Tropical Inner City Garden

The owners of this inner city home have a busy lifestyle and wanted a simple, low maintenance garden that they could enjoy on weekends. Landscape designer Brendan Lewis came up with a combination of easy care foliage plants to provide year round colour, and give the courtyard a spectacular tropical look.

Courtyard features

The focal point of the garden is an outdoor seating area flanked by foreground plantings of elephant's ears (Alocasia macrorrhiza) and golden cane palm (Dypsis lutescens). These large, eye catching plants give a feeling of depth to the garden, and draw attention to the foliage plantings beyond.
Brendan has grouped a selection of foliage plants suitable for a northerly aspect. They include several varieties of ctenanthe (Ctenanthe lubbersiana 'Variegata' and C. 'Silver Star'), peacock plants (Stromanthe sanguinea), cordylines (Cordyline glauca, C. terminalis 'Negri' and C. terminalis 'Rubra'), shell ginger (Alpinia zerumbet) and ornamental banana (Musa velutina).
The foliage colours have been combined to harmonise and complement one another. So for example, the burgundy coloured undersides of the leaves of one plant (Ctenanthe 'Silver Star') tone beautifully with the upper surface of the red cordyline leaves.

How to achieve the same effect in your garden

The foliage plants that Brendan used may not grow in your garden, so go to your local nursery and ask for advice. They will have a selection of tropical-look foliage plants suitable for your climate and situation.

Contact information

Brendan Lewis,
Landscape Designer
Mobile: 0409 122 269

Further reading

'The Subtropical Garden' by Jacqueline Walker (Florilegium, $29.95). This book covers subtropical foliage plants and combinations for gardens.

Copyright CTC Productions 2000