New jungle style for your garden....lush, contemporary and easy-care planting

Turn your garden or backyard into a green haven with jungle garden style. Philip Oostenbrink, author of The Jungle Garden, explains the look and suggests 5 top easy-care plants to start a jungle look.
The Jungle Garden is published by Filbert Press: filbertpress.com/the-jungle-g...
Also available from bookshops and Amazon: amzn.to/3FyY2PY
00:00 Welcome
00:19 Walmer Castle www.english-heritage.org.uk/v...
01:32 What climate do you need for a jungle garden?
02:11 Tips for over-wintering tender jungle-style plants in a temperate climate
02:36 Philip's own small town garden, planted jungle-style
02:50 What defines a jungle garden?
03:31 Colocasia 'Pink China' with Tetrapanax Rex (the largest leaves) and Trachycarpus fortunei
03:37 What are the best spaces for a jungle garden?
04:32 How to plan foliage and flowers in jungle garden style
05:37 What's the difference between tropical garden style and jungle garden style?
06:21 How to care for a jungle garden in winter
07:35 Is a jungle garden easy maintenance? What you need to do
08:58 Jungle garden style for front gardens
10:24 Five easy-care plants for a jungle garden
10:42 Colocasia 'Pink China'
10:53 Tree fern (Dicksonia Antarctica)
11:15 Fig (Ficus carica)
11:45 Hakonechloa macra (Japanese forest grass)
12:05 Tetrapanax 'Rex'
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[@irairod5160]

"...and know what to plant in a castle moat, if you happen to have one." 😂🤣😆 Loved it!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@irairod5160]

I am originally from the Caribbean and grew up at the edge of a rainforest...this green, lush look is very pleasing to my eye. It reminds me of carefree childhood days playing hide-and-seek among banana trees, and of climbing mango and guava trees that were covered in the most amazing vines. It would take too much effort for me to create anything remotely similar to this gentleman's gardens where I live now (too cold) but I do have a jungle corner indoors, in the living room, and its dense, layered, slightly wild nature makes me smile! 💓

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

I'm glad to hear that. I spent some of my childhood in the Caribbean too - 3 years in the Dominican Republic, so perhaps that's why I thought this was a beautiful garden.

[@irairod5160]

@@TheMiddlesizedGarden Ah! The Dominican Republic is so-so-so close to my island, you would know exactly the vegetation I grew up surrounded by! In spring and summer, I wear an old Oscar de la Renta fragrance (Something Blue) because it reminds me of the Stephanotis vines that grew wild in my childhood backyard. Thank you for the kind reply and the shared memories!

[@heidis3993]

I, too, have fond memories of playing under and around giant plants when I was very young, but that was in Southern California. The climate there is arid -- delightfully so, I would now say -- but Southern California is very close, in imagination, to Hawai'i, and our little house had a lanai as well as giant plants.

[@irairod5160]

@@heidis3993 Yes! I wish more children had the experience of being really close to nature, whether in a garden, hiking, or growing plants in a balcony or windowsill. I teach in a city, and I had to go out last week and collect acorns, pinecones, and chestnuts to show a group of 6 year olds who had never seen these up close. There's something really magical about being in the shade of a huge tree, picking fruit right from a vine, observing how rain gathers in the nooks and crannies of a fleshy plant, and planting a seed and watching it sprout and grow. It nurtures the imagination and the soul!

[@janereel1903]

@@irairod5160 Oooh, I want to try the perfume you mention, as it sounds wonderful! I wonder if I can find it in stores.

[@janereel1903]

"Planting in the castle moat." LOL I chuckled. Love the topic today.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@kerryjean2223]

Awe... I want a castle moat to plant x

[@tedscott1478]

If you've got a moat you can afford a gardener to do the weeding for you...🤭

[@feedermonkey7233]

This one of the top gardening channels on KZbin. Easily Thank you for all your hard work 👍👏👏👏

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you so much!

[@Kylie4Queen]

I always learn something new from your videos, Alexandra. Today, I learned there is a distinction between tropical garden and jungle garden, when I’d previously lumped them together. Thank you!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@colleensainsbury9022]

Alexandra, yours is by far my FAVOURITE KZbin channel! Thank you so much for the inspiration and the information. Love from South Africa xxx

[@ludmilabevan3283]

I have a tiny yard at the back of the house, it is sheltered and rather jammed between the garage and the brick wall about 2 meter height. So I have decided to create a mini jungle garden with the plants that I had already. First I've used ferns since I have around a dozen of different varieties, and they always create the right touch. For the large leaves effect I've used Arum lily, aspidistra and Fatsia japonica. To add some soft colours I've used Astilbes, Japanese anemonies and trailing geraniums/ pelargonium. To "spill" the wooden boxes that I've fixed on my offensive wall and to hide them completely I've used creeping Jenny and Dichondra Silver Falls , planted with ferns and pelargonium . Since the ground is concreted I have to grow everything in pots by positioning them at different height so they hide each other. Unfortunately I am limited for space and light, otherwise there are many plants in my garden that can be used for the right effect. Hostas and heuchera, for example, or cordiline, even fennel can look wonderful. Thime can be used as a ground cover, agapanthus and kniphofia have tropical look, some varieties of clematis, jasmine or passiflora will add the height. More exotic large leaf plants are costly and tender so can be used sparingly here and there. They can be brought outside in summer if kept in a house. My tropical / jungle garden is on a budget. Perhaps it is a "liquorice all sorts" but overall look out of the window has improved a lot.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

That sounds like a wonderful collection of plants and it sounds lovely.

[@paigeturner165]

I do love watching your videos on a Saturday with a cuppa 💓

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@juliashearer7842]

I am absolutely loving your channel. Thank you so much for your wonderful content. You interview such interesting planty people and this man is a very good example of that. 😊

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you so much.

[@germannlindastellarsisk3716]

Thanks for showing Philip's fabulous moat garden (and his personal garden).

[@anneas8532]

Yet another Saturday treat! I am now going to let the bottom of my garden be passed of as a Jungle Garden.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Sounds good!

[@cambbrown6205]

Always lovely to listen to a knowledgeable gardener, so generous of his time and expertise. I am unlikely to ever have a jungle garden but loved this, thank you Philip and Alexandra.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@heidis3993]

This was so much fun! And it put me in mind of the 1947 film "Black Narcissus," the story of which takes place in the Himalayas, apparently. I had watched it several times before I learned that it was shot on a sound stage in or near London, with cardboard sets and so on, rather than on location. And the jungle scenes were filmed in Kent! An army officer returning from India, I think, had established a garden there; I believe that he brought the plants back with him.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Interesting! I wonder which garden it was. I'll keep an eye out for it.

[@heidis3993]

@@TheMiddlesizedGarden I picked up these factoids years ago, on the US TV channel Turner Classic Movies, when it was hosted by the late Robert Osborne, but I never followed up on the Kentish garden. This video of yours was a real eye-opener to me; I thought that the retired officer's garden was a fluke. And I'm eager to look at your playlist and check out your guest's book.

[@theswissgardenvlog3189]

This is very inspiring. I shy away from tropical plants in my garden because I don‘t know how to care for them in my Swiss garden; so it‘s very useful to see well structure jungle gardens like those feature in this video and also hear from the owners how they are put together and how to care for the plants. Very informative, thanks for sharing👍🏾

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you so much!

[@penelopehammerton2907]

Thank you Alexandra for a really interesting video. I never realised there were so many jungle looking plants that you did not have to bring inside in the winter. So it opens up a whole new thought process regarding these large and beautifully leaved plants.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad it was helpful!

[@thebastardgift]

What an interesting, educational video about jungle gardens! My jungle garden began accidentally, even before the term existed, where I had a couple of large trees in a small space, making the area shady with darkness and I kept struggling on how to create more of this environment. Then one day I stumbled across a You Tube channel 🥰 where a white haired woman with a British accent, standing in her own beautiful middle size garden was speaking about how important it was to look at your garden from a window from the house. I did and my jungle garden became. 💙💙💙

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you, that's so nice to hear!

[@thebastardgift]

@@TheMiddlesizedGarden, you are one of my favorite channels.

[@eddiealva4453]

Hola from Perú, The land of the Amazon. Love your lessons. Many tropical plants actually need shade. Heliconia, Agaphantus, Orchids. Some water features a wooden board on the ground!

[@jwalton6819]

Absolutely love this jungle garden look & lots of practical information in the video. Also like the thought of less weeds!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@outdoors459]

Wow, another great video from this brilliant channel! I'm going to look into a few of these suggestions for my garden 💕

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@stuartthomas3105]

Starting our Jungle garde this week. So looking forward to doing this.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Hope it goes well. Exciting!

[@swimminwitdafishes8059]

I have what I call a semi jungle garden. Living in South Carolina, dense planting of large foliage plants create very inviting areas for our prolific and poisonous Copperhead snakes to cool off. I need to spread my plants out a bit so I can see underneath them

[@BadarTVTrends]

I got a new lesson from your video, thank you

[@cake-diver8991]

Musa Basjoo is a great jungle plant. Hardy, easy to overwinter and looks amazing every summer

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

It really is!

[@tedscott1478]

There is an amazing range in the colour green let's not forget that. I grow alot of hostas and they're in all different sorts of shades. 50 shades of green, I suppose.

[@p4ul1010]

Im from Puerto Rico here in the Caribbean and i appreciate this video so much, because it talks about components and qualities i can easily replicate easily in the garden, obviously because of my tropical climate. Not like, for example, as a cottage garden or english garden which i could try to make, but it would be so much harder and there is not much of a selection or variety of plants, because of our really hot and humid climate. Thank you so much for this inspirational videos, i enjoyed them so much!!! 😁

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you! And I spent some time in Puerto Rico in my childhood and have fond memories of it!

[@beckyscheller9358]

Very interesting style. Loved seeing Great that there are different styles for everyone thanks for showing

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you!

[@meredith3588]

Yes, I agree Becky. I grew up with many conifers and that is what takes me back to my childhood and gives me comfort and that feeling of being "home" but I sure do appreciate this look of jungle and appreciate that someone is able to make a garden of it look so beautiful and lush. Thank you, Alexandra.

[@TropicalGardening]

Great video!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@dianwilliams239]

This style of gardening is so interesting. Wish I was starting my garden over again 🇦🇺

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you! (and it's never too late...)

[@annelancaster8203]

Another really interesting video - thank you!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@maryanna6302]

Good advice re contrasting leaf shape and color, I forget this when I'm buying plants and I end up with too many similar looking ones. Alexandra would you consider making a video with advice on propagating your own plants or shrubs, I have a Mexican orange blossom that's rather expensive I'm going to try propogating, but a general lesson on some common perennial propogating techniques would be fun. Love your channel! 🦋

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Thank you - and yes, I will do a propagating video, although it probably won't be until the spring now, as softwood cuttings is a spring/summer job.

[@v.mishrasart43]

Super👍👍

[@marilyncoburn4936]

Very interesting subject. Great questions thanks for this presentation.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@paigeturner165]

Fabulous, thank you ☺️

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@ellydavis2066]

Thanks for this. Lots to think about here.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad it was helpful!

[@helloplantlovers]

I love Philip's garden - thank you!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

It does remind me of Stephen's garden and so do some of the pictures in the book, and I can imagine yours might be similar.

[@helloplantlovers]

@@TheMiddlesizedGarden It will have to be! 'TINY' is the word...packed to the gills!! Mx

[@Lulu-ue2lj]

Super

[@sarahlyon6187]

Variegated Ground Elder morphed into plain green ground elder and it has completely taken over our garden with thick underground runner roots (orange!). Very very difficult to get rid of, terribly invasive in Massachusetts, USA at least. Also called gout weed and bishops weed.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Excellent warning! I was tempted but I noticed Philip keeps his in a pot.

[@margaretmichelsen766]

What an interesting video, thank you. Hakonechloa is a great favourite of mine. Not that easy to get your hands on here in Australia, but saw it once and grabbed it. I would love that jungle look in a walled garden .....(or in my moat haha), I will just have to be content looking at English gardens on you tube!

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@juliabinford6500]

Fantastic gardening style. I might never reach the front door:) I live near a home that has planted like that out to the street. My friend and I take walks just to look at it. The dinosaur plant and tree mallow,which differs from rose mallow, are part of that landscape

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Lovely!

[@franconianable]

Rohdeas, aspidistras, hostas, renga lily, scheffleras, phormium, camellias, needle palms are great for the look.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Great list of plants!

[@LinusCello75]

Large leave plants: Fatsia japonica, Aspidistra, paw paw, arums.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Great suggestions! Philip actually holds a national collection of aspidistras, too.

[@alisonvanwyk4348]

Interesting never realized the difference between jungle and Tropical . My garden in Cape town deffinately leans towards Jungle .

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

It is interesting, I was surprised to hear, too.

[@tedscott1478]

I would recommend the good old reliable trachycarpus fortuneii palm. Very hardy and once planted needs no aftercare.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Great recommendation.

[@marciagrant6687]

I love your channel! What is the name of the ruffled plant in the lower left-hand corner- time stamp 11:55?

[@sallynolan5928]

I think it is an Asplenium Scolopendrium - a fern.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

That's correct, I believe

[@cg1tube]

If you have time to answer, what is the approximate rainfall in that castle area with the jungle garden ?

[@Bubbles-ym9mu]

Thank you thank you, I searched all your videos for this moment as I’m trying to create one well started and got stuck on what to get.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

You are so welcome!

[@LMWerner]

Was that ground elder planted in a pot?

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

It was! Although apparently the variegated version isn't as invasive.

[@LMWerner]

@@TheMiddlesizedGarden It is! That was beautiful! I've actually wanted to do something with that variegated variety, but so far chickened out. Even though I've also read that they're not as invasive... So now I know what to do ☺👌 Thank you for replying and as always - thank you for a lovely YT-channel! 🌱

[@peterl.104]

My sister thinks my front yard looks like “a jungle” just because my plants grow up and out against one another. I prefer that natural look.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Sounds lovely.

[@thecentralscrutinizer1758]

May I add some constructive criticism? We only have to hear a person's voice. Instead of having the camera looking at them while they speak, we could be looking at the plants and garden. We want to hear the people speak but we want to look at the plants. Thanks.

[@TheMiddlesizedGarden]

Yes, I agree, which is why approximately two-thirds/three quarters of each of my videos show the plants so people are looking at the plants and gardens with the narrative in the background. About one quarter to one third of a typical video is straightforward interview.

[@Doriesep6622]

How disappointing. A moat should have water and crocodiles.

[@peterl.104]

True, but then he needs to buy black knight armor and a black horse. That gets expensive.