Hardy Tropicals UK

Yes Kata I think it's a Cordy Australis but I'm always hoping someone will find a spiky looking grass that will stay that size rather than become a tree as I've been trying to find something to fit that bill for ages with no sucess.

Good luck with that Goggle!

I got that cordy, well thats what was on the label, brought a pic here and thd members said its not. Took it back I felt a proper Tropical Cordy at Homebase this week..big difference.

Cheers guys for the kind words.

It is a cordy in the raised bed, a twin trunk Australis that i bought from seagrave. I ordered a single stem and they sent a double

I saw a pic of a Cordyline Australis the other day tho (on here) and the leaves looked much thicker than mine

Nigel, yes its a tenax.
Just how big do these get? i was told about 5' high which is fine,but im not sure how much it will spread.
My uneducated guess was about 2' as we have one in the works garden that has been there a long time and its about 2' wide by 4' high, it looks like a Phormium of some sort.
Its about 3' away from the Dicksonia antarctica, altho in my pic it looks much closer.
I want a compact tropical look but the tree fern is supposed to be the main feature, so if the Phormium is going to spead over 3' wide than it will need to be moved to another part of the garden.

Btw can Phormiums be devided when they get bigger?

Also the Choiysa was already in the garden, its about the only plant i kept. You could hardly see it before as it was covered by a big lilac bush plus some other huge shrub that was very tatty looking.
It took a bit of a bashing in the winter but i cut back all the dead parts and its now really thickening up nicely.
Lovely plant, i was going to move it but i think its now going to stay where it is as it obviously likes that spot.

Stunning transformation!

Would love a Dicksonia antarctica myself, such a magnificent focal point, although not sure how i'd get it through winter.

I had always wanted one and when we moved into the house i knew i wanted one in that spot.

we had a -21 here last winter... I will just wrap it as well as i can and keep everything crossed. I thought about potting it but they look better in the ground imo, plus its a heavy old lump so moving it into the shed would be hard work.

Its a stunning plant so worth the risk, altho if it dies i will be absolutely gutted.

Well i have been reading up on my Phormium and oh yes im going to move it lol.

I have the perfect place for it tho, a small 5' x 5' corner area that i have been wondering what to do with.

I knew these got tall but did not realise just how wide they get, i really should of read up on them a little before planting.

I have another in my border but i think it will be ok there, i forget the name but its yellow and green, about 18"s tall right now.
I also planted a small purple one out the front, should be fun watching that one grow.

Pat yourself on the back! Well done!

Cheers, Barrie.

A few more pics.

This week i have planted 2 canna's, a nana, some iris that were 1/2 price in homebase, a yucca Beschorneria plus a little Trachycarpus that was in a pot.
The iris are now going out of season but should look good next year. The yucca was £14.99 from homebase and a good size.
The canna are possibly virused, but i have no others and no house around me has them so figured it was worth a go.

I also planted a cordi from the inlaws, it was 10 years old and killed over winter. It was potted previously, and she was going to throw it away so i have given it one last chance and cut back the spongy trunk to about 8" and planted it in my border hoping it will shoot from the base.

I've also cut my new lawn (from seed) for the first time and im really pleased with it, altho once my boys get the football out that might change.
I still need a few new fence panel or screening (cant decide) and deffo want a few bamboos dotted here and there but for my 1st year as a gardener im pretty happy. Patio area i think will be next years project.

Well i thought i'd update this as i have just an hour ago finished putting up my greenhouse.
I had a space at the bottom of the garden that has been the dumping ground whilst the garden was being sorted.
I decided to get a small 6x6 greenhouse, i wanted 8x6 but there was a big bloody tree stump in the way that is just too big to get up. 6x6 fitted in perfect.

Slabs were laid tues/wed using up all the old slabs i had lying around.
Greenhouse came friday morning and today it took 7 painful/stressfull hrs to erect .

Happy now tho. Now i just need to clear all the wood/bricks from down the side of the greenhouse and i will have somewhere to hide my wheelbarrow lol.

Well we had a lovely sunny day in Worcester, so i went outside armed with the camera to get some pics before everything starts going downhill.

This is my first year gardening, and the garden is now 9 months old and has come on much better than i ever thought possible.

It is safe to say the gardening bug has well and truly bit, i love it and spend many hours out there just pottering around.
A big thanks to everyone on this forum for the valuable advice, without some guidance im sure i would of made way more mistakes. Also for the inspiration, i have seen so many wonderful gardens on here and now have a vision of how i want mine to look.

Anyway here are a few pics from today and a few i took the other day.
This is probably my favourite spot to sit and relax, a bit different from when we moved in. Below 2 pics are taken from roughly the same angle.
Before...... Next year i would love to lift the patio and have it decked but i'm not sure i will have the spare funds.
Also some more fence panels need replacing.

Overall i'm chuffed with what i have achieved so far especially as i have done everything single handed (except putting the greenhouse together).

Next to the greenhouse i will be clearing stuff to make way for a waggie or 2. Also some big bamboos for the main border and possibly a few behind the raised beds to hide some of the fencing.
I think 99% of the hard work has been done, it has nearly killed me but it was worth it and i can't wait to get buying again next year.

Well done Delboy!

Your hard work over the year really has paid off and your garden looks great

Looks fantastic mate, well done I know how hard it is doing all the work yourself.

Cracking job Del, looks great!

Del the whole job so far looks great, it's been graft but now you can enjoy it if all the real works done , if you ever come over this way I'll find you a bit of bamboo to save buying one too.