Architectural Plants
Christine Shaw
A definitive guide to the spectacular world of architectural plants, packed with practical advice on how to liven up your garden using the striking shapes and wonderful exoticism of this distinct new area of planting. Whether amateur or expert, this ebook is essential reading for any gardener looking for something a bit special to grow.This area of horticulture is fast becoming popular with people keen to experiment and incorporate new ideas for their gardens. Architectural plants, though unusual in appearance and often of tropical origin, prove easy to grow and maintain in this country. And most plants being evergreen, their presence in the garden is felt all year round.The book is a comprehensive guide to the broad range of architectural plants, from spiky agaves and yuccas to succulent sempervivums, dramatic palms and graceful bamboos. Packed with specialist, yet user-friendly information on soil assessment, drainage and cultivation methods, it is ideal for people who are eager to learn more about these species and how best to grow them.Architectural Plants offers a stimulating look at alternative and innovative ways to create a vibrant garden display.
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Alocasia macrorrhiza
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Phyllostachys nigra
Copyright (#ulink_14736e1c-8dbe-500c-96c1-61d0cd0b4858)
Collins
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First published in 2005 by Collins
Text copyright © Christine Shaw
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Source ISBN: 9780007204700
Ebook Edition © FEBRUARY 2017 ISBN: 9780007442607
Version: 2017-02-08
Dedication (#ulink_93e04018-7110-5a8e-a376-5fb8e19efd4b)
This book is for my daft cousin Steve, whose knowledge of horticulture could be written on a small postage stamp, and also for my learned chum Angus White, whose extensive plant knowledge has been a pleasure to share.
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Yucca gloriosa variegata
Hardiness colour codes
All the plants featured in this book have been given a hardiness colour code. This is to help you select plants that are capable of surviving the winters in your area.
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Alocasia macrorrhiza
Contents
Cover (#u4124a447-43b2-537e-b4e4-7a7868d0bef3)
Title Page (#u417d0026-53d7-5a96-bbe6-47ddad333cf7)
Copyright (#ulink_e38fd065-6fdf-5fea-9c98-7fa197d5a484)
Dedication (#ulink_33aedbf8-666c-5c9d-9c98-de2059cd4541)
Introduction (#ulink_6b50f8ba-5f00-5dd6-a3f6-1ffc27a47cbe)
Making the right decisions (#ulink_ff989f0a-e260-5f14-897e-60ce6792c5b6)
Architectural plants in the garden (#ulink_6ed8da31-41fe-5eda-b59b-19b747eb3469)
Palms (#ulink_2387f0ca-fd71-5b71-a65e-ad4aecbdfac0)
Ferns
Grasses
Bamboos
Climbers
Trees
Other leafy exotics
Spiky & succulent plants
Pests, diseases & other disorders
Index
Acknowledgments
About the Publisher (#ulink_baf76da8-e82c-5f8e-8d09-7b4479d4a7c9)
Introduction (#ulink_75cea853-1128-5107-8c77-e14d643ac682)
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Agave americana variegata is a wonderful spiky choice for a mild garden.
Architectural plants are currently enjoying a massive wave of popularity, and quite rightly so. In fact, this type of gardening is the fastest-growing area of horticulture. More and more gardeners are realizing that these types of plants can have a dramatic effect on an ordinary garden, transforming it into something much more exciting.
I have always had an interest in gardening and, after six years of dealing with various company accounts and other financial shenanigans, followed by a rather lengthy stint as a croupier, decided that a career in horticulture was long overdue. The usual channels of night school and part-time college courses resulted in a job at the local garden centre, but I quickly came to the conclusion that fruit trees and roses weren’t as interesting as I had first thought and that it was time to move on. So, off I went for an interview at a company called Architectural Plants. As soon as I approached the premises, I knew this was where I wanted to be. The whole place was stuffed to the gunwales with exotic-looking trees, banana plants (Musa), spiky Yucca and all manner of wonderful things. Nearly fifteen years later, I still enjoy every aspect of working with these incredible plants.
For a plant to be considered architectural, it needs to have either a strong shape, an exotic appearance, an evergreen presence or an unusual quality that can visually improve its surroundings.
Some plants such as palms, Agave, Yucca and tree ferns (Dicksonia) have obvious architectural traits. They have a strong, shapely outline and are completely different from the sort of plants most gardeners are used to. They are very noticeable in the garden, and have year-round appeal. As they are evergreen, their theatrical allure is particularly valuable during the winter when other more traditional gardens in the neighbourhood look tired and dull, with most plants having shed their leaves.
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This colonial-style office surrounded by exotic greenery forms part of the Architectural Plants nursery. See page 352 for contact details.
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Arbutus x andrachnoides has everything a gardener could ever want from a small, ornamental evergreen tree.
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Musa basjoo has large jungly leaves that are perfect for adding a bit of drama to the garden.
Then there are architectural plants that have more subtle qualities while still remaining highly desirable. The red, peeling bark and the winter flowers of the evergreen Strawberry Tree (Arbutus x andrachnoides) make this tree one of the most coveted plants in the gardening world. The billowing shapeliness of the mature Green Olive (Phillyrea latifolia) makes this evergreen tree an essential choice for any small garden. The huge, glossy leaves of a Fatsia are perfect for adding an evergreen, tropical air to a dark corner. And an evergreen, jungly bamboo not only looks beautiful, but there is also the bonus of the gentle rustling of its leaves whenever there’s a light breeze.
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The large lush foliage of Dicksonia antartica makes a spectacular addition to any mild garden.
There are also plants here which, although not evergreen, are so loud, brash and vibrant, and add such an exciting impact to the garden, they could be called nothing less than architectural. The absurd, massive leaves of the Hardy Japanese Banana (Musa basjoo), the fabulous flowers of the Ginger Lilies (Hedychium), the colourful tropical-looking Canna and the large velvety foliage of the Foxglove Tree (Paulownia tomentosa) all have the capability of injecting some obvious glamour and pizazz to even the most pedestrian of gardens.
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Pinus montezumae has soft luxuriant foliage of vivid emerald-green.
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Chusquea breviglumis is a fabulous South American bamboo.
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The large leathery leaves of Fatsia japonica make a fine jungly addition to the shadiest corner of the garden.
Apart from their architectural qualities, many of these plants have the added extras of exquisite fragrance, fat berries or juicy fruits. Many are useful for groundcover or screening purposes. Some can help to mask unwanted noise from passing traffic, while a large number can withstand the harsh conditions often found on the coast.
The plants featured in this book have been chosen for many reasons. To start with, they are all personal favourites, and they are all beautiful and exciting. Most of them are easy to grow and maintain, although a few challenges have been included just to make life even more interesting. Most of them are widely available from specialist nurseries and, due to their accelerating popularity, are now starting to make their way into some garden centres too.
These plants have appeal for beginners and experts alike. Novice gardeners like them because they are easy to care for, while experts love them because they are so unusual. Busy gardeners adore them because of their low-maintenance requirements. Even non-gardeners are drawn towards these plants: people who would rather be found dead in a ditch than deadhead roses or double-dig an herbaceous border suddenly realize that gardening can be pleasurable after all.
These architectural plants have also been selected with all types of climate and soil conditions in mind. If a plant can be grown successfully only in a special kind of soil and in an exceptionally mild climate, and also needs insatiable amounts of care and attention in order to thrive, it has not been included, no matter how beautiful it may be. Most of us want unusual and interesting plants for our gardens, but we can all do without difficult subjects that have a limited chance of success. Virtually all the plants here should be a permanent feature in the garden, with more than a sporting chance of reaching old age.
Although many of these plants are reasonably priced, some of the larger specimens can carry a hefty price tag. This usually applies to slow-growing plants that have taken many years to reach a decent size. For example, a palm tree from a nursery that is 12ft (3.7m) tall could easily be twenty years old. Someone has had the expense of propagating it, repotting it several times during its life, feeding, watering and generally caring for it to keep it looking lush and verdant, until it is considered ready enough to become the main feature of someone’s garden. The fact that it costs several hundred pounds should come as no surprise whatsoever. The expression ‘you get what you pay for’ is exactly right. It may help to work out how much it would cost to keep an area of the garden planted with seasonal bedding plants during the summer and again in the winter for a period of twenty years. Although these plants seem relatively cheap when bought individually, the total cost can come as quite a surprise.
Although architectural plants are becoming more and more popular, so far very little information has been written about them. This book is the first fully comprehensive guide to all aspects of gardening with these lovely plants. Although many of them were well known in Victorian times, most subsequent generations of gardeners have been completely oblivious to their fine qualities. It is only in the last fifteen years that they have been fully appreciated.
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Catalpa bignonioides ‘Nana’ is a good choice as a large-leaved specimen tree.
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Yucca gloriosa variegata is essential for any garden design involving a spiky element.
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Cortaderia richardia looks beautiful in a breezy garden, adding movement to any planting plan as the wind swishes through the foliage.
This book lists the best possible choices of architectural plants. There are photographs of every one, with a full description of what they look like and what they do throughout the seasons. All sorts of practical information is given regarding hardiness, soil conditions, light levels and maintenance. There is advice on buying, siting and using these plants in the garden to provide different effects and planting schemes. Information has also been given on the less glamorous side of horticulture, namely which pests and diseases to look out for on each particular plant. A Rogues’ Gallery at the back of the book helps in the identification of various ailments and other annoying, unwanted presences that can be the bane of a gardener’s life.
Wherever possible I have avoided mentioning the kind of horticultural descriptions that require a glossary to explain what they mean – so very few references to culms, petioles and clustered node bases, and just basic easy-to-understand descriptions with all the emphasis on how to succeed in growing these plants, without being bogged down with unnecessary complications. However, all of the plants are listed alphabetically using their formal botanical names.
I would like to put up a spirited defence of the use of Latin in horticulture. Although no one detests rules and regulations of any kind more than I do, using the correct Latin names for all plants is essential. Apart from a few lapses in the naming of bamboos, most plants have only one Latin name. No matter which country you live in, this name is always the same, and there can be no confusion about which plant is being referred to. This might be stating the obvious, but this revelation didn’t really dawn on me until I worked abroad. The common names of plants are different in every part of every country, and it’s impossible to learn them all. Sometimes the common name of a plant in England refers to a totally different plant in Australia, and even in Scotland.
Despite the long words, horticultural Latin really isn’t as intimidating as it first appears. It is not as strict as Classical Latin, so all the horrors of Latin classes at school can be forgotten. Of course, some people like to spout Latin just because they enjoy sounding pompous, but pomposity isn’t a quality solely restricted to horticulture.
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Trachelospermum jasminoides provides strong fragrance in the garden throughout the summer.
This book is intended to inspire confidence in growing these amazing plants and to enable any gardener to create some stunning effects with them. Whether you plant just one or two strategically to liven up a border or opt completely for this type of planting and transform the entire garden, this book offers all the advice and help required to do so. But, be warned, this type of gardening is addictive. The addition of just a few plants to start with can make ordinary garden plants seem so tame and lacklustre that more and more will probably be acquired until a whole new look has been achieved.
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Fascicularia pitcairnifolia – no, this isn’t a mandrill’s bottom but a beautiful exotic flower.
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Chamaerops humilis is an essential acquisition for all palm fanatics.
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Cyperus papyrus is an excellent addition for any large conservatory.
Making the right decisions (#ulink_b3d29ad4-c827-57a1-8506-f86ac8331069)
Before charging off to your favourite architectural plants nursery, just spend a short while contemplating a few points. This chapter will help you come to the right decisions about the suitability of your choice of plants for their intended positions.
With such a dazzling array of architectural plants to choose from, making your initial selection can be a bit daunting, especially for those who are new to this type of gardening. Apart from spending time learning as much as you can from books, such as this one, visiting local botanic gardens and specialist nurseries to see how the plants are sited and how they grow will help with the choice.
Suitability of site
It is important to assess the suitability of your own garden for the plants that you are considering. Planting spiky desert plants in a boggy position in full shade is bound to end in failure. Similarly, planting bamboos in bone-dry soil on the top of a windy hill will guarantee their survival for only about ten minutes.
Unless you are especially stubborn, there is little point buying plants that have only a slim chance of surviving in your particular plot.
Some sites can be changed fairly easily. For instance, if your soil is poor, it can be enriched with large dollops of food. If the drainage is bad, digging in piles of grit can help enormously. If your garden is on an exposed coast, planting salt-resistant trees to act as a windbreak will hugely increase the possible choice of plants. But, basically, learning as much as you can about every aspect of your garden is a good starting point. Few gardens have just one characteristic. There are nearly always shady corners. There is usually a spot that remains boggy after heavy rain. And it is rare to find a garden without a sun-baked section somewhere.
The soil type should also be ascertained. Most plants in this book will grow in either acid, neutral or alkaline conditions. Some have preferences towards one end of the scale, but are not too fussed. Occasionally, one will be listed as being a lime-hating plant, which means that alkaline soil is not an option. Sometimes, if gardeners are really determined, large planting holes can be dug out and the existing soil replaced with something more suitable to allow their chosen plant to succeed. But this is really only a temporary solution. Eventually, the plant roots will grow down into the natural soil and start to suffer accordingly. This is not, therefore, something I would recommend.
Irrigation is another point to consider. If the chosen plants need frequent watering, then making this task as easy as possible for yourself means that you are more likely to attend to it. If full watering cans have to be lugged up the entire length of the garden every day during a hot summer, your enthusiasm for this chore will soon wane. By installing a nearby tap or automatic irrigation system, the plants will thrive with much less effort.
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A well-stocked specialist nursery full of mouthwatering horticultural goodies.
Choosing & buying
After inspecting the garden thoroughly, reading through the plant descriptions and making a final decision about what you’d like to grow, the much more exciting task of buying the plants can proceed. There are a couple of things to think about, though, before embarking on the buying expedition. Firstly, where to buy the plants from, and secondly, what size of plants to buy.
Specialist nurseries vs garden centres
Specialist nurseries are great fun to visit. They stock only the plants they are interested in. There’ll be no barbecues, pot-pourri or Christmas decorations in sight – just lots and lots of lovely plants. Nurseries selling architectural plants will be visited by like-minded customers, and experiences and gardening tips can be talked about and shared. The nursery owners and staff can offer expert advice and usually have enough time and enthusiasm to assist with the selection and purchase of any plant required.
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Some plants are much more successful in containers than others.
The staff at nurseries will also be experienced in wrapping and packing awkward or unfamiliar plants, and can usually arrange the delivery of any large specimens that you’re unable to take home yourself. Delivery is normally expertly done by strong young chaps, who are used to dealing with weighty palm trees and giant bamboos. These plants will be delivered to your door and manoeuvred to any part of the garden, as requested.
All in all, specialist nurseries are hard to beat and, because most of the plants are produced on site, the cost is reasonable and the full range of stock is usually available.
However, garden centres shouldn’t be automatically dismissed. Many of them are becoming much more adventurous in the plants they stock, and increasing numbers of architectural plants can be found on their premises. Garden centres are also convenient places for buying compost, garden tools, irrigation equipment, lighting and anything else that might be required for the garden, all of which can be bought at the same time as the plants.
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There’s a wide choice of exciting plants for growing indoors too.
Financial constraints
Gone are the days when everyone lived at the same address for several decades and was able to grow plants from tiny specimens until maturity. Nowadays, many of us are impatient for an ‘instant fix’, and television gardening programmes have encouraged us all to buy large plants for immediate impact. This is fine if your budget is open-ended, in which case buy the largest of everything. Most of us, though, can’t spend our hard-earned cash with such reckless abandon and need to be a bit more cautious.
If your budget is limited, work out from your list of requirements which are the fast-growing plants and which are the slowest. If a plant is a rapid grower, putting on several feet of new growth per season, such as a Eucalyptus, then buying a smaller, cheaper plant makes sense. For plants that are tediously slow, such as palm trees, put as much money as possible into buying a decent-sized specimen. Watching a small palm put on just a few inches of growth per year is a maddeningly frustrating experience, as you know that it will be years before it flourishes enough to become a focal feature in the garden.
One last thing to give some thought to is that some of the larger plants can be extremely heavy and quite tricky to plant. So, there is often the added expense of employing a professional team of capable gardeners to do the hard work for you. It’s a choice between parting with yet more cash or risking personal injury by doing the job yourself.
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Aeonium ‘Schwarzkopf’ is a popular and easy choice for a terracotta pot.
Plants in pots
Growing plants in containers has always been popular, but the difficulties of cultivating plants in this way are often glossed over. Magazine articles and advertisements for conservatories and terracotta pots make it look so easy, and gardeners usually blame themselves when plants become unhealthy or die. But it cannot be overemphasized exactly how unhappy plants can become when forced to spend their lives in such an unnatural environment.
Plants are at least a hundred times happier when planted in the ground, where they belong, than when they are planted in pots.
The roots of plants growing in containers are far nearer the elements than they were designed for, which is tucked away snugly underground. They experience more frost, more heat from the sun and more rain, which doesn’t always drain away quickly enough. So the chances of these plants suffering from freezing, drought and rotting are far higher than if they were growing in the garden. Plant roots also like to spread out, not to be cramped in a small space, which causes the plant additional stress. A stressed plant has reduced resistance to pests and diseases. Plants in containers have to be sprayed for bugs far more often than those in the ground. Insects can detect a weakened plant a mile off and zoom in for the kill with astonishing speed.
The most common cause of failure, however, is lack of water. Watering in the summer is something we all know has to be done, but sometimes watering twice a day in periods of extreme heat is too much of a chore. During the winter, when we assume that plants are looking after themselves more, watering is a task easily forgotten. Just because it has been raining for days on end doesn’t mean our containers are being adequately supplied with moisture. The rain can bounce straight off leafy plants without any water going directly into the pot.
Sometimes, though, containers are unavoidable. If your garden consists of a roof terrace or balcony, then they are the only choice. Pots on either side of the front door or along a terrace are always popular, too. By choosing suitable containers and understanding why certain plants should be avoided, the whole process can be turned into a successful venture.
Selecting suitable containers
The traditional flower pot is a carefully chosen shape, not because of its looks, but because of its practicality. The fact that it is wide at the top, narrow at the base and has smooth straight sides means that however pot-bound a plant becomes, it can always be pulled out. This should be given serious consideration when choosing a pot for your prize specimens.
Although there are some beautifully shaped pots on the market, containers with extravagantly curved sides should be used only as ornaments for the garden. Otherwise, when it is time for the plant to be moved into something larger, the only options are either to smash the pot or to chop off a considerable amount of the plant’s root system.
Whether a pot is plastic, terracotta, ceramic or stainless steel, good drainage is vital. Unless there are really good-sized drainage holes drilled into the bottom, leave it in the shop – it is useless!
Also, bear in mind that the larger the pot, the wider the choice of plants that can be grown in it successfully.
It is interesting to remember that the French king Louis XIV had figured all this out years ago with his famous Versailles pots. They were brilliant designs that enabled plants to be kept in them for decades. Each of their four sides could be removed, which gave his gardeners access to the roots. Every year, one side only was lifted off, any dead roots were cut out and the old compost was gently tweezed out with a specially made implement – something like a small curved fork. This was replaced with fresh compost, which gave the plant a new lease of life. This meant that every four years, all sides of the plant received this treatment, which ensured that the king’s precious Citrus trees remained healthy and in peak condition.
A genuine Versailles planter costs a small fortune, but there are some good replicas on the market. Before you buy, check first that they have removable sides, otherwise they rather miss the point.
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Versailles pots with removable sides allow root pruning to be done with ease.
Choosing plants for pots
Seasonal plants such as Canna, Zantedeschia, Agapanthus and Hedychium that die back each year after flowering can all live in pots for years. Once they become too large for their pots, haul them out, divide the clumps into several plants, replant what is required and give the rest away to a gardening chum.
However, the idea of buying a splendid new pot, often at considerable expense, is usually for it to be a permanently planted focal feature, looking attractive all year round, not for just a few months in the summer.
Plants that never get any bigger are ideal. Box (Buxus) balls, bay (Laurus nobilis) lollipops, yew (Taxus) cones and Japanese pom-poms such as Ilex crenata are perfect, as long as they are clipped regularly to keep them in shape. During the growing season, clipping must be done little and often so that the foliage doesn’t become straggly and unkempt. If the foliage is allowed to grow, more stress is put upon the root system as it struggles to support the extra leaves.
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Zantedeschia aethiopica ‘Crowborough’ can live in a pot for years if it is well watered.
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Japanese topiary such as Ilex crenata are blissfully content in large terracotta pots.
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Slow-growing plants like Trochodendron aralioides are happy to spend the first four years of their lives in containers.
For something a little more unusual, try the silver-leaved Corokia x virgata from New Zealand or the dense form of Euonymus japonicus ‘Compactus’.
Another category that contains some interesting choices are those that are very slow-growing and evergreen. There really is little point in choosing anything deciduous: nobody wants to look at a pile of sticks in the winter if the container is in a prominent part of the garden. The Dwarf Fan Palm, Chamaerops humilis, is happy in a pot for years. So is the dwarf Pittosporum tobira ‘Nanum’. This lovely glossy-leaved plant has highly scented flowers in the summer and can be grown in a pot quite easily. Tree ferns such as Dicksonia antarctica are happy enough, too, as their root system takes years to outgrow a large pot. Hebe rakaiensis is another good choice. This plant grows to a 90cm (3ft) mound and then stops, although clipping is still advisable to keep it extra tidy. Consider a rare tree as well: Trochodendron aralioides is slow-growing, tolerant of neglect and essential for any gardener wanting to grow something really unusual.
There is also a wide range of small succulent plants available, all of which are quite content to sit in pots. Try Aloe aristata, Echeveria glauca, Aeonium arboreum and the purple variety Aeonium ‘Schwarzkopf’.
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Euonymus japonicus ‘Compactus’ is an unusual leafy choice for a pot.
Finally, there are the strongly architectural spiky plants. Most of these come from desert regions, which mean they have had to adapt to burning hot sun during the day, freezing temperatures at night and long periods of drought, making them admirable choices for containers. Most hardy Yucca suit this purpose for the first few years of their lives, especially Yucca gloriosa and Yucca aloifolia. The wonderfully spherical Dasylirion acrotrichum can live in a pot for years. Probably the most spectacular of all is Agave americana. This plant and its various coloured forms all look stunning in terracotta pots.
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Agave parryi and most other desert succulents almost enjoy being in pots.
Compost
With the exception of tree ferns, which require a peaty compost, most plants are blissfully content in a loam-based compost, such as John Innes no. 3. Stir in up to 50 per cent of extra grit to provide really sharp drainage. This eliminates the need to fill the bottom few inches of your pot with large crocks as we are often advised to do. Loam-based compost is heavier than a peat-based mix, which helps to stop pots blowing over in the wind. It also has more nutrients and is easier to re-wet if the whole pot dries out.
Feeding
Plants in pots need all the help they can get, and this includes regular feeding throughout the growing season. In spring, start off by giving each pot a good dollop of something strong, such as a mix of blood, fish and bone. Thereafter, add a small dose of foliar feed to each watering can and use every time you water, even if it’s every day. Vital nutrients are easily leached out of pots, leaving plants prone to yellowing. The aim is to have handsome foliage that looks in the peak of health, not jaundiced and miserable.
Watering
The all-important task of irrigation must be taken seriously. The compost should never be allowed to dry out completely, which is quite an onerous task in the middle of a heat wave. Having pots within easy reach of a hose helps, so does having a garden tap. Plants in pots need watering virtually every day during the summer months, so careful planning is needed. Don’t wait for the summer to realize that each plant is a long way from a water supply – carrying heavy watering cans soon becomes a chore.
Alternatively, think about installing an automatic drip-irrigation system. Each pot has the recommended number of ‘drips’ pushed into it, all of which are connected to a long length of tubing plumbed into the water supply. The timer is then set to come on for as long and as often as you wish. The cost of these irrigation systems has decreased considerably as their popularity has increased, and they are now available at all good garden centres. Most are now fairly easy to install without expensive plumbing costs.
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Plants such as Azorina vidalii can stay glossy and healthy-looking if fed and watered correctly.
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With regular irrigation, Cycas revoluta can look fantastic in a pot.
Pests & diseases in pots
Plants in pots are much more prone to attacks from various beasts and general disorders than plants in the ground. Keep a constant watchful eye and catch them at the first sign. (See the chapter on pests, diseases and other disorders on pages 334–347.) One particularly nasty horror is the dreaded vine weevil. This sneaky, vicious brute lurks under the soil feeding on the roots of your precious specimens. One day, your plant collapses with no warning and the top comes off in your hand – no roots left at all! By scraping around under the soil, large fat white grubs can be found (they’re large and fat because they have been gorging on the entire root system). Other signs to watch out for are nibbled notched leaves, which are made by the adult form of this nocturnal creature.
Once found, dispose of the entire contents of the pot, fill it with fresh compost and start again. There are some exceptionally nasty chemicals around that can be added to the soil to ward off vine weevil, but using a loam-based compost and giving an occasional dose of a natural predator (a nematode worm that eats only the bad guys) works very well. Vine weevils are lazy things and prefer to burrow through soft, peaty compost rather than heavier loam.
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Echeveria glauca is a favourite snack for vine weevils.
Overwintering
No plant will stand having its roots frozen solid for weeks at a time. If you have a nice little courtyard garden in a warm inner city or if you live in a mild area near the sea, then this won’t be a problem. In colder areas, pots may have to be moved indoors or wrapped up. Choosing very hardy plants is obviously sensible, but the roots would still remain vulnerable. If cold winters are a regular occurrence in your part of the world, before planting, line the inside of each pot (excluding the bottom) with a thick layer of bubble wrap. This is completely invisible once the pot is planted up and much more pleasing to the eye than an old blanket wrapped around the outside of the pot.
Moving a heavy pot that has been planted up to less cold conditions indoors can be rather a nuisance. There are various trolleys and sack barrows on the market, but the best one I’ve come across has a beautifully angled shape and heavy-duty pneumatic tyres, which make light work of the whole procedure.
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Canna indica can easily be overwintered under glass if it is planted in a container.
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Aspidistra elatior is a nice leafy choice for a pot.
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The blue form of Agave americana looks beautiful next to the colour of terracotta.
Conservatories
Conservatories have never been more popular. Having a garden room attached to the house, where one can wander into a different climate and enjoy all the leafy and floral delights that are too tender for outdoors, is a splendid idea. The image often includes reclining in comfy chairs and occasionally reaching out languidly to pick a home-grown juicy citrus fruit or maybe a ripe fig. A place where the last rays of the setting sun can be observed at the end of the day …
If only reality could match the dream. Nothing prepares conservatory owners for the difficulties of growing plants in this kind of environment. The glossy adverts are taken at face value, and the fact that there are myriad problems to overcome can be a bit of a shock. The previous pages dealt with growing plants in pots, but growing plants in pots and under glass takes the art of cultivation into a new league altogether. Plants hate the excessive heat, dry atmosphere, lack of ventilation and the extreme variations of seasonal temperatures often found in conservatories.
The better the environment in the conservatory, the larger the range of plants that can be grown successfully.
Choosing a conservatory
Buy the largest conservatory that you can accommodate and afford. The larger the space, the easier it is to maintain a balanced climate. Instead of automatically siting a conservatory on the sunniest side of the house, consider a shadier spot where the heat of the summer is less intense. If possible, choose a structure with a door at each end. This will allow a good flow of air during the summer to help keep the interior cooler. Gentle breezes are what we are aiming for, not howling gales, so a sheltered part of the garden is required, not an exposed corner.
Ventilation is a boring, but essential, subject to think about as well. It is almost impossible to have too much ventilation, especially in the summer. Most conservatories are not well designed in this department, offering just one or two feebly inadequate vents in the roof, if you’re lucky. It is worth paying extra to have as many fixed panes of glass in the roof as possible converted into movable ones that open. If the design allows, have some side vents fitted as well, to catch the breeze from all directions.
Flooring
As all plants are much happier growing in the ground than they are in containers, leaving some space in the conservatory floor, where small trees and faster-growing plants can be planted directly into the soil, is something worth thinking about when you are planning your conservatory. The roots would have the benefit of being able to spread out naturally, while the glass overhead would protect tender foliage from the frost.
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Tropical, lush verdancy is what we’re aiming for in a conservatory.
Also consider choosing the sort of flooring that can be hosed down in the summer. This would help to lessen the heat while increasing the humidity, both of which would benefit the plants. Fluffy rugs might look okay flung on the conservatory floor, but they are not exactly practical.
Watering
Having a hose pipe right where it is needed will make watering much less of a chore, and your plants are therefore more likely to be irrigated when they need it, rather than having to wait until it is convenient.
Automatic irrigation systems have improved hugely during the last few years. Available from all good garden centres, they are easy to install, reliable and reasonably priced. A main pipe is placed all around the conservatory, and from this numerous drip nozzles can be pushed into each container. The timer is as easy as any domestic central heating or hot water system. They are the perfect solution for anyone who is frequently away from home or who would prefer spending their time doing other things.
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Strelitzia reginae adds an exotic air to any conservatory.
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The size, aspect, ventilation and maintenance of a conservatory have a direct bearing on what can be grown successfully.
Heating
From being boiling hot in the summer, the temperature in many conservatories plummets during the winter when the heat is quickly lost through the glass. Many plants can cope with almost freezing conditions, but a few degrees above freezing will make life more pleasant for plants and humans alike.
Whether the conservatory is heated by leaving the door to the adjoining house open, or by radiators, hot pipes, portable gas heaters or anything else, it is important to remember that plants do not like direct heat, so keep them some distance away from any heating source. Avoid heating systems that blow hot dry air directly onto the plants’ foliage as this can make the leaves turn brown and crispy.
If possible, avoid underfloor heating as well. Although this is nice for cats and people to walk on, plants hate this much heat so near to their roots – they will start to shed their leaves almost immediately. The only plants able to tolerate underfloor heating are spiky and succulent ones that are used to coping with the heat of their native habitats, such as the Sonoran Desert in Arizona or the warm plains of South Africa. Lovely though these plants are, most gardeners prefer to grow a variety of plants under glass, and the sharp spines of Yucca and Agave can be inconvenient indoors.
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Sparmannia africana is a fine plant for filling a corner of a large conservatory.
Conservatory plants
By checking the cultivation requirements of the various plants featured in this book and by reading the section on how to grow plants in pots (see pages 20–27), you can soon assemble a list of suitable plants for growing under glass. If the heating, ventilation and irrigation topics have been addressed, you will have more than a sporting chance of attaining the dream of a conservatory filled with lush, healthy, exotic plants.
The single most useful and beneficial thing that you can do in the heat of the summer is to move all your plants outside for the hottest months. They will appreciate not only the fresh air, but also the rain, which helps to clean any dust from the leaves.
Pests & diseases under glass
The unnatural conditions of being under glass, the hostile environment of fluctuating temperatures and the problems of growing plants in containers mean that pests and diseases are virtually guaranteed at some time or other. Once bugs are happily ensconced, they can breed with alarming rapidity. Some insects, such as whitefly, can produce another generation mature enough for laying its own eggs within three days.
Check all plants at least once a week, looking not just for insects, but also for any signs of fungal infections, moulds, rotting or any other maladies. Dealing with any problems at the very first sign saves all sorts of trouble for the future. There’s no point ignoring it and hoping it will go away – it won’t. The more an infestation takes hold, the harder it is to deal with.
The chapter on pests and diseases (see pages 334–347) gives more comprehensive information, and there is also a Rogues’ Gallery (see pages 340–347) to help you identify exactly which horrors to look out for.
Professional maintenance contracts
The difficulties of looking after plants grown in conservatories are well known in the horticultural trade. As a result, teams of marvellous people are always available to help gardeners keep everything looking healthy. They will visit your home regularly to check that all is well in the conservatory. They will water, feed and clean plants whenever necessary and dispense valuable advice at the same time. They take all the hard work out of looking after plants, leaving you just to enjoy the results.
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Tibouchina urvilleana adores lots of heat and humidity.
Architectural plants in the garden (#ulink_82c69baf-dd19-55c6-a946-c09132a06fa3)
Gardening with architectural plants is no different from any other type of gardening, but I can appreciate that planting a garden with unfamiliar plants might be a bit daunting. The usual rules still apply, although I prefer to think of them as tips and helpful advice.
Walking into an architectural plants nursery for the first time can be overwhelming. When faced with plants that look so big, bold and different, it’s easy to assume that all those on sale are fully grown, mature specimens. Although such a nursery is not for the timid, closer inspection will reveal that this type of gardening is not just about large plants.
You will also find on display a massive selection of smaller, easily affordable plants lurking throughout and underneath all the greenery. There is usually plenty of stock readily available that doesn’t require a second mortgage. So, if you’re new to this type of gardening and are bowled over by the choice of plants on offer, where do you start?
Garden design
There is a lot of pretentious nonsense bandied about garden design. If someone thinks that a selection of plants looks good together, who’s to say that they are wrong? As long as the gardener or client is happy with the result, that should be all that matters. But, many of us are happier with a few guidelines to assist, so here are just a few.
Choose plants that suit your type of garden and learn as much as you can about what keeps them happy.
It is important to choose plants that are right for your garden and to learn as much as possible about the growing conditions that would suit them best. (This is discussed in detail on page 16 and also in the individual plant entries.) Also, try to learn a bit about their eventual size – there is little point planting small plants near the back of the border where they will be obscured from view in a couple of years. This is, of course, all common sense that applies to any type of gardening, not just gardening with architectural plants.
Another common-sense strategy when planting – but one that I completely ignore – is to allow space around each plant so that it can spread without being crowded by its neighbours after a few seasons. Common sense it may be but, to impatient people like myself, this is something far too boring even to contemplate. I like to see a wonderful lush garden within two years, not ten. If plants start to crowd together, then I either get out the shears and do some serious pruning or, better still, thin out the number of plants and transplant the spare ones somewhere else.
Using the same plants throughout the garden to carry on a theme, rather than just having one of each type of plant, is something I am very keen on. It is much more pleasing and organized to look at. If one of your favourite plants happens to be, for instance, a Yucca gloriosa, start by planting one in a position where it is easily seen, and then plant several more along the length of the border or garden at various intervals. This effect gives the impression that a deliberate planting plan has been thought about, rather than appearing as a random hotchpotch. It is a commonly held misapprehension that using the same plant more than once is boring and shows a lack of imagination. Plant one of each only if you are an avid collector or the curator of a botanic garden.
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A specialist nursery will contain plants of all sizes to suit every budget.
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Multiple planting of the same type of plant (here, Blechnum spicant) gives much more dramatic results.
Still on the subject of multiple planting, small plants such as some ferns, grasses or groundcover plants are much more noticeable and give a more dramatic effect when planted in large sweeping groups of all the same type.
And, when using architectural plants as screening, groups and rows of bamboos or trees do the job very well but, again, the effect is less messy if all the same types of bamboo or tree are selected. Not only is the result more visually appealing, but the growth rates will be the same, keeping the screening more uniform as it matures.
Using the same types of climbing plants across a fence or over a pergola also looks tidier, but I usually fail miserably in persuading clients to go for this option. Gardeners expect climbers to work hard, providing screening, flowers, fragrance and a bit of colour for the whole growing season. Indeed, choosing from the range of climbing plants in this book, this is certainly possible to achieve but, from an aesthetic point of view, lots of the same is easier on the eye. And if they all intermingle with each other, it doesn’t matter at all.
Larger plants such as trees, palms and bamboos look perfectly okay when planted as single specimens and as the main focal feature of the garden, but they can also be effective in small groups. Palm trees look particularly good planted together in groves, with all the plants of slightly different heights. Grouped in this way, you can almost kid yourself that they grew there naturally.
With architectural plants, the emphasis is on the foliage, not the flowers, so it can be great fun experimenting with all the different shapes, textures and shades of green to make different effects. For example, in a shady corner, the large glossy leaves of a Fatsia japonica, the fat crinkly foliage of Eriobotrya japonica, the blue-green spiky leaves of Yucca x floribunda and the emerald-green, soft foliage of Hebe parviflora angustifolia look lovely all grouped together.
In a sunnier position, the combination of the small, bright green foliage of a bamboo such as Phyllostachys aurea, the spiky sword-shaped leaves of Phormium tenax, the large, shiny leaves of Acanthus mollis all underplanted with the dense groundcover of Rosmarinus repens makes an interesting mix.
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Pleioblastus variegatus makes a pretty contrast to other larger bamboos.
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Strongly shaped architectural plants do not need flowers or colour to make them noticeable.
Generally, because of the lack of too many gaudy flowers, architectural plants can be mixed and matched in almost limitless combinations. At this point, it is time to throw in a few words about variegated plants. With architectural plants, the colour green obviously dominates, and with all the hundreds of shades of green, little else is really needed. Even the absence of a constant array of flowers is not much of a loss. But, just occasionally, introducing a contrasting plant can add that bit of extra interest. If a coloured-leaved plant such as Rhamnus alaternus variegata, Yucca gloriosa variegata or Phormium tenax variegata is planted among masses of green, the effect can be quite stunning. However, if too many coloured-leaved plants are added, the whole contrasting effect can be diluted to the point of being lost. So, think green, and you can’t go far wrong.
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Beautifully shaped palms are striking enough to grab anyone’s attention.
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This photo shows a perfect choice of plants for a layered effect in a small garden.
After introducing architectural plants to a garden, other ordinary garden plants can start to look dull, which usually leads to the buying and planting of more and more shapely specimens. If you plan to turn the whole garden over to architectural plants but you are on a fairly tight budget that allows only a gradual transformation, spend your cash on planting the garden in sections. Completely finishing one small area can make a much more rewarding difference than spreading out your new plants in just ones and twos around the garden.
If you prefer a more traditional garden that just needs a little oomph, architectural plants can fit in surprisingly well with existing planting. A shapely, evergreen architectural tree will not seem out of place as a focal feature in any style of garden. A couple of palms or a large Yucca can enliven the dullest of herbaceous borders without appearing at all alien. An olive tree can look wonderful in any sun-baked courtyard. And bamboos or large grasses planted around ponds look totally acceptable, even if the rest of the garden is turned over to lawn and vegetables.
If space is a bit limited, it is surprising how many large plants can fit into one small area if the varying heights are taken into account. The photo shown opposite below is a brilliant illustration of professional design and imagination (alas, not mine!). A canopy of tall Eucalyptus glaucescens provides the first layer. Underneath these, a few Cordyline australis nestle to provide the next layer and also provide shade and shelter for tree ferns (Dicksonia antarctica), which are tall enough to leave room for ground-level plants such as Astelia. It’s inspirational stuff indeed, and there’s no reason why amateur gardeners can’t create something reasonably similar.
Beautiful as architectural plants are by day, they still have some hidden talents up their sleeves. It is easy to forget about the garden once the sun sets, but some of these plants are so sculptural and shapely that they can even look fantastic at night with some carefully positioned up-lighting to accentuate their silhouettes. The plants with the strongest shapes such as palms, Yucca and Agave work best with spotlights on them.
One last comment to add about planning your own garden is not to be too strict in your choice of plants. After reading up on plants you like the look of, it’s usual to write down a few favourites and compile a list of those that you’d really like. The longer the list, the less chance there is of obtaining them all during one shopping trip. However good your preferred nursery is, to expect it to stock every size of every plant all year round is being unrealistic. It is better to make a very short list of essentials, then visit the nursery and spend time looking around to see what looks good at the time. Make your final selection from what you see on the day. Otherwise you could spend a long time tracking down every single plant on a long wish-list.
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Pseudopanax crassifolius is an essential ingredient for a New Zealand-style garden.
Themed planting
Most architectural plants enthusiasts start with just one or two specimens at a time and gradually build up a wider selection later on. It is not unusual for the entire garden to be filled with these beautiful plants eventually. Some gardeners take things one step further and theme their garden in one particular foreign style. This is often done straight after a particularly enjoyable holiday when you are wishing you were still there. Theming the garden allows the mind to be transported back to whichever part of the world you recently visited.
Settlers new to a particular country sometimes like to be reminded of their homeland, and they plant their gardens accordingly: New Zealanders and Australians living away from home seem to have a special passion for doing this. As the choice of architectural plants is wide, it is easy to develop gardens that are reminiscent of one particular country or region. The provenance of the plants doesn’t have to be strictly correct as long as the look of it suits what you are trying to create. For example, a Mediterranean-style garden could be created using plants such as Italian Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens), Umbrella Pines (Pinus pinea), Magnolia grandiflora, olives and palms, together with Trachelospermum jasminoides and Pittosporum tobira to add the familiar scent found in Tuscany or the south of France.
Some might prefer a Japanese look, with the emphasis on Black Bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra), together with trees such as Podocarpus macrophyllus and Phillyrea latifolia, and maybe some Japanese topiary as well, such as Ilex crenata and formally clipped Buxus sempervirens or curved mounds of Hebe rakaiensis.
Jungly gardens can be very dramatic using palms, bamboos, Banana Plants (Musa basjoo) and anything else with large leaves such as the Foxglove Tree (Paulownia tomentosa) and Rice Paper Plant (Tetrapanax papyrifera). Loud splashes of colour can be introduced with any of the Canna or Ginger Lilies (Hedychium), and all types of large-leaved ferns could be used for the underplanting.
Australian-type gardens would have masses of all types of Eucalyptus, Acacia dealbata, Acacia pravissima, Callistemon subulatus and Solanum laciniatum, probably planted densely around a summer house with a corrugated iron roof and a shady verandah.
New Zealand gardens can easily be created in cooler areas that have a high rainfall. With a mix of Cordyline australis, Dicksonia squarrosa, Phormium, Astelia and the fabulously weird and wonderful Pseudopanax crassifolius, pulling back the curtains every morning and gazing out on plants such as these could make you forget which country you actually live in.
My favourite group of plants is the spiky and succulent one, and any choice of these can look fab together. To look out of the window and see a scene that could easily be from the Sonoran Desert in Arizona always gives me a real buzz. A mix of Agave, Yucca and Dasylirion can be used to good effect, although postmen, meter readers and visitors to the house don’t seem to share my enthusiasm for these plants – they’ve probably been on the receiving end of the sharp thorns once too often.
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Leafy tree canopies underplanted with palms give a jungly feel.
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Loud and vibrant flowers remind us of trips to the Caribbean.
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Rows of formal Cupressus have an air of the Mediterranean about them.
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The rich scent of Magnolia grandiflora flowers fills the air in Italianate gardens.
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Planting schemes like this remind me of the Sonoran Desert in Arizona, but they can be created in even the chilliest garden.
There are enough plants in this book to create gardens with Chilean and South African themes too. Depending on how vivid your imagination is, you could replicate the planting of just about any country in the world. There are also plenty of plants that can be used to make much more traditional gardens, as well as those where the emphasis is on fragrance. Believe it or not, it is possible to create unusual, bright, flowery gardens – there are just about enough exotic blooms among these plants to satisfy the floral needs of gardeners, despite the emphasis being on their foliage. There are also lots of plants here that have excellent salt resistance, which makes them very practical for seaside gardens.
Last of all, even bog gardens can get a look in with a selection of moisture-loving specimens such as Gunnera manicata, Acorus gramineus variegata, Zantedeschia aethiopica ‘Crowborough’ and Arundo donax.
I can’t think of any garden anywhere that wouldn’t benefit from at least a small selection of architectural plants.
Garden designers
If you really can’t bear the thought of choosing your own plants and would prefer someone else to create a beautiful garden for you, then it’s worth considering bringing in a professional.
There are lots of garden designers out there, and although many of them are talented and dedicated people, some of them are not quite so marvellous. So, how do you choose one?
There is nothing to beat a verbal recommendation from a chum or neighbour who has recently had their garden revamped. And it’s usually a fairly safe bet to employ someone who’s been in the business for a long time. He or she will have the benefit of years of experience and, hopefully, will still retain a certain amount of enthusiasm for the task.
Don’t just accept quotes from one designer; it pays to shop around. It is also reasonable to ask to see their portfolio of recent commissions. If their photos are beautifully presented in a well-cared for album, this bodes well. If their portfolio consists of a few faded pictures stuffed into a tatty old envelope, then their attention to detail probably won’t amount to much.
Within reason, try not to be too influenced by the cost quoted. To dismiss a quote purely because it’s expensive can definitely be the wrong thing to do. You might miss out on the best, tidiest, nicest and most professional teams of chaps or ladies in existence. Sometimes a very cheap quote might not include various hidden extras that will be tacked on at the end of the job. In other words, the gardening world is no different from anything else when it comes to employing someone’s service.
Finally, just because someone is a designer, don’t assume they are a gardener. Some designers never leave their office desk and will present you with a garden plan only. The planting and hard graft might still have to be done by you.
New gardens & borders
Sometimes the opportunity arises to create a completely new section of garden. If a reasonably large area is being considered for this type of planting, its preparation should be given some careful thought. Architectural plants need the same kind of preparation as most other types of plant, but it’s useful to offer a couple of tips on the subject here.
Fashionable advice is often given about the use of some kind of membrane cover, such as Mypex. This is placed over all of the soil in a large sheet and is used to suppress weeds and slow down water evaporation. Please, please, I beg of you, don’t use this ghastly stuff. It’s truly awful and, although it does keep the weeds from growing, the disadvantages far outweigh any benefits. Although useful for large commercial areas, it has no place in a private garden. Once in situ it becomes impossible to condition the soil in any way. Digging can’t be done – this won’t hurt for a couple of years but, long-term, it isn’t a good thing, as the soil will gradually become more compacted and stagnant. Feeding, except with foliar food, isn’t possible. Worms can’t work the soil, as they cannot pass back and forth through the material. Adding any new plants is a bore because the material has to be uncovered and cut before a planting hole can be dug. And, lastly, it’s hideous to look at. Even when top-dressed with a mulch of pea shingle or bark chippings, the weather and local wildlife will soon shift this around, exposing areas of it to public view. Well, I think I’ve probably made my views on it more than clear, so enough said.
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A careful balance of shape and colour can be used to create a pleasing mix of architectural plants.
When a new border has been dug over and levelled, it’s a useful opportunity to be able to feed the whole area in one go prior to any planting. Numerous references throughout the book are made to using copious quantities of well-rottted manure. This is excellent for providing all sorts of nutrients for practically all types of architectural plant. But, make sure it is well rotted and has reached the stage where it is dryish and crumbly. If it is runny and smells bad enough to make your eyes water, then don’t use it. When it is this fresh, it needs nitrogen to help it to rot down further. So, instead of adding much-needed nitrogen to the soil, it is actually taking it away. Also, very fresh manure can scorch delicate foliage and roots. If well-rotted manure is difficult to obtain, buy sacks of 6X from the local garden centre. It works just as well and is easy and pleasant to use. It also stinks out the entire neighbourhood for about a week but, what the hell … Blood, fish and bone also gets talked about a lot in these pages. It is bought as a powdered mix and sprinkled over the surface of the soil. It smells awful, but the horrible pong will soon fade. If you keep a pet dog, this powder will have to be forked in lightly otherwise the greedy mutt will feast on it.
Before planting, take some time to arrange all of the plants across the new area. While they are still in their pots, they are easy to move around until their exact positions have been decided on.
A few thoughts
Although the following are completely random thoughts, I do think that they are worth mentioning.
Tools & equipment
Whatever tools or gardening equipment you choose to purchase, please try to buy the best and most expensive offered. Good-quality garden tools should only have to be bought once, whereas cheap tools seldom last for more than a few years. This, of course, applies to almost all types of gardening. However, architectural plants are such a special range that they deserve the very best aftercare. An architectural plants garden often dispenses with the traditional lawn, as grass takes up valuable planting space. So, the money saved from not needing an expensive mower can go into the few really useful tools that are regularly required.
Strong sturdy ladders are a must, and there are some beautifully made, lightweight Japanese ones currently on the market, which are worth every penny of the asking price. Similarly, if your choice of plants includes lots that require frequent clipping, such as Buxus or any topiary, it is worth buying a pair of lightweight, super-sharp secateurs to make the task more pleasurable. And expensive secateurs are a joy to use. They can be taken to pieces and sharpened to keep them in pristine condition for decades, and they usually come with a smart leather holster to keep them in.
To help in moving some of the larger plants in and out of the conservatory or around the garden prior to planting, a superior type of sack truck is essential. Buy one that is beautifully balanced, easy to use and has nice thick pneumatic tyres for bouncing over uneven ground or gravel.
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Formally clipped plants such as this Hebe rakaiensis are always a feature of Japanese-style gardens.
Pruning & chopping
If lots of herbaceous plants such as Canna and Hedychium are used, after they have turned brown for the winter, instead of cutting them right down to ground level, leave a couple of inches of stem showing above the ground. These will remind you of their whereabouts so that other plants aren’t mistakenly planted in the same place. This might sound drearily obvious, but it’s something I read in a gardening magazine years ago and I found it a useful tip.
Pruning or clipping plants little and often keeps them in shape and encourages bushy, tight new growth. This is also important with some plants such as Hebe parviflora angustifolia that won’t tolerate hard pruning back into old wood. In fact, such action could kill them. With plants such as Buxus sempervirens that have been grown as spheres, if the growth is allowed to get out of hand, cutting it back into its original curvy shape can be quite tricky.
Maintenance
Finally, my last word on the subject of gardening. There is no such thing as a no-maintenance garden. The reason for stating this is because I’m often asked to supply one. Television has a lot to answer for …
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