Rosalyn wrote:
Hi,

I have recently come back from Cuba and love their gardens. Large red
and green leaves, a few red flowers and an overall lush feel.

I would like to recreate this in the UK, but my garden is almost all
in shade, a lot of it full shade. I also don't want to have to bring
plants in, or protect them over the winter. The plants do not need to
actually be tropical, just recreate that feel.

My ideas so far are fatsia japonica, tree ferns (and other ferns),
bamboo and rhubarb, either real or ornamental. I would love a
cordyline or phormium but think they prefer sun? And the same for
gunnera?

Any ideas gratefully welcomed.

thank you

Rosalyn

Hello Rosalyn

I would try Bananas. We bought two sorts some years age to grow in big
pots which we took into the greenhouse to over winter. But they are so
easy to propergate from off-shoots that we soon found we had so many we
did not know what to do with them, so we formed a Banana and Bamboo bed
in a north facing corner under a big spreading ash tree protected from
the wind by a split bamboo screen. One sort (Musa yunnan) has now
survived outside in this situation for three years. Over winter we
protect the stems to about three feet with reed wigwams (which in
themselves look quite decorative over winter) and the new banana leaves
appear above the reeds in May. If you don't want to go to the trouble
of protecting the stems then the stems don't survive and new growth
appears each year from ground level, which is fine, but the plant takes
longer to make an impact. The other species (Musa basjoo) which the
label said was "Hardy Japanese Bamboo" did not survive outside even
though protected.

You also ask about Gunnera. We have found Gunnera manicata to be a very
good in shade and also in dry conditions. Its leaves will not be so big
as when it is grown in wet conditions, but they grow big enough. Each
winter we bend the dead leaves over the crowns and throw a heap of pine
needles on top and we have not lost any so far.

The advantage of plants like these that die down in winter is that they
do not become too big. I am sure if you planted cordyline or phormium
they would grow very well, but would soon take over; phormium in
particular is a very big plant.

I hope this helps.

All the best,



Chris Potts