Create a tropical-style garden
Fancy a tropical-style garden but don’t live in the tropics? It’s still possible to create your dream, writes DERYN THORPE
For many Australians, resort-style tropical gardens evoke memories of relaxing holidays in sultry Bali, Fiji and northern Queensland. The idea of having a garden with that kind of feel right outside your door on a more permanent basis can be very appealing. Of course, tropical rainforests and steamy jungles feature sticky humidity, regular summer rainfall and temperatures that remain above 21°C year-round. Most plants from these regions are not suited to the cool winter climates of southern Australia.
However, there are plants that evoke that lush, tropical ambience and which thrive in cool conditions. Some of these may even tolerate frost once established. Clever plant choice and layering make it possible to create a tropical-style garden as far south as Canberra or Melbourne.
planning your garden
Tropical gardens have layers of lush, verdant foliage from the ground to the sky. Palms, large-leafed shrubs, rambling groundcovers and brightly coloured foliage and flowers are all hallmarks of the tropics. Also, natural seating such as
bamboo and wicker creates a resort look, especially when bold colours are used for soft furnishings and accessories.
To get all the elements right, it’s best to start with a plan. Include pathways that wind through the garden space, as well as water features, decorative pots and statues, and consider adding strategically placed outdoor lighting. Mark the position of the trees and tall palms. You may also need to install an irrigation system and adjust it once the plants grow, unless you’re prepared to handwater in summer.
Water features can be as simple as a water plant in a single container, or as substantial as a pond. The sight and sound of water adds tranquillity, and enhances the tropical theme.
Dwarf palms and coloured-leaf plants that are sold to use indoors, including devil’s ivy, coleus and Chinese evergreens (Aglaonema spp.), are ideal for small, frost-free courtyards and balconies, as they create a cool jungle vibe.
Trees and palms provide height in the design and create the shade in which the mid-storey and groundcover plants can thrive. Depending on your plant selection, the upper and mid-storey plants may struggle with sunburn or frost for the first few years while the canopy establishes.
palms, trees & foliage
Palms are the quintessential plant for creating a tropical look in a garden, and it’s essential to make the correct selection, taking into account their size and cold hardiness. Single-stemmed palms look most natural planted in clusters.
Growing trees is the best way to create a shady microclimate for understorey plants, including the smaller palms. The tree canopy provides shade and acts as natural frost protection for the plants that are growing below it. While most tropical trees hate the cold, the purple orchid tree (Bauhinia variegata), the Persian silk tree (Albizia julibrissin) and jaboticaba (Myrciaria cauliflora), which bears grape-like fruit on its branches and trunk, will all tolerate some light frost.
Many temperate trees have a tropical look. My favourites are the different types of Cercis species; smoke bush (Cotinus spp.), which is available with leaf colours from lime green to burgundy; forms of Magnolia grandiflora, with their shiny, bright green leaves; and the spectacular foxglove tree (Paulownia tomentosa), which is a fast-growing tree that’s only suitable for big gardens, as it can grow to 12m tall and wide.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT
A spot to sit among bromeliads shaded by dracaenas; Abyssinian banana, schefflera, alocasia, dwarf date palm and cordyline in a cool-climate garden; green staghorn and rhapis palm create a tropical vibe in Greg Walsh’s garden on the NSW Central Coast.
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Begonia, impatiens and red anthurium shaded by a tree fern.
Tropical gardens rely mostly on flamboyant foliage, rather than flowers, to create interest and tranquillity, so choose plants with leaves of different textures, forms and colours. Cold-tolerant leafy plants with a lush tropical vibe include New Zealand flax (Phormium tenax), Japanese aralia (Fatsia japonica) with glossy hand-like leaves, sacred bamboo (Nandina domestica), blue bugle (Ajuga reptans), heartleaf (Bergenia cordifolia), leopard plant (Farfugium japonicum), tractor seat plant (Ligularia reniformis), cast-iron plant (Aspidistra elatior), oyster plant (Acanthus mollis), liriope, photinia, heuchera and some gingers and bamboos.
inspiration
One man who has a good idea of what works is Troy Devereux. Troy has spent 16 years creating and tending his tropical-style garden in Perth, and was the 2018 Gardener of the Year state finalist for Western Australia. In his frost-free Mediterranean climate, he grows alexander, bangalow, rhapis, bamboo, golden cane and parlour palms, as well as the palm-like ponytail plants, because they are all tough and easy to manage. He also has a purple-leafed plum, and this is his favourite tree out of all those growing in the garden because he enjoys the colour contrast of the dark red to purple foliage.
Troy’s main advice is to improve the soil before starting by incorporating lots of organic matter to create the rich, moist, free-draining soil tropical plants enjoy. In the tropics, leaf litter is continually falling to the ground, so save your prunings, shred them up and, where possible, use them as mulch or compost.
Troy recommends researching the shade and maintenance needs of plants, and their size, before planting them, and says he would have been spared a lot of heartache if he had done this.
“Some plants, including sago palm (Cycas revoluta), dragon tree (Dracaena draco) and Mauritius hemp (Furcraea foetida), make a great statement and are virtually maintenance free, whereas yucca, bamboo and giant bird of paradise (Strelitzia nicolai) can be a major headache on a suburban block,” he says. “Tropical plants often sold as indoor and patio container plants, such as cordyline, croton and dumb cane (Dieffenbachia amoena), can be moved into shady parts of the garden in warmer months.”
Tropical flowers, including frangipani and hibiscus, are the icing on the cake in frost-free gardens. They can also be grown in feature pots, which can be moved to a protected verandah in winter. Just as flamboyant is red angel’s trumpet (Brugmansia sanguinea), which has striking trumpet blooms and the ability to withstand light frosts, unlike other forms of brugmansia.
When Troy discovered bromeliads 12 years after starting his garden, they transformed his gardening style, as he could attach them to trees, grow them in pots and use them beneath trees for winter leaf colour. They take light frost, but other tree dwellers, such as staghorns and elkhorns, need frost-free conditions.