Fire Fern Sumach Tree - Rhus dissecta

Hi there - you've just purchased something that I would like to get myself, so your blog title immediately caught my eye. Like you, I've been trying to sort out my garden and finally feel like I am getting somewhere, but that is entirely down to joining GOY. I find the pictures, ideas and suggestions on here invaluable in helping to decide what to plant and where.

Good luck with the re-design.

I totally sympathise with you. I am designing a large garden virtually from scratch & what I found useful was collecting pictures/photos of gardens or plant-groupings which I really like, & then thinking about how I could incorporate something similar into my own garden. I have folders full of lovely pics I have been collecting from magazines for years! I have been going through them with my husband, so that I can see what he likes too. Often, what I like, he doesn't particularly like, & vice versa. For example, he is immediately drawn to 'hot' gardens with bold reds, oranges & yellows. I love soft, romantic gardens full of lilac, blue, purple, pink, cream, lemon & white, with lots of greenery. As I just couldn't live with a 'hot' garden day in, day out, I am adding splashes of hot colours for my OH, in amongst the colours I enjoy, & we have been going around the GCs to see what type of flowers/plants he likes. I also find it helpful to do a rough drawing of how I would like certain areas of the garden to be, & then we just work from that. Although I want the entire garden to 'gel together', I also find that dividing the different areas up, & working on them one at a time, works well for me. We have almost completed a side area now, with just a small area still to be dug out & planted up, & then my OH can get to work on a trellis fence with arch & gate, to divide that side area from the larger back garden area. I love a lot of our exotic native plants, shrubs & trees, so we are now looking at ways in which we can incorporate these into the romantic garden I envisage. I guess for your tropical garden, you will be wanting ferns, palms, flax, grasses, & lush hot tropical colours, such as reds, oranges, strong pinks & yellows. Canna lilies are great for giving a tropical garden feel, & come in good range of those hotter colours, but I'm not sure if they can be grown outdoors in UK, as they might be frost-tender. I have seen photos of very successful tropical gardens done in London. You could call up 'Images Tropical Gardens' on google, & you should get a lot of different ideas from photos, & then see what would be suitable for your garden area & your location, & what is available in your area or online to purchase. I live in New Zealand, so tropical gardens are often seen here, & I know they have lots of lush greenery everywhere & are quite densely planted ... more greenery than flowers. If I can be of any help, let me know. Good luck with your project.

Meant to say that clematis will also be invaluable to giving your tropical garden that exotic feel, especially if they are allowed to grow up into trees, as they would do in a jungle ... & ditto for vines.

Thanks for the advice to you both. I am starting my project this weekend by sitting in my conservatory and just thinking hard about where i would like things to be. I have had a life change as just got over skin cancer. So i am looking for something really "WOW" when i look out of my conservatory. I need something tropical and tranquill.
My garden is overlooked by neighbours and although i do get comments from my neighbours it just is not right to me.
Paul my hubby just plants things here there and everywhere and has also placed some railway sleepers in the garden along one side of the garden. Although i am not happy with the look of it i just pretend i am. Ha ha. It makes him feel like he has helped me in some way (bless him). Dont get me wrong the garden does look pretty but i want to get to the stage i can just sit back relax and enjoy it without getting up and thinking i need to move that there, or that dont look good there.......
Am i just being a snob?????
The idea of gardening photos and pictures are a brill idea and i have looked at some on GOY and i love the idea of the mirrors in the garden. So that`s what i am planning around. Once again thats for the valuable advice.

Well the weekend is nearly upon us and there is lots to do in my garden this weekend. I am dedicating the whole weekend to gardening.
Fleecing ferns, strapping up my Cordylines and phorniums. Wrapping my bushes and larger plants and trees.
Wrapping the fan palms at the trunk and strapping together the leaves to prevent any winter damage.
Lifting corms and stroring away for the winter. Moving arundo donax into position for the spring shoots.
Olive tree to be placed under cover. Banana plants to be moved under cover and fleeced.
Mirror hopefully going up under the pergola if hubby can fit it for me. Leaves from the overhanging trees collected from the lawn. Top dress the lawn. Collecting the last of the seeds.
Sow more crocuses and bulbs into the ground for spring.
Grouping pots together to prevent frost damage.
General tidy up and insulating the greenhouse.
Must not forget to keep the wild birds fed and watered.
No doubt there will be more added to my list by the end of today. I just hope paul has not forgotten to get the straw for me on his travels today or it will be a late start for me in the morning.
My my, i am going to be busy this weekend.
Oh and door sign on the gate to advise not to be interupted at any cost.

My idea was to photogragh the area i was changing and print off A4 then trace over the outline and then scetch in ideas. hope this helps.