Jungle plants for small garden

kylith

After months of staring at my garden I've decided that since I'm not really a perfectionist a 'jungle' garden would be my best bet. Can anyone recommend some jungle looking plants for a small garden? My beds are about 2mx1m, and the garden's only about 5mx5m. I've tried google, but the words 'tropical' and 'tender' keep coming up, neither of which really fit with my low-maintainance goal. I'd be happy to go with a more Irish jungle of ferns or something if an Amazonian look would be too likely to be killed by frost. Oh, and there's one quite sunny bed and one quite shady bed.

LaChatteGitane

Fatsia japonica from the top of my head.

Ferns.

Eta. Bamboo, non invasive species

yellowlabrador

This is what I've done to get a jungle effect. I used to have tender plants such as bananas etc but the past few winters have been a killer because I'm exposed to a north wind.
This garden is tiny, and quite a few plants are weeds, but it's so full you can't get in there to weed.

pwurple

I love the jungle look... Lush greenery, perfectly suited to loads of rain.

In my jungle shady patch I have fatsia japonica like above, shade loving ferns, aucuba, euphorbias, hellebores, and hardy orchids.

In sunny patch I have a trachycarpus, Cynara, acanthus, and i put in summer annuals for colour. Zinnias and gazanias. Had a few musa basjoo (hardy banana) but lost to the last few hard winters. The trachycarpus was more established I guess.

rje66

tree ferns -dicksonia antartica, larger one are pricey but you can get ones in 5L pots that wont break the bank.
certain grasses( stipa arundinaceae or carex testaceae- check spellings)mixed with the above mentioned Fatsia japonica will give a great effect aswell

paddy147

Canna is lovely.



Its a lovely tropical/jungle plant that flowers in the summer

kylith

Thanks for all the ideas folks. I'm probably going to start with a fatsia japonica and maybe a couple of dwarf phormiums and add to that. The dicinsonia is a tempting prospect, but I'm not sure how good an idea it would be in an urban garden. They get quite big, don't they.

Sgt Pepper 64

kylith wrote: »

Thanks for all the ideas folks. I'm probably going to start with a fatsia japonica and maybe a couple of dwarf phormiums and add to that. The dicinsonia is a tempting prospect, but I'm not sure how good an idea it would be in an urban garden. They get quite big, don't they.

Beware Jack Frost!

I've found Bamboo's to be bullet proof, but lost a good few phormiums and tree ferns. Tree ferns in particular are hard to look after, you have to wrap them up for winter as do Canna's

newbie2

I've a tropical area in my garden. It's the oldest and most established so it's looking quite good (if I do say so myself ).

It's a similar size to your plot - 5X5

I did grow bananas and cannas etc a few years ago but the last few winters put an end to that.

ATM I grow - bamboos, tree ferns, lots of various ferns, hostas, crocosmia, new zealand flax, cabbage palms, trachycarpus (.sp), fatsia japonica, camillia, cannas, lots of lillies, daylillies and a couple of chinese rhubarbs (poisinous but huge leaves - about 1 metre across - very effective.) I also have 3or4 echiums. These are in there second year now so next year they'll flower and after that I'll clear them. It'll give me about 1.8X1.8 of free space.

All I have is a decking path going down the middle so I have 2 about 2.5X5m beds. IMO the trick is having big rounded leaves next to spikey leaves. Also height is a real plus. My cabbage palms are about 14 feet now ( after 10 years )and the bamboo, tree ferns and the echiums add lots of height. Early on I built a pergola which added soem 'fake' height. cramming plants and lots of plant food work too. I must post up some pics if anyone is interested?

paddy147

newbie2 wrote: »

I've a tropical area in my garden. It's the oldest and most established so it's looking quite good (if I do say so myself ).

It's a similar size to your plot - 5X5

I did grow bananas and cannas etc a few years ago but the last few winters put an end to that.

ATM I grow - bamboos, tree ferns, lots of various ferns, hostas, crocosmia, new zealand flax, cabbage palms, trachycarpus (.sp), fatsia japonica, camillia, cannas, lots of lillies, daylillies and a couple of chinese rhubarbs (poisinous but huge leaves - about 1 metre across - very effective.) I also have 3or4 echiums. These are in there second year now so next year they'll flower and after that I'll clear them. It'll give me about 1.8X1.8 of free space.

All I have is a decking path going down the middle so I have 2 about 2.5X5m beds. IMO the trick is having big rounded leaves next to spikey leaves. Also height is a real plus. My cabbage palms are about 14 feet now ( after 10 years )and the bamboo, tree ferns and the echiums add lots of height. Early on I built a pergola which added soem 'fake' height. cramming plants and lots of plant food work too. I must post up some pics if anyone is interested?

Sounds lovely......Pics please.:)

kylith

newbie2 wrote: »

I've a tropical area in my garden. It's the oldest and most established so it's looking quite good (if I do say so myself ).

It's a similar size to your plot - 5X5

I did grow bananas and cannas etc a few years ago but the last few winters put an end to that.

ATM I grow - bamboos, tree ferns, lots of various ferns, hostas, crocosmia, new zealand flax, cabbage palms, trachycarpus (.sp), fatsia japonica, camillia, cannas, lots of lillies, daylillies and a couple of chinese rhubarbs (poisinous but huge leaves - about 1 metre across - very effective.) I also have 3or4 echiums. These are in there second year now so next year they'll flower and after that I'll clear them. It'll give me about 1.8X1.8 of free space.

All I have is a decking path going down the middle so I have 2 about 2.5X5m beds. IMO the trick is having big rounded leaves next to spikey leaves. Also height is a real plus. My cabbage palms are about 14 feet now ( after 10 years )and the bamboo, tree ferns and the echiums add lots of height. Early on I built a pergola which added soem 'fake' height. cramming plants and lots of plant food work too. I must post up some pics if anyone is interested?

Yes please! I'd love to see your garden so I can steal your ideas get some inspiration.

newbie2

As promised. Click the images for a bigger view. FWIW I keep my lillies in pots so they can be moved around if the bigger plants' leaves shade them out...











.

paddy147

Lovely garden.:)

The 2nd and 3rd pic reminds me of the giant hot house in The Botanic Gardens.;):D

LaChatteGitane

Gorgeous !

kylith

Wow, absolutely gorgeous. Some fantastic ideas there.

kylith

Ok, I placed my order with Johnstown Garden Centre today. They seem kind of expensive, but without a car my choices are limited. I ordered:

Heucherella Yellowstone Falls
Athyrium Silver Falls - Japanese Painted Fern
Hackonechloa macra Alboaurea - Japanese Forest Grass (variagated)
Helleborus x ericsmithii Bobs Best
Phormium Jester
Phormium Golden Ray
Helleborus orientalis Burgundy
Summer Wine - Exclusive Climbing Rose
Callistemon - Bottlebrush Plant
Fatsia japonica variegata - Castor Oil Plant

looksee

Newbie 2, lovely! The hydrangea works surprisingly well for flower interest.

kylith

Plants arrived first thing this morning, and as soon as I could face it I got to work

Before:



After:




Other bed
Before:



After:



Yes, I really should have painted first. Lesson learned.

wildlifeboy

Any chance of a updated picture of your beds? I was thinking of getting pretty much the same list as you.

kylith

I don't have one, but I'll take a pic at the weekend if it's not too rainy. It's not looking the best at the minute, everything is only starting to come up.

chopper6

yellowlabrador wrote: »

This is what I've done to get a jungle effect. I used to have tender plants such as bananas etc but the past few winters have been a killer because I'm exposed to a north wind.
This garden is tiny, and quite a few plants are weeds, but it's so full you can't get in there to weed.

Whatever the plant is above and at 1.24 i have tons of the bulbs if anybody wants some PM me.

wildlifeboy

they are invasive and spread like wildlife. they are all over mayo where i go down. cant remember the name either. they are nice to put in an area that can be managed.

chopper6

wildlifeboy wrote: »

they are invasive and spread like wildlife. they are all over mayo where i go down. cant remember the name either. they are nice to put in an area that can be managed.

The stock that i have were originally from my granny's house circa 1940...they're managable if you keep thinning the corms up from time to time.

I also have lots of Yellow Archangel if anybody wants some.

kylith

Here's how the garden looks at the moment. The Japanese grass, hosta, geranium, and fern aren't up yet. And yes, I do still need to paint the walls! There's also some kind of cordyline thing that seems to have self seeded itself in beside the red phormium. The dogs have trampled the bottlebrush bush to the point where it only has one branch left, so I'm waiting to see if that's going to survive. The hellebores are going great guns though!