Garden Design: How to Create a Lush, Jungle-style Haven
A tropical-style garden is not only fun and full of drama, it also needs less weeding and pruning
Ever been to somewhere tropical and wished you could re-create a similar setting in your own outdoor space? Growing a jungle garden is not as daunting as it might seem and can work well in our temperate climate – and even in a container garden. By preparing the soil properly and using plants that have dense foliage to create an upper canopy with underplanting, you can achieve a mini microclimate in no time at all, allowing you to grow some wonderful specimens that will trick you into feeling in holiday mode whenever you look out of the window.
Get the lighting right
Lighting is so important in any garden, but it plays an even bigger role in a tropical-style space. Good lighting will add a sense of theatre, highlighting the bold, architectural leaf shapes and enhancing the mood. Uplighting certain trees or areas of a pathway will make the garden more inviting, too, as well as showcasing the luxuriant foliage.
You can now have a remote control handset, which can be operated even from indoors – great when you want to suddenly wow your dinner guests without them seeing you press a light switch on the wall.
Got the garden sorted? See how to make more of the views to it from your kitchen
Lighting is so important in any garden, but it plays an even bigger role in a tropical-style space. Good lighting will add a sense of theatre, highlighting the bold, architectural leaf shapes and enhancing the mood. Uplighting certain trees or areas of a pathway will make the garden more inviting, too, as well as showcasing the luxuriant foliage.
You can now have a remote control handset, which can be operated even from indoors – great when you want to suddenly wow your dinner guests without them seeing you press a light switch on the wall.
Got the garden sorted? See how to make more of the views to it from your kitchen
Protect delicate plants
Dicksonia Antarctica – the Australian tree fern – adds a touch of drama to an exotic garden, but it does require some winter protection. If you live in an area that isn’t prone to heavy frosts, you may get away with placing a layer of leaves on top of the crown. Otherwise, wrap the crown with straw and frost fleece and the plant will be fine, as they can survive outside in this country down to -10ºC.
Tree ferns prefer a humus-rich, neutral to acid soil, and will grow in partial to full shade. They are slow growing, so can be expensive to buy and are often sold without leaf fronds, but these will soon grow back. The trunk of the fern is essentially the root and this is the way the plant absorbs its food and water, so they need to be kept moist; spray the crown and stem over the summer months if the weather is very warm.
Dicksonia Antarctica – the Australian tree fern – adds a touch of drama to an exotic garden, but it does require some winter protection. If you live in an area that isn’t prone to heavy frosts, you may get away with placing a layer of leaves on top of the crown. Otherwise, wrap the crown with straw and frost fleece and the plant will be fine, as they can survive outside in this country down to -10ºC.
Tree ferns prefer a humus-rich, neutral to acid soil, and will grow in partial to full shade. They are slow growing, so can be expensive to buy and are often sold without leaf fronds, but these will soon grow back. The trunk of the fern is essentially the root and this is the way the plant absorbs its food and water, so they need to be kept moist; spray the crown and stem over the summer months if the weather is very warm.
Create a tropical canopy
A good way to get the feeling of being in the jungle and under a tropical canopy is to create winding paths through dense planting. This is also perfect for those who don’t like the prospect of endless hours mowing a lawn! By creating a tropical-style garden with paths intersecting it, you can transform any back garden into a piece of drama or a South Pacific paradise.
Tropical-style gardens are not formal spaces, manicured or heavily pruned, so choose a material for the path that’s also informal. Try large cobbles or pieces of random-sized stone. Gravel paths can work well, too, but stay away from the polished look.
If you want to walk under trees, choose the evergreen palm Trachycarpus Fortunei, which has large, fan-shaped leaves and also makes a good focal point in a garden. It works well with cordyline and musa, commonly known as the banana plant, which is another good tropical-look, large-leafed plant.
A good way to get the feeling of being in the jungle and under a tropical canopy is to create winding paths through dense planting. This is also perfect for those who don’t like the prospect of endless hours mowing a lawn! By creating a tropical-style garden with paths intersecting it, you can transform any back garden into a piece of drama or a South Pacific paradise.
Tropical-style gardens are not formal spaces, manicured or heavily pruned, so choose a material for the path that’s also informal. Try large cobbles or pieces of random-sized stone. Gravel paths can work well, too, but stay away from the polished look.
If you want to walk under trees, choose the evergreen palm Trachycarpus Fortunei, which has large, fan-shaped leaves and also makes a good focal point in a garden. It works well with cordyline and musa, commonly known as the banana plant, which is another good tropical-look, large-leafed plant.
Capitalise on containers
If you have limited space, either on a roof terrace or small patio, you can still get a tropical feel using containers. Choose different-sized planters so some will accommodate larger-leafed or taller plants. By placing large containers side by side, as here, you get the feeling you’re surrounded by jungle. Rustic seating adds to the tropical feel, as do candles and lanterns after dark.
You can also use succulents in a jungle-style garden, as pictured in the wooden trough on the table. However, these fleshy plants will need winter protection. If you’ve planted them in pots, simply bring them into a greenhouse, making sure they have good light and are kept cool. If you don’t have access to a greenhouse, they will be fine indoors on a south-facing windowsill in your home, but make sure they’re not above a hot radiator.
Succulents should be kept on the dry side in winter – they probably only need watering every two weeks. Make sure you don’t water the plant itself, as this will make it go mushy, but around the base near the soil.
See inside a house ingeniously renovated to include a sunken glass roof terrace
If you have limited space, either on a roof terrace or small patio, you can still get a tropical feel using containers. Choose different-sized planters so some will accommodate larger-leafed or taller plants. By placing large containers side by side, as here, you get the feeling you’re surrounded by jungle. Rustic seating adds to the tropical feel, as do candles and lanterns after dark.
You can also use succulents in a jungle-style garden, as pictured in the wooden trough on the table. However, these fleshy plants will need winter protection. If you’ve planted them in pots, simply bring them into a greenhouse, making sure they have good light and are kept cool. If you don’t have access to a greenhouse, they will be fine indoors on a south-facing windowsill in your home, but make sure they’re not above a hot radiator.
Succulents should be kept on the dry side in winter – they probably only need watering every two weeks. Make sure you don’t water the plant itself, as this will make it go mushy, but around the base near the soil.
See inside a house ingeniously renovated to include a sunken glass roof terrace
Try a gunnera – just pick your size
A good plant for an instant tropical effect is the giant-leafed Gunnera manicata, pictured here. When it grows tall, you can walk underneath the large leaves as they act like giant umbrellas. For smaller spaces, use the Gunnera tinctoria. Both varieties can withstand temperatures as low as -20ºC.
A good plant for an instant tropical effect is the giant-leafed Gunnera manicata, pictured here. When it grows tall, you can walk underneath the large leaves as they act like giant umbrellas. For smaller spaces, use the Gunnera tinctoria. Both varieties can withstand temperatures as low as -20ºC.
Think beyond the obvious
Verbena bonariensis, the taller plant pictured here, is not perhaps one you’d consider for a jungle-style garden. Yet it can work well in a tropical setting if it’s planted en masse and allowed to weave its dainty branches of small clustered purple flowers among plain-leafed plants. Companion plants for verbena include cannas, bananas, ginger lilies and even dahlias. Verbena will also provide much-needed nectar for bees, and it looks good around water, too.
Talking of the ginger lily – or Hedychium – it’s quite hardy despite looking very tropical in a UK garden, and has large, glossy leaves. There are various varieties, such as the bright orange Hedychium densiflorum, which would create a vibrant and bold statement against the purple of the verbena.
Verbena bonariensis, the taller plant pictured here, is not perhaps one you’d consider for a jungle-style garden. Yet it can work well in a tropical setting if it’s planted en masse and allowed to weave its dainty branches of small clustered purple flowers among plain-leafed plants. Companion plants for verbena include cannas, bananas, ginger lilies and even dahlias. Verbena will also provide much-needed nectar for bees, and it looks good around water, too.
Talking of the ginger lily – or Hedychium – it’s quite hardy despite looking very tropical in a UK garden, and has large, glossy leaves. There are various varieties, such as the bright orange Hedychium densiflorum, which would create a vibrant and bold statement against the purple of the verbena.
Love a lily
The hardy arum lily – or Zantedeschia aethiopica – cannot fail to impress in the tropical garden and thrives in moist soil, either in sun or partial shade. Planted in groups, arum lilies look great with ferns such as Osmunda regalis. Their bright white flowers and lush green leaves really stand out. They also look good beside ponds and waterfalls. All parts of the plant are poisonous, so make sure you take care when planting or cutting them back.
The stark white flower of the arum lily can look striking next to the lush, deep crimson leaves of Canna ‘Australia’ or (the almost compulsory for any jungle garden) Canna ‘Durban’, which has striped orange and red leaves and big orange flowers.
The hardy arum lily – or Zantedeschia aethiopica – cannot fail to impress in the tropical garden and thrives in moist soil, either in sun or partial shade. Planted in groups, arum lilies look great with ferns such as Osmunda regalis. Their bright white flowers and lush green leaves really stand out. They also look good beside ponds and waterfalls. All parts of the plant are poisonous, so make sure you take care when planting or cutting them back.
The stark white flower of the arum lily can look striking next to the lush, deep crimson leaves of Canna ‘Australia’ or (the almost compulsory for any jungle garden) Canna ‘Durban’, which has striped orange and red leaves and big orange flowers.
Add a hut
If you have the space for a small, tropical-style hut – or even a shed you can disguise – adding a jungle-style building will enhance the theme. You can buy rolls of reed or bamboo to put over a felt roof on a shed, and consider adding sacking material around pots or windows to add to the tropical mood.
Also try to include a small area of water in your garden. With a pond, you’ll be able to have water lilies, and small varieties or ‘Pygmaea’ do well in a half barrel.
If you have the space for a small, tropical-style hut – or even a shed you can disguise – adding a jungle-style building will enhance the theme. You can buy rolls of reed or bamboo to put over a felt roof on a shed, and consider adding sacking material around pots or windows to add to the tropical mood.
Also try to include a small area of water in your garden. With a pond, you’ll be able to have water lilies, and small varieties or ‘Pygmaea’ do well in a half barrel.
Bring in the bamboo
Often used for screening, bamboo is a plant most people would agree is a key part of a tropical garden. Choosing your bamboo, however, is very important, not least because it’s the fastest-growing plant in the world – growing up to 122cm a day – with some varieties so vigorously spreading their underground rhizomes you may need a root barrier, such as high-density polyethylene, to make sure your garden is not taken over by runners.
Varieties of large bamboos with bigger leaves and larger canes include the golden Phyllostachys aurea and, for drama, the black-stemmed Phyllostachys nigra. If you want a clump-forming variety, and one that’s also good in the shade, use the Fargesia varieties; these have smaller leaves and thinner stems. Bamboos need a high nitrogen feed in the spring and can also do well in pots.
Often used for screening, bamboo is a plant most people would agree is a key part of a tropical garden. Choosing your bamboo, however, is very important, not least because it’s the fastest-growing plant in the world – growing up to 122cm a day – with some varieties so vigorously spreading their underground rhizomes you may need a root barrier, such as high-density polyethylene, to make sure your garden is not taken over by runners.
Varieties of large bamboos with bigger leaves and larger canes include the golden Phyllostachys aurea and, for drama, the black-stemmed Phyllostachys nigra. If you want a clump-forming variety, and one that’s also good in the shade, use the Fargesia varieties; these have smaller leaves and thinner stems. Bamboos need a high nitrogen feed in the spring and can also do well in pots.
Fill with flowers
The flowers of the day lily – or Hemerocallis – may only last a day, but this plant will keep giving all summer long if you deadhead the spent blooms to prolong flowering. The foliage can easily start to look tatty, but if you cut this down, new green leaves will appear. Make sure you divide clumps after a few years to encourage healthy rhizomes, too.
Planted in drifts throughout a jungle-style garden, these tough, flowering perennials add a touch of ‘heat’ with their exotic-looking, colourful flowers. There are more than 35,000 named varieties, so you won’t be short of choice in your garden centre. Good varieties include ‘Golden Chimes’, a deep orange, and ‘Stafford’, which has scarlet flowers with a yellow throat. Plant them among grasses for movement, and add a splash of extra red colour with Monarda ‘Squaw’.
TELL US…
Does your garden have a tropical flavour? Tell us how you’ve achieved it in the Comments below.
The flowers of the day lily – or Hemerocallis – may only last a day, but this plant will keep giving all summer long if you deadhead the spent blooms to prolong flowering. The foliage can easily start to look tatty, but if you cut this down, new green leaves will appear. Make sure you divide clumps after a few years to encourage healthy rhizomes, too.
Planted in drifts throughout a jungle-style garden, these tough, flowering perennials add a touch of ‘heat’ with their exotic-looking, colourful flowers. There are more than 35,000 named varieties, so you won’t be short of choice in your garden centre. Good varieties include ‘Golden Chimes’, a deep orange, and ‘Stafford’, which has scarlet flowers with a yellow throat. Plant them among grasses for movement, and add a splash of extra red colour with Monarda ‘Squaw’.
TELL US…
Does your garden have a tropical flavour? Tell us how you’ve achieved it in the Comments below.
Jungle gardens can be created even in small urban back gardens with the right choice of plants. You can grow many of them in pots, which adds height and interest, and makes them easier to bring in if the weather becomes too cold, as it is for some varieties.
The beauty of many jungle-style gardens is that you can mix and match plants that might not normally grow together. In this image, there are some South African blue agapanthus, which work well with the large leaves of the banana, seen on the right, and bamboos to the rear.
Also in a small space, if you’re lucky enough to have walls, you can paint them in bold colours to add drama. This will also help to accentuate many of the plants, especially the various flowering ones, such as ginger lilies, dahlias, lobelias and cannas.