Today’s video is an early spring return to Mark Goodlad’s Tiki / Bali inspired tropical style garden, his beautiful North Lincolnshire creation full of palms, tree ferns, sculptures and great garden design ideas. The focus of today’s video is how the garden looks after a cold winter and why Mark chooses not to protect many of his plants unless there’s exceptional cold forecast. We talk about winter protection for hardy Musa basjoo banana plants and why it’s maybe not 100% necessary, look at how his tree ferns, palms. Fatsia & Schefflera have coped with the winter freezes plus assess the Cycad and arid beds following the colder weather. Mark and I discuss how many exotic gardeners potentially mollycoddle certain plants when it’s not required, how ‘right plant right place’ is crucial when it comes to winter damage and a lower maintenance garden plus watering tree ferns and exotic garden plants with automatic irrigation. There’s also a look at some regrets and garden lessons from this winter. Busy, busy! We then head to his heated tropical style greenhouse to look at his rare houseplant collection (including amazing bromeliads!), discuss care for his indoor jungle and also get to see a rare sight in the UK, a fruiting edible banana plant, Musa ‘Ice Cream’ Blue Java. I hope you enjoy and if you do, your comments, likes and feedback would be appreciated!
Mark’s Crazy Tiki Garden & Rare Tropical Plant Greenhouse Autumn 2022 Tour:
0:00 Intro
0:54 UK Exotic Garden & Tropical Plant Realities after a Cold Winter
2:40 Musa basjoo banana plant clumps unprotected after UK winter freeze
4:37 Is it worth protecting Musa basjoo banana plants in winter?
6:58 Yucca and Euphorbia mellifera winter damage, Aspidistra hardy though!
7:49 Brahea armata, Phoenix and hardy palms after winter freezes
8:24 Microclimates, tough Fatsia plants and tree fern winter care
10:34 Hardy Schefflera including macrophylla untouched by winter!
11:14 Right plant right place for tree ferns and other exotic plants
12:08 Automatic garden irrigation & watering / protecting tree ferns over winter
14:32 Growing Cycads ‘Sago Palms’ outside in UK tropical style garden
15:55 Tropical garden lessons & protecting hardy plants following a cold UK winter
17:21 Dry arid bed, winter protection for exotic plants & garden realities!
2:39 Mark’s heated UK tropical greenhouse full of rare exotic houseplants!
21:50 The cost of heating a tropical greenhouse full of tender plants, orchids & bromeliads
23:37 Tropical greenhouse rare plant survivors following a cold winter
25:22 Exotic garden trial and error, risks and evolution – lessons for UK exotic gardeners
26:42 Flowering and fruiting Musa ‘Ice Cream’ Blue Java in UK Tropical Greenhouse!
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Thanks,
George
37 Comments
Greatly appreciate seeing the scruffiness, vegetative detritus and the natural cycles within a spectacular garden. A healthy reminder that every moment cannot be a five-star social media thumbnail photo. Also brings the hope and optimism of spring’s new growth! Thank you
Great video George and Mark 👍👍
Great video of a superb garden. Yes it's been a cold winter but there's still a lot looking good and the things that aren't looking good should hopefully bounce back and look good again in no time. Like you both I think sharing what our gardens look like in and after a bad winter is important to show that it's not always glamorous and to give a reality check for those that think it is. Great to see a fruiting, edible banana in the UK, pretty rare indeed!
Mark, looking forward to seeing that red carpet. 😀🤪👍
Makes me sick to see his spare Tree ferns just sat in an area! Great video again George and by the way Linden is open and having deliveries as we speak 😉
Don't show the green globe, now everyone is focused on it 😅
If you don’t mind the smell put a compost bin or 2 in there 👍 an save £500 on the lecky bill, also an awesome garden an top video as usual. 👌👌👌👌
Haha 😂 I think the green globe looks awesome almost radioactive haha 😂. So I see your tall grass is still going in the distance covering the neighbours I’m interested in getting some for privacy as bamboo is taking its time growing. Any more info on it? Is it invasive like bamboo or pretty easy to rip out if it spreads somewhere it shouldn’t
Ps does mark do you tube ?
Now you know what my garden looks like in N. Florida, after only living here a year and a half from S. Florida, 2 winters down now, but this winter was brutal, a week plus of 30 degrees F was just too much for those left out, even my bamboos, I anxiously await new shoots…next year if we get those forecasts I will dig some up(bromiliads)they are slowly coming back with pups, half of my Australian tree ferns and young palms made it…many banana pups coming back, I just bought a plantain banana to add to the collection while I continue to monitor where to plant…everything looks so sad, but improving, temps in the 80's F. today, canna are blooming so I'm a happy planter…thanks for this…and thanks for not showing the green sphere…lol…!
Fatsia at 09:48 I've seen listed as Fatsia 'camouflage' which is way easier to spell than the Japanese name 😂
So pleased to see you say you will be back later in the year. The original video of this garden was one of my favorite.
Enjoyed the tour this guy is a true realist when it comes to growing tropicals. The banana in hothouse that is flowering is really cool. As you know I live in panhandle of Florida and it’s tough to get one the flower since we still have frost and this past year a massive cold spell. I’ve started trying to plant a couple in a pot and bring in when it’s cold. You have to be in central to southern Florida say Tampa and south in growing zone 10 & 11 to have a chance of flowering bananas
Still Looks great at this time of year . How did his Parajubaea cope with -7 George . The green globe looks awesome with the sunshine on it . Needs a green light on that in the summer . Thanks for sharing your garden with us again Mark .
Brilliant video 😊
Wonderful garden, love both of your humour 😊 love this upload 👌🏻
Beautiful chaos!
I love the laidback realism that Mark displays. It’s a great safety net for those of us just getting started who are trapped in a web of Google advice! (Right. Off to Google a rhododendron sinogrande😂)
Great selection and stunning amount of evergreens! Just added a Fatsia japonica to my garden!
Hey George. Great to see your mate Mark's garden. His attitude is right up my street. The Somme comment made me laugh. Interested with the watering of the tree ferns throughout the winter. Up in the North East there's plenty of rain even in the winter so I don't bother but shows the dry climate where you guys are. I'm with him 100% with the aloe polyphilla. Waste of time here. Similar with the livingstonia. I've only been in the tropical style garden 5 years or so but his no-nonsense approach to overwintering strategy is spot on. Great video. Cheers 👍
Fantastic video George! I really enjoyed the tour and seeing how Mark's garden is looking after the cold winter we’ve had this year. I’m sure it will look stunning again come late summer. And that banana flower at the end was absolutely incredible! It’s my long-term goal to get some of my edible bananas to fruit here eventually, although I don’t have that incredible greenhouse setup like Mark has 😅. But who knows? Maybe someday!
Excellent and definitely interesting video George.
Really enjoyed this video. I liked Mark's comment about working a 40 hour week with kids having somewhat of an influence on how much you can do and also how much you care to wrap plants up to the extreme. I might have to watch this again but with a beer and drink every time there's a euphemism or phallic based joke! 😂. Was a bit like The Inbetweeners meets Gardeners World and as a combo it was great. Did he get most of those tree ferns before prices rocketed? There's thousands and thousands of pounds worth of tree ferns there. I'll be lucky to afford a 2 footer! I'll need to take a trip East to Lincolnshire some time.
Female to Male Transgenders make good gardeners. Congrats !
Not too bad after this bad winter.
Might be worth looking into a roll down blanket for the heated conservatory. The Chinese style greenhouses use them. Their greenhouses don't require any additional heating to keep above freezing with lower temps than we get.
Something I've got planned for the future.
On cycads , I've found thick cardboard to be a great protector, it stays surprisingly strong even when wet for a few weeks.
Absolutely brilliant video and a real lesson on winter care. Very similar to my own way of gardening . Thanks George
Brilliant video as ever George. Tropical Chuckle Brothers! Thanks
I like the green globe. Whatever the reason it's green. it looks good.
Very informative video as usual, George. As we've said before, growing exotics is largely trial and error until you find what will survive in your own garden. Even then, a severe winter like this one just ending re-writes the rulebook. C'est la vie.
I live in Perth Western Australia & I’m jealous of his garden 😂
Wow!!!!! fantastic garden Mark this is something definitely I want to create,another brilliant video George
Fantastic video guys, thank you both!
Beautiful garden, how cold does it get there in the winter? Do you get fruit ever year from the banana trees?
Great inspirational video as usual George and a wee bit of banter to.👍
It’s crazy, although I’m in the states… where it’s warmer… I feel like the UK has more tropical plant varieties than we do.
I know you're from the UK but I was wondering if you know what your equivalent USDA growing zone is?
Haha sausage party video 😂 great video George
another great informative video, very inspiring for what is possible ,Do you have any experience with Cythea Medullaris George, i am living in Dublin on Irelands east coast and have just purchased one from Kells bay in Kerry,I have a few other ferns all doing well but i hear these do need winter protection .any adive much appreciated Thanks