Why an exotic garden ?  I am sure there are as many reasons as there are exotic gardeners, but for me there are three main ones.  Firstly, escapism - when walking around the garden it takes just the blink of an eye and a small leap of the imagination to become transported to a magical land  filled with all of your favourite plants - a personal paradise.  Suddenly, you are on holiday without a care in the world,  you have become Gulliver in your private  Brobdingnag. To walk beneath the huge leaves of a banana and see the sunlight illuminate the textures and colours; to become intoxicated by the heady fragrance of a brugmansia on a still evening; to hear the rustle of bamboo leaves as they are gently caressed by each breeze....  OK - never mind all that poetic stuff  - the bottom line is that it is good fun.

The next factor for me is maybe a little sinful, but I enjoy that sense of self-satisfaction when the uninitiated walk around for the first time in wonderment, their eyes bursting out of their heads in disbelief.  Even better is the 'I told you so' factor when faced with the uninformed 'expert' (.... 'that can't possibly be hardy...')

Lastly but possibly most importantly is the science.  Exotic gardening is one of the few areas of horticulture where the boundaries are still being penciled in - I think the opportunities for petunias, for example, have been widely explored - and collectively we are challenging the received wisdom regarding plant hardiness.

Three steps to heaven

Creating a 'subtropical' garden in the UK is similar to a card trick - it is pure deception. We don't have a subtropical climate (and unless you are in the balmy southwest, not even warm temperate - never mind !) but with a little horticultural sleight of hand it is possible to create something that looks like we do. This is deceptively easy.

step 1 - choose plants that look exotic

step 2 - omit those that do not.

step 3 - that's it.  Simple.

The essence of this trick is knowing which exotic looking plants to choose that suit the growing conditions that are available and the intended feel or atmosphere of the finished product. Perhaps the most pressing question for exotic gardeners is that of cold hardiness which will ultimately be the greatest limiting factor.

Paddles or spikes ?

There is a tendency for exotic gardeners to become 'plant anoraks' fascinated by the minutiae of their species collections and starting to disappear up their own microclimate. How often does the plant society bash ring to the words of "....oh yes and despite being exposed to -5.4 deg C for two nights there was minimal leaf scorch...." (If the cap fits wear it - I'm afraid that I do). 

The usual story is to shoehorn into a garden the largest possible number of the rarest possible varieties with the largest possible leaves it is possible to grow and make a 'jungle' (ensuring to place at least two thermometers against every fence). And it has to be said that for sheer eye-catching, neighbour-curtain-twitching, friend-and-relative-sanity-doubting effect it is certainly hard to beat. However, there is a life beyond log roll edging and a forest bark path.

Firstly, and you could say at the opposite end of the scale, 'deserts'. I feel there is a lot of scope for this, especially at the sunnier, drier bits of the UK. Anyone gardening on a south facing slope with little rain knows what a problem it can be - so why not go with the flow, actually 'improve' the soil with ballast and sharp sand, mulch with the same, stick in a few of the hardier spiky plants, palms, cacti and succulents and, hey presto, where are the camels.   

The 'cactus patch' in my garden early summer 2001

Somewhere in between and a little less austere would be the Mediterranean style stuff, with fewer spikies and spines and more grey lacy bits. Both of these styles are eminently suited to our regular summer droughts as the plants can easily tolerate - some even need - a period of summer dryness.

Water, water, everywhere...

Water is an important aspect of any garden, and for exoticists in particular.  Most of the large-leaved exotic plants rely upon copious amounts of water to keep their enormous sails pumped up and looking good, and to have a pond with a range of beds created within the liner ranging from deep water aquatic through shallow marginal to bog and finally just moist and retentive soil increases the number of exotics that can be grown immensely.  It is fairly easy to create an exclusively exotic pond, herewith called a lagoon purely for pretentious purposes, as there is a wide range of hardy, leafy, exotic looking plants readily available.  Add to these some summer guests, such as cannas (yes, most cannas will grow well in water) Cyperus papyrus and the giant aroids, and you have a seriously exotic bit of gardening going on.

A mere formality

Most exotic gardens are informal in style, but I believe some of the most stunning effects can be achieved in a modern formal style. Many of the plants have a strong form - architectural plants is a good expression and trade name - which can only be enhanced by this treatment. There was no greater exponent of this style than the late Roberto Burle-Marx, a genius from Brazil who used fluid ground patterns of contrasting coloured plantings as a backdrop for stunningly simple specimen displays. Check him out in the library, there is sadly little about him on line. Working mainly in the tropics, he had a slight advantage in the choice of plant material, but it can still be done.

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