Wealden Times 2002

by Erica Farrow

I do hope that when you read this article in March, the fierce wind and endless drizzle of February will have given way to some cheerful spring-like weather... My spirits were lifted when I visited a nursery in early February, where so many of the plants were looking as green and lush as they will look in mid-summer.

Architectural Plants came about when its founder, Angus White, lamenting at how 'the average British garden is about as fascinating to look at in winter as a wet breeze block', decided to create a nursery of mainly evergreen plants. Most of these plants are unusual in the context of an English garden. They are what is termed, architectural, with sheath-like leaves, large jungly leaves, or leaves you would associate with palms and bamboo. In the past some of them may have been described as 'foliage' plants, but that was when they were considered too tender for our climate and were relegated to hot houses until the summer and heated conservatories. Their leaves have a high decorative value and remain green on the plant throughout the winter. Considering an apt description for 'an architectural plant', I am reminded that ancient Greek architects based the design of the Corinthian capital (on their columns), on the leaf of the Acanthus spinosus (Bear's Breeches). Please someone tell me if you know why this wonderful plant has such a strange common name. As Vita Sackville-West commented, they would make the most uncomfortable breeches even for a bear! Although its origins are in southern Europe, I associate Acanthus spinosus with South Africa...

Back in Sussex, while the plant structure, form, leaf shape and evergreen qualities are of greatest importance, the flowers of the exotic plants are equally eye-catching. In the highly readable catalogue - its prose as mouth-watering as some menus, at least to a keen horticulturist - flower descriptions range from the demure 'sweet almond scented' to 'Daisy flowers the size of dinner plates' and '2ft tall (no mucking around with metric here) pink spires'. Not all on the same plant, I should point out.

I arrived at their nursery in Horsham in the middle of a monsoon, with lashing rain and violent wind (a distinct lack of humidity however). The office is straight out of the East - very colonial, light, airy, with a wide verandah. Past the office, a little walk through Tree Ferns (Dicksonia antarctica), New Zealand Cabbage Trees and various other weird and wonderful plants you'll find the gorgeous little white building on stilts that houses the loo. Whether you need to or not do visit it! It has been described by someone as 'the most beautiful lavatory in Europe...'

A major concern when considering these plants is their hardiness in our gardens. Is it really feasible to grow them? Well, although owners of protected town gardens come into their own here, a lot of the plants are hardy anywhere below about 1000 ft (300m), or in the Home Counties if the plant is sited sensibly. To assist you in finding out which plant should be suitable for your garden the nursery use a traffic light system. Green next to a plant indicated the most hardy, through amber to red, for the most vulnerable. The staff will advise you on ideal conditions, soil type, drainage (often more important than temperature), growth rate and shade/sun tolerance. I fell for the Ginger Lilies (Hedychium coccineum 'Tara'), the Orange Bark Myrtle (Myrtus apiculata) and a standard Loquat ( Eriobotrya japonica) to name but a few....

How can these plants fit into the traditional English style garden? A certain number of the plants you may well be familiar with and they will fit into your border perfectly - colour, height and form taken into account. Some of the spiky numbers would make good accent plants in a border or if you were making over a sheltered corner of your garden, you could go to town and create an entirely exotic border.