EXOTIC landscapes

Plants for an exotic garden will feature spectacular foliage and extrovert flowers. While most of this glamorous group originate from warmer climes, many are much hardier than they look. So, if you’ve fallen for sub-tropical plants when on holiday, there’s a good chance that some will survive the warmer, wetter winters that in recent years have emboldened jungle-like migrants such as palms and phormiums, bamboos and bananas.

Exotic gardens are very distinctive in style, relying on dramatic plants that inevitably steal the limelight from all but the most prominent decorative features. Many can be demanding, and creating a lush tropical retreat comes with certain prerequisites. Large, exposed plots need walls or hedges to