Some advice on 'bulking' up my tropical bed

[ourarka]

Hi guys,

I have included some pictures below of my bed, which is in its first year. I just wanted some advice on how to fill out my tropical bed. I want to keep things relatively hardy but feel it is still very sparse. I want to flesh it out with lots of foliage, interspersed with some colour nearer the front. I am really after how can I achieve a much denser, green foliage (as I have plenty of beautiful summer colour bulbs, such as gladioli and lilies planted and pushing through).

The photos are fairly self explanatory, and the situations gets a lot of sun in summer. Briefly from left to right (main plants) you can see:

Chamaodorea microspadix (struggling a bit in the sunshine)
Fargesia robusta
Trachycarpus fortuneii
Group of 3 Chamadorea radicalis
Agapanthus
Musa basjoo

Nearer the front of the border I have some heucheras and some eucosmias. To the far left is a low growing Pachysandra termanalis (and some spent spring flowering bulbs).

I would really love to hear some suggestions as I am all researched out and cannot come up with many ideas!!

PS: Don't worry about the area around the bird bath - this isn't intended to be 'tropical'.

[Nathan]

If you want some hardy things to fill it out then I'd go for Fatsia japonica, Cordyline australis & some Phormium tenax, the last two of course have many colour varieties you could choose from too...

[stephenprudence]

I'd concur with Fatsia japonica, it really is a wonder plant. Its the only plant in my garden that is truly growing properly. It's double the size it was 2 weeks ago

[Troppoz]

Looks like a very sunny spot indeed. Have you considered Nandina? I expect it would be hardy enough in your climate. Perhaps some cannas for fast growing height? Cordylines and fatsias as Nathan and Stephen have said would be fast growing and hardy and make for a great tropical impact. It could be a good spot for growing colocasias or alocasias if youre prepared to lift them in winter or if not then zantedeschias would be a hardier alternative. Maybe some cleomes could be good for fast growing height and leafiness while other things are establishing and give some colour as well.

What else...Dicksonia? Japanese maple? Ricinus? Tetrapanax? I think even rhododendrons can give a tropical feel... As with rhodos I think tree paeonies can look quite exotic and give you colour.

Do you get the smaller varieties of magnolia grandiflora like 'Little Gem' over there? With their large glossy leaves and stunning flowers they give a real tropical feel to any garden. Some of the michelias are very hardy too and can have large leaves, plus the benefit of filling the garden with fragrance...

Good luck!

Sean

[Tom2006]

Some good advice. I have a similar dry boarder my advice is plenty of water and time. I am trying to make room in my boarders but a few years ago they were just soil.

[Adam D]

What's the soil like? Does it dry quickly or does it hold onto moisture?

[bobbyd44]

rodgersias, ligularias,hostas all go together well

[GoggleboxUK]

You could try some mid height stuff like Daylillies, Crocosmia Lucifer and Hellebore.

For foliage Aruncus Dioicus or Elegia Capensis will give good height while you're waiting for the bamboo to grow and spread.

[ourarka]

Cracking responses as always, thank you. Since pay day was yesterday I reckon I have a good excuse to make a list of your recommendations and trundle down to my local exotics centre.

As for the question about my soil - it is some of the best soil in the garden, as luck would have it. Fairly moisture retentive but not too clayey. I have put the wood chippings down to try and keep what moisture we have at the moment in!

[Nigel Fear]

Plenty of good ideas already for you to be getting on wth, but I'd certainly suggest a bit of shade for the Chamaedorea's to continue looking their best, [but I think you already know that] plus if you're contemplating some of the leafy ground cover such as Rob,s nice suggestions,it would be preferable to install some sort of soaker-hose for them, plus slug-control.

[dorothy]

Hi you have a lovely sunny garden.Wish mine was like that.My garden is not very wide but goes all the way round the house, and is screened by high walls and fences.Because of that plus the house, I only have full sun on the patio area.Everywhere else sees just a few hours each of sunshine has the sun moves around the garden.Now wondering if all the plants I have brought will thrive with them not getting sun most of the day.

[Mr List]

t.rex

[redsquirrel]

i few years ago,we saw some stunning c.radicalis growing in heavy shade under sizeable bananas. perhaps something like an albizia would create similar shade yet stay clear of the palms

[Troppoz]

Yeah Red an albizzia would work well in that space and add some colour and shade. Maybe also eriobotrya could be a nice exotic that should stay manageable and give you some fruit as well or perhaps a nice variegated arundo would be good for some height and a bit of shelter from the sun.

[Rachelpalm]

Hello
Phormuims are great to fill spaces in. You can get different sizes and colours . I have loads in my garden. About 20 odd. I really like the black ones I have( black adder) . They get to about 1.5 meters by 1.5 meters large. Yellow Wave is also very pretty and does not get too large. About 1 meter by 1 meter. Phormuims are really low mait and hardy and I just trim off dead leaves now and then. All my phormiums sailed through last winter ok. Another plant that likes full sun and looks tropical and is evergreen is the Mexican Orange Blossom. It looks great in spring as all new growth is yellow and grows pretty fast and is low mait and grows to about 6 feet by 6 feet. A great border filler. I have just planted another one down bottom of my garden in full sun to fill a gap in near a tree.

Fatsia japonica are also low mait and tropical looking, but they look and do better in shade. I have about 10 and ones in the shade look darker green and are larger. I have some in full sun and they look lighter green and leaves are smaller, but they still look ok. They need plenty of water and feed this time of year. Another great plant to fill borders is the bushy palm called Chamaerop Humilis which is pretty cheap to buy and very hardy. Mine sailed through last winter. It is a clump forming palm tree and I have one near my blue bench down bottom of my garden in full sun which is 9 years old and it is about 1 meter across and 1 meter tall. They are very low mait and great border fillers. They go down to about -10c .

I have just bought another one , Chamaerop Humilis, for £21 as they look tropical and are very hardy and easy to grow.


Cheers