View the map

Back

Sub-Tropicana Garden

Let the Sub-Tropicana Garden transport you from Yorkshire to the tropics! The former Foliage Garden has been transformed into a tropical paradise bursting with bold foliage and eye-popping flower colour

Looking its best in...

  • Mid-summer to early autumn Exotic flowers of dahlias and cannas and the lush foliage of bananas are at their peak

A touch of the exotic

In 2020, the former Foliage Garden underwent an exciting transformation to become the Sub-Tropicana Garden, bringing a touch of the exotic to Harlow Carr. The redesigned garden is packed full of plants with a tropical look and takes inspiration from the dramatic planting schemes of Great Dixter.

Winding pathways are surrounded by immersive tropical-style planting, and a heated glasshouse is home to the most tender plants, as well as a bench, offering a perfect place to rest on colder days.

Bold foliage

Almost all of the existing planting from the Foliage Garden was kept to maintain a sense of maturity and create a sheltered microclimate for the new exotic scheme.

Hardy plants with bold and interesting leaf shapes, such as the hardy palm Trachycarpus fortunei, soft tree fern Dicksonia antarctica and golden Indian bean tree Catalpa bignonioides ‘Aurea’, as well as several bamboos, provide a permanent framework of foliage.

Late summer spectacle

In early summer tender plants are woven through the backbone of permanent plantings to enhance the impressive foliage display and add eye-popping flower colour.

The garden reaches its peak in late summer when salvias, dahlias, gingers and cannas are in full bloom, and foliage plants such as banana Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’, deep purple Ricinus communis ‘New Zealand Purple’ and Paulownia have reached dramatic proportions.

To create a tropical feel in your own garden, add a backbone of permanent plants with large, bold leaf shapes. Complement these plantings each year with a selection of exotic half-hardy and tender perennials for extra wow-factor.

RHS Garden Harlow Carr Horticulturist

Plants in the Sub-Tropicana Garden

You may also be interested in...

Find inspiration for bold and exotic planting

Find inspiration for bold and exotic planting »

Read our advice on creating a subtropical garden

Read our advice on creating a subtropical garden »

Love gardening

Sign up to receive regular gardening tips, inspiration, offers and more

View our Privacy Policy

Get involved

The Royal Horticultural Society is the UK’s leading gardening charity. We aim to enrich everyone’s life through plants, and make the UK a greener and more beautiful place.