical
vibe. Our lush native ground ferns will also
create the desired outcome in a shady aspect
– just make sure your soil has a high organic
content. If you’re coastal or above the frosts
you’re lucky enough to be able to use the
stunning griselinia lucida and mertya for a lush
leafy look.
To add the required injection of vibrant
colours we can work with plants like canna lilies
and daylilies, which will produce bright flowers
throughout summer with good foliage effect.
You could also go ‘old-school’ and explore
aucuba, and work with the bright yellow/lime
tones.
Scent is not difficult to create in Christchurch
gardens. Daphne fits the bill nicely with its
late winter/ early spring flowering. This can
be followed by star jasmine, which offers
prolific spring/summer flowering and buckets
of fragrance as a groundcover or climber. You
could also look to a michelia to mimic the form,
scent and flower of a frangipani.
Our environment will support a good range
of palms. Sorry, coconuts are out, but bhutia,
washingtonia, trachycarpus, and phoenix are all
on the table. These will take time to establish
but are available in ‘hardened off’ large grades
from garden centres. You might look at a sago
palm (Cycas revoluta) as a hardy option for a
smaller space.
To finish the look of your tropically inspired
Christchurch garden paradise, plant some
genuine tropical species in a pot and move them
indoors for winter. A bird-of-paradise flowering
on the patio may just take you back to your last
tropical getaway.
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