With such a nice and warm afternoon I managed to spend some time in the garden just having a walk around with the camera on hand. Sun and damp soil from previous rainy days does lead to an explosion in growth!
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| Still in the process of arranging the pots on the patio... |
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| The Trachycarpus in the centre was a very small plant when it went in the ground 7 years ago, it has taken off in the the last year or so, and still has many leaves down to the ground. |
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| View down the long garden path |
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| Schefflera aff. chapana |
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| The canopy has started to fill in quite nicely along this pathway. |
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| Aesculus parviflora |
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| Ground cover plants finally filling the space and covering the ground in many parts of the garden. |
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| Mixed planting in front of the jungle hut |
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| Fatsia japonica 'Spiders Web' has loved the wet weather this year and really done well. |
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| View across the existing pond (hidden by foliage) |
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| Astilboides tabularis the leaves are bigger than we have had before, it has loved having much damper soil this year with all the rain, despite the hose pipe ban. |
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| The fernery |
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| Small frog pond in the foreground is home to several breeding frogs again this year. |
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| Tetrapanax papyrifera 'Rex' |
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| Cyphomandra corymbiflora, the hardy tree tomato. This has proved a reliable plant in our garden. |
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| Fatsia japonica 'Annelise' |
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| Aralia elata 'Variegata' |
Gaz
This gardening blog follows our journey as we create our Tropical and Exotic themed garden. We hope you'll enjoy the journey as much as we do. We started our Exotic Garden in 2005 and this site will show its development, as well as our travels, both abroad and within the UK to gardens, nurseries and friends.
Hi Gaz, your tropical jungle is already so beautiful, i can't imagine it is in that country. Our area in the property which is not disturbed and mostly just volunteer plants somehow looks like that in growth, hahaha! Where is Mark?
ReplyDeleteThanks Andrea! Mark was around but busy sanding wood whilst I was taking these photos. But I'm sure you'll see him turning up in one of the posts soon :)
ReplyDeleteThe two fatsia photographs are quite interesting, I have seen a Fatsia japonica variegata before, but Spidersweb and Annelise are new ones on me. Do you grow FJ variegata?
ReplyDeleteHi David, yes we grow Fatsia 'Variegata' but it's still in a pot and have yet to plant it out. We've planted out one before but it died and never got the chance yet to replace it. Hardiness should be the same as the other variegated forms and there are plenty doing well in our area :)
ReplyDeleteIt's all looking very lush and jungly. The rain has obviously helped but I suspect it's just as much a product of ever increasing height and maturity. Some great combinations and views. I particularly like the shot (#5) down your gravel path. Definitely SE Asian in look.
ReplyDeleteHi John,
ReplyDeleteYes the rain has helped fill smaller things out but you are correct this last year has seen things hit the right sort of height. My mum used to find the garden a bit too dense in the planting, but now the canopy plants have reached above head height shes much keener on the garden.
Im glad it looks SE Asian, as thats the general look we have been after!
Very tropical and very beautiful. Do you get much in the way of insects? I am just curious about pollinators like butterflies for instance.
ReplyDeleteAmazing, I will see your garden in person someday! By the way what are you going to do with your old pond area once all fishies have been transferred?
ReplyDeleteDonna, thanks for the lovely compliment :) We get lots of insects and other wild life in the garden, birds, foxes, hedgehogs for instance. We dont tend to see that many butterflies, not really sure why not.
ReplyDeleteLibby thats so kind, and you know you are welcome any time!!
The old pond will stay, and continue to be home to the goldfish already living there. Only the koi will move to the new pond. We will probably add more goldies to the existing pond.
What a great tour of your garden! I could get lost in there! A couple of things: I really like the red poles in the jug. It is the perfect color punch against the greenery. Also, I am in love with the foliage combination in the third from last photo. Could you identify the plants for me? I wish I could replicate it exactly in my own garden!
ReplyDeleteThat is an amazing garden! really beautiful
ReplyDeleteits all so lush and big. I am used to seeing photos of your pond project that I hadn't realised the rest of your garden was so tropical. Looks wonderful
ReplyDeleteDebs, glad you enjoyed the tour! Top left is a Heuchera (Can't remember the exact variety)
ReplyDeleteThen in middle (left to right) is Podophyllum 'Spotty Dotty', Fagus sylvatica 'Franken', Schefflera taiwaniana and Rhododendron mallotum.
fer, glad you like it!
Helen, thanks, glad you liked seeing other parts of the garden :)
It's looking superb, guys. The very wet spring/early summer has certainly made or lush growth. Your jungle hut looks like it's been there forever, but I seem to recall it"s only been a couple of years?
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of Fatsias too, though I not have the pace you do. If I remember correctly you have a few forms of F polycarpa as well as the japonica forms in your pics here? 'Annliese' is beautifully marked, but seems hard to come by now.
Pete
All those fabulous foliage plants. Alternative Eden just gets more and mote convincing. I am very intrigued with your Fatsia japonica 'Spiders Web'.
ReplyDeleteHi Pete,
ReplyDeleteThe back part of the jungle hut was there when we moved in, a large wooden workshop for a previous owner of the house, the front "porch" bit was added about 3 years ago. It does seem to have blended in well.
On the fatsia we have at plants introduced by both the late Edward Needham and also Crug, there seems to be some variability so perhaps there's an idea for a future post!
Annelise has been a good plant for us, I havent spotted it for sale for a while now.
Alistair, thanks for the kind words, I would imagine Spiders Web would do ok for you, its been through fairly harsh winters for us.
All this rain is certainly adding to the tropical effect! a beautiful garden, thanks for the tour.
ReplyDeleteYou have a great looking garden that looks much like a forest. But the good kind of forest where you can relax and travel on. Kids must love playing in that garden of yours. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Richard, glad you enjoyed it, the rain has helped, but some warm sunshine would be very welcome now.
ReplyDeleteThanks John, glad you enjoyed looking.
Wow! I've never seen anything like your garden before. I will definitely be back to explore your blog more...my own garden is calling for some attention before the heat builds too much. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks tpals, glad you liked it, do pop back and say hi again :) Hope the heat wasnt too much for you today
ReplyDeleteI haven't visited for a while and enjoyed strolling around your garden.. It looks fantastic, love the pic of the 'ground cover filling in nicely'. It looks so lush and tropical!
ReplyDeleteHi Hazel, glad to see you again :) Thanks for your kind comments too!
ReplyDeleteGreat mix of foliage. It looks like a nice garden to stroll through and check out all the different textures.
ReplyDeleteHi Ryan, glad you enjoyed your look round :)
ReplyDelete