By: Veronica Sliva
It’s Hot, Hot, Hot. Yes indeed. Positively tropical. Which reminds of my recent trip to England this past June. While there I visited Will Giles’s Exotic Garden in Norwich. As soon as I stepped into the garden I was transported to the tropics. Elephants Ears, (Colocasia) with their mammoth 3 foot long green leaves
made good companions for a group of nearby banana plants. The air, filled with the intoxicating scent of Jasmine, Brugmansia (Angels trumpets) and different varieties of ginger, was quite magical. The garden featured mainly tropicals and was a great source of “take home” ideas. Exotic Gardens
Just because tropicals are not hardy in our climate doesn’t mean that we can’t incorporate them into our gardens. The idea of mixing tropical plants with perennials and hardy annuals has been around since Victorian times. Even back then they knew that tropical plants add excitement and sophistication to any garden -- large or small. Today, tropical plants are more widely available and have in fact become a one of the latest trends in gardening. Not one to miss a garden trend, I recently added a few tropical plants to my own garden, which I haven’t grown before.
Here a couple of my new must-haves:
Banana (Musa); fig tree; closeup of fig tree with ripening fig.
Banana (Musa)
I got my Banana plant at Colasanti’s in Kingsville, ON, for $14.99. Colasanti’s is a really neat “destination” garden centre. Despite an air of the amusement park about it (it's very Disneyesque), the prices are great and the plants are in top condition. I opted for a Blood banana (Musa zebrine), a fancy banana variety with random reddish purple markings. I love the way it looks with the burgundy shades of sweet potato vine (ipomoea) spilling over a large terracotta pot. Gardening books say banana plants like medium moisture, and advise to situate them in full sun to part shade. I water mine when the soil feels dry about an inch below the surface. This seems to keep it happy. You can grow Bananas directly in the garden or pot them up in a container like I did. This photo (above far left) was taken in mid-July.
As for over wintering, I’ve heard that you can store banana plants in an unheated garage and the “baby” offshoots will make it through to sprout once the danger of frost has past. I’m also told that without a heated greenhouse you’ll get mush. I’ll let you know next year.
Figs
I’m in love with my fig plant. Why? Because it has produced at least a dozen of the sweetest fruits imaginable. The taste is nothing like the dried ones imported from hotter climes. My plant is growing in a container and is now about 3 feet tall. When I bought it from Colasanti’s it had a couple of stems and a few figs the size of peas on it. I repotted it with soiless mix into a 16 inch pot, mulched the top and set it on the deck in full sun. It droops when it is too dry and sends me running for the hose. Other than that it is really easy to look after. It is fascinating to watch how quickly the figs grow and mature. As for over wintering, a neighbour of mine, a Macedonian fellow (who should know a thing or two about figs) told me to just move the plant -- pot and all -- into the garage and in the spring to prune it back to the new shoots that should have emerged. He also says to water the plant a couple of times a month throughout the winter. I’m going to heed his advice. This experienced gardener has a dozen very large fig trees lining his front porch. Proof positive that his method works.
Further reading: Giles has written a lavish new book entitled The Encyclopedia of Exotic Plants For Temperate Climates.
Are you an exotic gardener?
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