"Janet Tweedy" wrote in message
Farm1 writes
No. I've seen pics of "tropical" gardens in London and all sorts
of
other places. Lots of tropical style palms, musa etc and I hate
the
look of them in temperate climates. It's sort of like building a
Hacienda in the middle of a bunch of Eucalypts. Just looks wrong,
wrong,wrong.


Sounds like a gross generalisation but I'm afraid I do to.

It could be a gross generalisation but the problem is that the
architecture needs to match the locale and the plants. A terrace
house with a small narrow alley type back yard and tropical just
doesn't match. Tropical needs decks and wide windows and lots of air
movement between the house and the outside and then one could do
tropical (or tropical look alike)

I would
even consider moving somewhere oop North or West if it came to the
point
that climate change stopped me growing what I consider to be
temperate
climes plants! I would not enjoy a gravel garden in place of a lawn,
nor
spiky hard architectural plants rather than the gossamery(?) Salvia
uliginosa or Verbena bonariensis. I think there might be a place for
hot
and tropical in say a formal front garden so people don't hang
about
out there but in the back garden temperate plants makes one want
to
linger and relax etc.

But the real beauty of a real tropical garden is that they are very
much lingering places as they are shady and lush and cool in
comparison to the house and full of birdlife. They aren't as you say
worth lingering in when planted in a temperate climate. Too cool, too
little birdlife and just not right somehow.

But back to your mention of Verbena bonariensis: this is one plant
that does very well in gravel gardens as well as temperate cooler.
You might be interested in the following cite as it is about a very
pretty and successful dry (but frosty) garden with lots of gravel - a
bit like the Oz version of a Beth Chatto gravel garden (and I've
learned heaps from her books):
http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s1063711.htm

Can't see many of the tropical plants being that beneficial to our
wildlife either.

No :-))

However it takes all sorts

Yes it does, but I see so many houses where I think could be improved
with a better and more suitable garden for the location. Improving
our house and environement is still probably the best investment that
the majority of people can make.

and I'm accidentally growing a tray of what
appears to be, cactii from a packet of seeds that some told me were
hardy plants so I need to off load them!

I like cacti but don't have many and in pots only. I have a British
born friend who has lots in his garden but he's put then in hot, hard,
hungry places and they do look good.