What would an exotic garden in the UK be without the humble Trachycarpus fortunei?
First of all, using the word humble to describe this palm is already doing it a disservice as it is actually a tall growing, potentially imposing, stately, and a very architectural palm.
However, it is also usually maligned for being so 'common'. And being maligned makes it humbled which is very unfair.
As stated above: tall growing, stately, and very architectural.
Relatively fast growing for a palm, more than a foot a year is possible once it is established on the ground, slower when in a pot.
Leafy and very exotic looking. Equally at home to jungle, xeric, and Mediterranean style of garden.
Solitary trunk. Once it has gained a significant size of trunk and the crown is well above ground you regain precious garden space beneath it for layering and under planting. Or just leave it as it is for a minimalist look.
It can be dug up with just a small rootball left and yet survive and transplant successfully into a new location. It will sulk for a year or two of course but afterwards it will carry on growing as usual.
Will grow happily either in full sun or shade and anything else in between.
Drought tolerant (except in pots) but does appreciate and perform much better when watered generously and fertilised during the growing season.
Provides a very good backbone and structure to a garden.
However, it's own good merits are also the very reason it is often maligned by other exoticists. By being so easy, undemanding, and reliable it is readily available hence 'common'. And by being common, snobbery comes into place by others.
Personally I am so glad, thankful, and appreciative for the existence of this palm and all of its good merits. It's easy enough to focus on what's not existing out there (like a reliably hardy feather palm for a start) but I can't imagine if this palm did not exist at all!
It is of course possible to have an exotic garden in the UK without any palm in it. Or even a palm based garden with only a few or no Trachycarpus fortunei in it at all. But you'll have to be in one of the few milder areas in the UK, or have an exceptionally good microclimate, or do loads of protective measures during the winter.
Whenever we visit nurseries it's funny how we still gravitate towards this palm whether it is surrounded by other exotics or not. We don't always buy them of course but good sized ones for a good price the temptation gets very high and resistance becomes weak, just like when we recently went to the Palm Centre.
Sometimes I wander down the garden, looking out for some of our rarer and more unusual plants and thinking of writing a blog post about them. Often I get on such a mindset that I overlook some of our reliable stalwarts, like this palm when they really deserve as much focus as some of the rarer ones. So here I am singing praises for this wonderful palm, a plant we couldn't be without in our exotic garden.
What about you, any plant in particular that is 'common' and yet you couldn't be without in your garden?
I think the snobbery you mention is pretty common in all walks of life, sadly. While I tend to be very selective of what I plant, I have to say, the fact that something is or isn't rare doesn't matter to me at all. While I'm always excited to see the "new" plants that appear each year (who isn't), I usually carefully weigh a plants pros and cons...just being rare or unique doesn't make a plant worthy to me...it must have a long season of interest and must enhance or reinforce the general mood and design of the garden.
That's a good attitude to have Scott and a good way of thinking especially if space is a premium. New plants are exciting (and excites us as well) but it's all about performance and how it works in ones garden.
Agapanthus falls into that category here. It's used so extensively in industrial as well as home settings that I think people overlook both its wonderful evergreen foliage and the summer spectacular of blue (or white) flowers.
The lovely Agapanthus! When they are in bloom en masse they are a spectacular sight to behold. In milder areas where they colonise they can be maligned but their beauty yet undemanding nature is undeniable.
Hi Mark, for me here in Southern California it is the 'Iceberg' rose. Usually it grows well in this climate up to a point that it has become a "strip mall rose", because it is so undemanding and very floriferous. I started out with seven plants, but I am down to three now. Because it is so common, I got a little bit tired of it. Is that plant snobbery? Luckily I have an excuse: for some reason the rose was/is suffering from powdery mildew in some locations in my garden. So I got rid of these 'Iceberg' roses first and have replaced them with more uncommon roses. By the way, I love the palm that you have featured! Wishing you a nice day!
You still have three left so that's not too bad :) seriously though if space is premium and for having a sense of variety I understand if 'common' plants are slowly ejected to make way for new ones. Or if they get ejected because they're not doing well already as in your case. Variety is the spice of life too!
As for the humble Trachycarpus I am thrilled that my oldest is actually starting to put on some growth.
Yay for your trachycarpus! You might be surprised by its growth rate in the following seasons to come!
I love all kinds of common plants. Oxalis oregana is threatening to take over a dry shady area of my garden. Like many gardeners, I love discovering new and unusual plants but the stalwart and steady backbone of our gardens seems always to be fairly common plants.
Personally I love it. I never care what is rare or common. I just put out what I like that I feel is hardy. Usually things are common for a reason - everybody wants it because of it's beauty. Looks lovely in your gardens.
Thank goodness for all the people above (including yourselves, Mark and Gaz) who don't turn their noses up at 'common'. I agree with Scott - that kind of snobbery in every walk of life, usually applied to old stalwarts (for a good reason). It always makes me cross when people look down their noses at Tchaikovsky's music as 'common'. It's popular because it's so sweet and unforgettable - and hummable. Plants? I haven't got an exotic garden but this week I noticed a Jasminum nudiflorum in the village in full flower. It gave me such a lift on a wet, damp day. I'm sneaking out to take some cuttings. Love Trachycarpus too!
My head is turned by the new and/or exotic newcomer, but with a large property I'd be in deep trouble without the old standbys. I think we tire of many of them more for the way they are used (fast-food landscaping, etc.) than for their ubiquitiseness.
My Trachy has been slow to get going but now is really romping away, which I am happy and sad about. Happy because of all the new spears that appear even during the winter. Sad that it will get too tall for my garden. It was this and an Ensete that where bought for me that started my love of 'Exotic's'. I loved my Fatsia (dug up because of the Biomass boiler) for its evergreen leaves and its exceptionally late flowers the insects loved it. May have to think about getting another.
I'm going to admit that I love Hosta. I know they're EVERYWHERE but they're just such good garden plants that I can't help but have a couple varieties in my yard (and several dozen in my mom's yard!). I really think having a nice even base of bread-and-butter plants is what makes the exotics stand out.