Wealden Times | WT244 | September 2022 | Winter Interiors Supplement inside

Phormium
Cannas unfurl to look like mini banana
plants, Agapanthus leaves are arching
and strappy, Dahlias are lush and leafy.
Lilies are great for providing a splash
of splendid colour without taking up
much room, These do like a bit of
sun, it’s true, but Fuchsias, Begonias
and tender perennials like Impatiens
(Busy Lizzies) will thrive in the shade
of other plants. Frost tender annuals
like Zinnia, Tithonia and scented
Nicotioana (tobacco plants) will bring
pops of colour all summer long – and
all for the price of a packet of seeds.
Plant them out once the danger of
frost is over – and use them to fill
gaps in the border or plant in pots
to group together in a display.
Ground Cover
Creeping along the floor of a jungle
will be the most tenacious of the plants,
able to exist in the deepest shade in
and among their taller neighbours.
These plants will be able to manage
with less of everything and will make
a green carpet that will also smother
any non-exotic weeds that might try
to infiltrate the scheme. Lysimachia
(creeping Jenny) is a useful scrambler
in damp shade, Bergenia (Elephants
ears) has huge weed-smothering
leathery leaves and spring flowers,
Pachysandra has smaller palmate leaves
and is great beneath trees and shrubs,
Euphorbia Purpurea’s dark leaves and
lime green bracts will provide contrast.
And then there is a host of delicate
looking ferns that will bring a little
air and light to the understorey.
Winter
Tropical gardens don’t look their
best in the winter, let’s be honest. If
you have enough space to close off
your exotic space or divert attention
elsewhere once the frosts arrive, you
can plant with abandon and then
make sure that the most tender have
an over-wintering space while you
wrap up the rest. If this is an area that
you look at out of your window all
year round, then you will have to plan
carefully to stop it looking depressing
and bare in the winter. Perhaps stick
to evergreens, hardier plants and then
add in some bulbs to cheer it up in the
spring. Provide continuity of interest
through the seasons, while still making
room for the blast of tropical colour
and leaf in the summer months.
Water
There’s no getting away from it – true
jungle plants will need water – and
lots of it, something that not many
of us have the luxury of through the
summer, unless we have been very
careful and set up lots of rainwater
storage. Luckily, as discussed above,
there are a few sensible, large-leaved,
exotic looking shrubs and perennials
that are able to withstand periods
of dry weather, will thrive in dry
shade and aren’t bothered too much
by pests and diseases. Hooray!
Top of my list would probably
be Fatsia japonica, with its huge
shiny dark green leaves and unusual
looking, creamy flowers in the
autumn. It is a real gem and will
provide structure and presence in
any shady or semi-shaded place.
Viburnum davidii is another of
these undemanding, but large-leaved
glossy evergreens, fitting perfectly
into the mid-layer of a scheme and
muddling along through the seasons,
sporadically flowering with slightly
scented white flowers, followed by
weird looking metallic blue/black
berries that last a long time on the
plant – because they are too suspicious
looking to eat. Their leaves have a
leathery, almost waxy feel, which,
together with fewer stomata (tiny holes
on the underside of the leaves that let
gasses and water vapour through) is
how they slow down water loss.
Other plants that shouldn’t need too
much water, once they are established
are Maclaya (Plume poppy), that
will thread its way through other
plants, Heucheras, Euopnymus, ivy and
some ferns will be fine in dry shade.
Crocosmia, Agapanthus, Hemerocallis
(Daylillies), Choisya (Mexican
Orange) and Cotinus while accepting,
will flower better in the light.
Join Jo for a Border Design course
at her garden in Woodchurch
hornbrookmanor.co.uk
istockphoto.com/Little_Airplane
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