Making the Exotic......

We started planting out the Exotic garden now that the temperature show no sign of dropping during the night. Alot of succulents were pulled out of the glasshouses, cannas and dahlias that had been potted up and brought out of dormancy were brought to the garden and the bananas were freed from their 'bracken teepees'

The Exotic garden caused a bit of a stir when it was first planted in 1993 because it was originally an Edwardian rose garden that had been designed by Edwin Lutyens, the architect, and was created almost 80 years ago. Christopher Lloyd decided to make this change because he felt change was needed in that area of the garden and the roses kept getting plagued by replant disease due to lack of circulation from the hedges. Some visitors were in an uproar but Christopher Lloyd said, 'The noise of tearing old rose roots as they were being exhumed was music to my ears.' Some roses though were allowed to remain.

The view that you see, from my window, is looking at the garden from above, where it is surrounded by Yew hedges next to one of the original farm buildings.

Here is the large Tetrapanix papyrifira and the smaller silver foliaged Eucalyptus gunnii.

Phormium tenax with the still emerging Canna 'Durban'

The highlight of this garden is all of the interesting colors, shapes and textures of foliage and bright jewel colored blooms.

The blooms of this rose are mimicked underneath by the shape of the heads of Aenioum 'Zwartkop', which gives a cascading effect to the eye.

More foliage contrast....... And from what I have seen in photos and heard, as September approaches, the exotic garden is so lush that the paths turn into tunnels due to the amount of foliage. I will continue to share how it fills out....

And just to give a highlight of what has been going on in the Long Border, here are some of the reddish pink Lupines stealing the show at the bottom of the border.

And just to give a highlight of what has been going on in the Long Border, here are some of the reddish pink Lupines stealing the show at the bottom of the border.

Here is a Stipa arundinacea and the ox-eye daisies , Leucanthemum vulgare.

Looking through the Yew arch, the Barn garden is an intense array of colors at the moment.

Here are the stock beds that the nursery propagates from, blooming in all different shades. There are geraniums, Tanacetum niveum and the tall spikes of Verbascum speciosum getting ready to open bright yellow blooms.

Here in the stock garden bed you have Baptisia australis and Tanacetum niveum with the Oast House in the background.

The lovely Ladybird poppies are blooming intensely and look really striking against Miscanthus sinensis 'Cosmopolitan'.

The walls are in full bloom with Centranthes rubera and the self sown Erigeron karvinskianus, or Mexican daisy, which look like they pop out of every crack in the paving stones and stone wall.

I am having such a fantastic time here in England, and am loving Great Dixter in every way. I couldn't be happier. Keep your fingers crossed to because my interview with the Jerusalem Botanical Garden is tomorrow.