My Global Garden

Frosts and Fruit trees

3. May 2010

There is a ground frost predicted in SE england tonight -with temperatures dipping as low as 1c. Just popped my head outside to see a clear and very stary night which looks beautiful. Not good news for any tender plants, especially the blossom on fruit trees which is always at risk during April/May in the UK [...]

Palm Trees perfect for drought

11. July 2010

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Gardens all over the UK are suffering from the intense heat and lack of rain apart from those planted with tropical and mediterranean plants. Palms are perfect for this dry, hot weather as they require hardly any water to survive once established plus they bring something unusual to your garden. Despite their prominence in hotter climates, palm [...]

Angels Trumpets

10. April 2008

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Latin name: Brugmansia Description: These fabulous plants are a must for the exotic garden with their ridiculously large flowers. There are many species and countless cultivars worth trying in the garden. Often mistakenly called Datura, there is nothing like Brugmansia for scent. The name Angel’s Trumpet refers to the large, very dramatic, pendulous trumpet-shaped flowers 14–50cm [...]

Arum Lily, Calla Lily

10. April 2008

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Latin name: Zantedeschia aethiopica ‘Green Goddess’ Description: Highly attractive lily with large, lush, lustrous green arrow-shaped leaves. The flowers appear at the top of tall stalks from spring into early summer and are in the form of a modified leaf called a spathe, enfolding a fleshy yellow spike. ‘Green Goddess’ is a very desirable cultivar with [...]

Bank Holiday Garden Visit

27. August 2010

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Looking for plant inspiration over the Bank Holiday weekend? Try visiting a truly inspirational garden located in the centre of Norwich in the East of England which is open to the public on Sunday and Monday. Will Giles’ Exotic Garden blossomed during the July heatwave and is now enjoying the monsoon style rains that have arrived during August. In his own words the garden is “just reaching its [...]

Bears Britches

10. April 2008

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Latin name: Acanthus mollis Description: These beauties are grown for their dramatic foliage and handsome upright flower spikes that fit in well with exotic style gardening. Acanthus mollis is a stately, semi-evergreen perennial with long deeply toothed, soft spined, glossy bright green leaves up to 60cm long by 30cm wide. Spikes of funnel-shaped white flowers, flushed [...]

Bird of Paradise, Crane Flower

10. April 2008

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Latin name: Strelitzia reginae Description: This must be one of the best known plants in the world, so why not try one in your garden! It is an evergreen, clump-forming perennial with long stalked, tough, leathery, blue-green leaves. The large beak-like flowers have three brilliant orange sepals and three vivid purple-blue petals in boat-shaped red-edged bracts [...]

Blue Passion Flower, Common Passion Flower

10. April 2008

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Blue Passion Flower, Common Passion Flower

Latin name: Passiflora cerulia Description: Beautiful and essential, fast growing evergreen to semi-evergreen climber with attractive, palmate, dark green leaves. The delectable flowers are white with a blue or purple banded corona from summer to autumn followed by ochre yellow egg-shaped fruits. ‘Constance Elliot’ is an attractive white-flowered cultivar. Hardiness: Hardy to -10C and probably lower Height: 3m [...]

Canary Island Geranium

10. April 2008

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Latin name: Geranium palmatum Description: If you like Geranium maderense, but can’t grow it because its frost tender Geranium palmatum is an equally attractive alternative. This seductive short-lived perennial has long stems and finely divided mid-green leaves up to 35cm across. The flowers are saucer-shaped, five-petalled, pinkish purple up to 4cm across on large terminal heads [...]

Canna Lily

10. April 2008

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Latin name: Canna Description: Their brilliant flowers and bold ornamental foliage are an essential part of any exotic garden, giving a very tropical feel. They are fast growing especially if well fed, where they can grow from 50cm to a staggering 2.5m depending on species and variety. Most Cannas available are hybrids with flowers up to [...]