recommend plants?

evening all

now i've dug my other 2 borders, i need some recommendations on what to put in them. i'm looking for tropical looking and not necessarily just tropical planting.

one border is 40 odd ft long and a meter (ish) deep which gets full sun from late morning until sun down, the other is semi shade, 16ft long and again, about a metre deep. when the wind gets up, it can, especially above the 6ft fence on the long border, get quite fierce (2 roads from the sea front) so need something that can withstand winds, salt air and even though the soil is very good, its very free draining. it does need some bulk in the way of good manure or similar, but thats easily sorted.

i have already decided on these :-

fatsias, phormiums, huchera's, grasses, bamboo's, euphorbias, t-rex, agapanthus, crocosmia, hosta's. basically, i want to encorporate these as they are in my triangular border, so echoing whats there, but what else do you guys suggest??

i'd like some evergreen for year round greenery, colour and good leaf structure, also something delecate looking. i'd also want to incorporate some more palms and another couple of dicksonia's, (anything not fully hardy i can over winter in the garage or shed, or even the house if not too big!)

so, over to you guys and gals for some suggestions if you may..........

in advance.

Al

 

butia capitata hardy to -10 (slow grower)

jubaea chilenian hardy to -10

Trachycarpus wagnerianus -15

frost hardy agave many available

frost hardy cactus , many available and impressive.
or go annual with plants like ricinus or canna (extremely chip and easy)


ginger

 

ooooh, thanks sal73, some nice bits there

 

Daylily aka hemerocallis

 

View attachment 5708 Daylily aka hemerocallis

 

How about lobelia tupa enjoys a sunny sheltered spot, and can get to 6-8ft, with a mulch will survive all but the coldest winter, lost mine the last cold winter but did survive the previous one, luckily I collected seed

And I'm with Spruce on the daylilies so many exotic looking ones available now , and tough as old boots

Daylily 'Lurch'

 

i bought a hemerocallis for my first border the other week so i'll get a few more.

 

the lobelia is rather nice too!

 

I love these plant selection threads They are great to pick up planting ideas for my 2013 wish list.
The Lobelia Tupa is incredible Simbad ! Just looked it up on the RHS site , it's also known as Devils Tobacco ! So maybe you can smoke it at the end of the season - let me know how it tastes

 

Cannas are an obvious choice...there are quite a few to choose from, but here's my Canna Altensteinii from last year; grew to approx 10ft and flowered in 1 year from seed

May 31st 2011


21st September 2011 (the conifer hedge behind is 10ft high)

 

Hibiscus Newbiscus is worth looking for; HUGE flowers ;

 

Eucomis for the front of the border. Galtonia candicans is another easy bulb.
Whilst on the subject of bulbs, don't forget the aroids such as Arisaema and Dracunculus. There are also some spectacular Iris relatives such as Diplarrena and Moraea.
Nicotiana sylvestris is an easy annual that has a spectacular tropical look with its huge leaves.
If you have a greenhouse/conservatory the world is your oyster - this is the seed pod of Sutherlandia frutescens in the background of this photo of a common Iris...............

.............it has been sunk in the ground in its pot for the summer. Here are the blooms...............

Just an example, you could sink any number of tender shrubs for the summer.

 

i dont have a greenhouse sadly, but i can put them in a shed or garage, or i can make space in my house :-)